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Joint Hearing Emphasizes Importance Of Local L.A. Production

by ScreenCraft Staff on October 9, 2013

Within the past few days, news reports surfaced about the state of local film and TV production in L.A. The need to keep production jobs in Los Angeles was also the subject of a joint hearing today.

According to an article published in Variety on Oct. 4, "California Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) and state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) said that they plan to introduce a film and TV production tax credit legislation in January."

To discuss crafting legislation regarding the California and Television Tax Credit Program, a joint oversight hearing of two California Assembly committees took place today at the SAG-AFTRA headquarters in Los Angles.

The group of people present at the hearing included politicians and businesspeople, who agreed that spending more money is necessary to keep movie and TV production jobs in California.

The Hollywood Reporter covered the story, quoting political director of L.A. County Federation of  Labor, Rutsy Hicks, who, like many at the hearing, emphasized the importance of working to keep film and TV production local.

“Behind the glitz and glamor of the Hollywood lights, there are real people -- hard working men and women who make the regular people into stars,” said Hicks. "Keeping Californians working in California is something we can all agree on."

Though FilmL.A. recently announced a 9.5 percent increase in local L.A. production this quarter compared to this time last year, production jobs have been leaving California and moving elsewhere. The level of L.A.-area production is not as high today as it was in the 1990s.

California's 4-year old incentive tax credit program currently provides $100 million in tax credits each year. Feature films are eligible if their budgets are under $75 million.

As reported in The Hollywood Reporter article, “It just seems like a no-brainer for us to expand the pool of money,” Ruben Gonzalez, VP of public policy and political affairs for the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce told the committee members. “Rethink the regulations, rethink the cap (on how much any one production can receive) and have it set for a longer period than the few years we do now. The one thing every business needs is certainty when they invest.”

Tax break or not, it can pay to cut costs. Check out Cameron Cubbison's ScreenCraft post: Video: Adam Simon Talks Budgeting On The Page

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