California Gov. Gavin Newsom is providing a sneak preview Monday of 48 new movie and TV projects that will benefit from the next round of tax credits meant to entice productions to film in the Golden State.
Forty-three of the projects are independent, while five are major studio features, according to the governor’s office. They were expected to generate an estimated $664 million in local spending and result in the creation of more than 6,500 jobs.
Last year, Newsom proposed more than doubling the existing California Film & TV Tax Credit Program from $330 million to $750 to help keep the state at the center of the global entertainment industry.
“California didn’t earn its role as the heart of the entertainment world by accident — it was built over generations by skilled workers and creative talent pushing boundaries,” Newsom said. “Today’s awards help ensure this legacy continues, keeping cameras rolling here at home, supporting thousands of crew members behind the scenes and boosting local economies that depend on a strong film and television industry.”
What film and TV projects are receiving the California Film & TV Tax Credit?
Among the projects slated to receive the tax credit are five major studio features, including Sony Pictures’ “One of Them Days Sequel,” which is anticipated to result in more than $39 million in local economic benefits alone, the governor’s office said in an written statement.
TriStar Pictures President Nicole Brown said she was glad to return to Los Angeles for filming.
“Los Angeles was an essential backdrop to ‘One of Them Days’ and we are thrilled that Dreux and Alyssa will embark on another authentic escapade through the city’s streets in the sequel through the support of California’s Film and Television Tax Credit,” she said.
Of the 43 independent projects to receive the credit, six have budgets greater than $19 million, officials said. They include “Gold Mountain,” “The Teller,” and “They Follow,” which are all planning to primarily film in the area surrounding Los Angeles.
The 37 projects with budgets below $10 million are “contributing to the state’s goal of expanding access to underrepresented filmmakers and promoting more inclusive storytelling,” according to the statement.
How much will the California Film & TV Tax Credit projects make?
The anticipated income to the state from the projects includes $302 million in California wages, Newsom’s office said.
The productions will hire roughly 6,500 cast and crew members, along with tens of thousands of extras and background performers.
More than half of the filming will take place in the Los Angeles area, “helping to sustain the birthplace of this iconic industry and supporting the community as it recovers from recent wildfires,” the governor’s office statement added.
But “substantial economic benefits” can also be expected in the Bay Area, as well as Ventura, El Dorado, Placer, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside and Kern counties, officials said.
The new round of credits is the ninth distributed since the California Film & Tax Credit Program began in 2009.
Such incentives make a big difference in the movie and TV business, California Film Commission Director Colleen Bell said.
“This industry is core to California’s creative economy and keeping production here at home is more important than ever,” she said. “This round of tax credits shows our commitment to supporting both indie and studio productions while spreading the economic benefits of filming across the state.”
The application period for the next round of tax credits will be July 7 through July 9.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Governor Newsom greenlights 48 film projects for California Film & TV Tax Credits
Reporting by Brian Day, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
