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Independent movies make up the bulk of projects selected to receive tax credits, reflecting major productions increasingly opting to shoot in other regions with more generous incentive programs.
By Winston Cho
A record 51 films will receive tax credits to shoot in California amid a historic downturn in production in the state fueled by an increasingly tit-for-tat incentives race to host Hollywood.
The total marks the highest number of titles selected in a single round of the state’s film and TV tax incentive program, according to the California Film Commission. The productions are estimated to employ 6,490 cast and crew, paying nearly $347 million in wages, and generate roughly $578 million in economic activity.
“While other states try to chase California’s on-screen success, everyone knows the Golden State is the entertainment capital of the world – built through decades of innovation and hard work,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement. “Today’s awards are vital to keeping production where it belongs – generating thousands of good-paying jobs ‘below the line,’ and supporting the local businesses that rely on a thriving film and television industry.”
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The upcoming, yet-to-be-titled film from Everything Everywhere All At Once directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert headlines the projects tapped for this application window. NBCUniversal is expected to receive $20.8 million in tax credits.
The only other major studios chosen to receive incentives this round are Twentieth Century Studios for Business Women and Warner Bros. for Cut Off, which will get $5.7 million and $10 million in credits respectively.
The bulk of this allocation round was directed toward a slate of 46 independent movies, reflecting big budget productions increasingly opting to shoot in other regions with more generous tax incentives, like Georgia and the U.K. The majority of those films are projected to shoot in regions outside of Los Angeles, with plans to film more than 360 days in Contra Costa, Oakland, Ojai, Merced, and San Diego Counties, among others, according to the film commission.
Independent films chosen to receive tax credits include Animals, Not Her, TBTN, Phantom, A Bobby Thing, and Reenactment.
In a statement, California Film Commission director Colleen Bell stressed the disruption in production caused by Los Angeles’ wildfires earlier this year. “These disruptions have impacted employment for thousands of cast and crew members, affecting everything from production schedules and financing to housing and location access,” she said. “Now more than ever, this program is a critical tool to help productions recover, keeping jobs and investment here in our state, all while ensuring that California remains the heart of the entertainment industry.”
Kwan and Scheinert underscored the significance of the state film and TV tax incentive program to keeping production in California. “We are LA filmmakers, with very dear LA friends, who happen to be some of the greatest creative talents we’ve worked with,” they said in a statement. ““On ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ we received the California tax credit, and had we not, it would have been utterly impossible to make that film.”
Last year, Newsom unveiled plans to double California’s current cap for the state’s film and TV tax incentive program from $330 million to $750 million a year. It’s an aggressive bid to revitalize production across the state after it was decimated by the strikes and curb the yearslong flight of production away from the region. Details are still being ironed out.
See the list of other productions that were selected to receive tax credits here.
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