Earlier this week, Governor Newsom and the California Film Commission announced 52 approved Feature Film projects to be eligible to receive the California Film and Television Tax Credits. 

This is the second round of announced productions, first being television projects, that have been approved under the newly expanded and modernized program. To date, since the expansion of our California Film and Television Jobs Program in July,  we have seen a total of 74 projects announced with an estimate of employment of 15,400 cast and crew and 92,100 background. 

Of the 52 projects selected in this round, we saw both major motion studio backed and independent productions, estimated to employ around 8,900 cast and crew. This is a good sign for our program as it speaks to the renewed competitive nature of California within the film and television incentive space. Seeing major studio feature films apply, even without the inclusion of above-the-line provisions, shows that the additional uplifts in our program have still attracted some of these films to seek the incentive.

While the projects selected to receive the incentive are not officially guaranteed to end up choosing California as home, as it is ultimately up to the company, and production planning could still change, there were many positive take aways from yesterday’s announcement to be noted:   

• This round for feature applications saw applications nearly double compared to the last film round under Program 3.0 – the previous iteration of the program before it was expanded earlier this year.
• These projects represent $1 billion in qualified in-state spending and are inclusive of $629 million in qualified wages.
• The announced projects include 511 filming days outside of the Los Angeles area – known as “out-of-zone filming days – representing the highest total in a single application round in program history.
• Major studio projects are doubling down on California, but we are also saw much more higher budget indie productions applying and among the applicants. This is directly tied to changes made in the modernization provisions that increased the % of the total ownership cap and larger piece of the total pot they are able to receive.  
• Since July, the expanded funding has proven to be able to enlist both new television series and additional features.
• Under the new terms of our program, and with the doubling of the application windows, before the end of the year, we will see another round of television projects and feature films announced to be eligible for the tax credit. 

Read the full update from the California Film Commission here.

Our Entertainment Union Coalition continues to work collaboratively to meet with elected officials keeping Local production issues on top of mind. EUC leaders have also been participating in events that highlight the impact of our industry on the local economy and discuss the importance of keeping California competitive as we continue to see other incentive programs grow and change. 

We will be looking to engage our members on the visibility and importance of keeping production strong, specifically for our Los Angeles economy, as we know it touches almost all of our communities, neighborhood businesses, friends, family and more. 

Stay tuned for more updates from our Coalition and ways to stay involved to “Keep California Rolling.”