California Film Commission has chosen a record 51 feature and television projects to benefit from its tax credit initiative including the next film by Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once filmmakers The Daniels.
Collectively, the productions are estimated to spend $346.9m in wages, generate approximately $577.8m in qualified expenditures statewide, and are expected to hire 6,490 cast and crew members and 37,000 background performers measured in days worked.
The latest allocation round includes 46 independent and five non-independent films, while 31 projects plan to film in areas beyond Los Angeles including Ojai, Oakland, and San Diego County.
State governor Gavin Newsom wants to more than double the Commission’s annual allocation from $330m to $750m in a bid to stem the tide of runaway productions in light of rising costs and an increasingly sophisticated array of incentives across the United States and the world. The recent LA wildfires has exacerbated the issue.
Newsom’s office said late last year that the state’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program is oversubscribed, adding that an estimated 71% of rejected projects between 2020 and 2024 subsequently filmed out of state.
Universal’s untitled project with Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert is expected to receive $20.8m in tax credits, generating estimated wages of $61.9m and total qualified spending of $106.8m.
Selections include Temple Hill’s Janis Joplin project, expected to generate $9.9m in qualified spend, Kogonda’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell on $18.3m anticipated qualified spend, and comedy The Wrong Girls starring Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawcat on $6m.
The Film & Television Tax Credit Program’s current $1.55bn five-year allocation sunsets on June 30 and has been extended by Newsom for another five years through fiscal 2030-31.
The next film application window is April 21. Television applications will be accepted at the end of March and again in May.
Colleen Bell, director of the California Film Commission, said on Wednesday: “Now more than ever, this programme 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.”
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