Backstage: "Members of the entertainment industry are eager keep California's film tax credit program in tact.
During a hearing before members of the Assembly Select Committee on the Preservation of California's Entertainment Industry on Friday, filmmakers, actors, union leaders and more testified to the success of the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program, which offers 20-25% tax breaks on in-state productions.
4 comments:
I had heard that a lot of films were recently shooting in Louisiana my home state but I had no idea it was because of the taxes in California. Even though this might be bad for California I have to say that is has been helping New Orleans at least. Tons of movies are filming there and in the state of Louisiana and its bring the city money and tourism that has been lacking since Hurricane Katrina. Maybe theses taxes aren't completely bad. It's bringing films to different and interesting locations that are probably helping other states and cities.
The problem of taxes on films has always been a problem. Of course in the city where most films get made the tax is the highest which is why so many films go out of state. They film everywhere from Arizona, to Louisiana, and even in Pittsburgh PA. Recently in the news I have heard about Pittsburgh getting rid of its film tax credit. I never heard the end result of this, but there is some benefit from having these large films crews come to Pittsburgh.
I know the article really is about the taxes, but one of the things besides the taxes which really drives films to shoot in other states is being able to be on location. When you shoot outside a house you can easily stay in California for your suburban neighborhoods or beachy palaces, but I know the appeal of Gittzburgh is that there are streets from different time periods. There may be Victorian style houses in California, but they are spread out amongst a city. In places like Pittsburgh, which has been growing through many time periods, will have a neighborhood or street from each decade or prominent architectural style. In California you have to build a series of faceades to get a street of eighteenth century houses, in Glittzburgh you dont, you just block off a street for a bit.
Abby and Kelli bring up really great points about bringing the film industry (as well as the revenue generated from it) to new locations around the country. Meg touched on the ability to shoot on location when you move outside the confines of LA, which brings a lot more life to the film. Your cookie cutter, Dawson's Creed neighborhood or CGI landscape can't really rival movies like True Grit and the Lord of the Rings series, who achieved a truly natural looking and stunningly beautiful aesthetic by shooting on location. Echoing the previous comments, perhaps the film taxes are a blessing in disguise.
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