California Production Coalition, an advocacy group of 33 diminutive businesses, studios, and professional organisations, has launched to keep prod
California Production Coalition, an advocacy group of 33 diminutive businesses, studios, and professional organisations, has launched to keep production in Hollywood.
The launch comes amid growing concern over runaway production to other US states and international jurisdictions offering more competitive incentives, and nearly two months after California Governor Gavin Newson proposed to double the state’s film and TV tax incentive to $750m.
Hollywood’s production sector is a critical revenue earner for the state. A 2022 study by Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation found that every dollar of California incentives delivers a return of $24.40 in increased economic activity, $16.14 in GDP, and $8.60 in wages.
California Production Coalition, whose members include Raleigh Studios Hollywood & Saticoy Studios and Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, published an independent poll of 1,500 registered Californian voters on Wednesday that showed 73% of respondents support Newsom’s proposal.
If approved by state legislators next year the measure would come into effect with California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program 4.0 on July 1, 2025. The tax credits will become refundable for the first time since the programme was established in 2009.
According to California Production Coalition, “While the Golden State’s unmatched workforce, experienced production community, first-class infrastructure, and rich mix of natural beauty and compelling locations remain a powerful draw for productions, the highly valuable incentives offered by other localities – which can be more than triple the amount available to a production in California – are challenging the landscape and undermining the business case for shooting in the state.”
Motion Picture Association chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin said, “The MPA and its members are proud to stand with California businesses to highlight how our creative community can grow its meaningful contributions and build a stronger foundation for film and television production in the state.”
Separately on Wednesday, California Film Commission announced it has awarded $108.6m in tax credits to 10 film and television projects through its Film and Television Tax Credit Program and Soundstage Filming Tax Credit Program. Projects include Untitled 20th Century Studios Non-Independent Feature Film, and the same studio’s thriller Whalefall, which include credit allocations of $5.9m and $10.4m, respectively.
The Commission has added application windows this autumn in an effort to keep more productions in California: two for television series in September and October, followed by one for non-independent feature films in November.
In October, FilmLA reported that all entertainment production over the summer in the Greater Los Angeles area fell 5% year-on-year as the third quarter delivered 5,048 shoot days in the weakest quarter of 2024 so far.
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