In an effort to highlight the
extent to which runaway production negatively affects California’s economy as a whole,
the California Film Commission recently released the results from a study
conducted by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC).
The LAEDC is funded and made up
of entertainment industry groups that include the Directors Guild of America,
the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, Teamsters Local
399, the Screen Actors Guild, the Producers Guild, the Independent Film and
Television Alliance, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, the
Motion Picture Association of America and the Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences.The study employs actual
benefits from specific California
production budgets and evaluates the impact of these budgets in relation to
income taxes, jobs, state sales and wages.
In one example of how film
production benefits the economy in California, a feature film project shot in
California with a budget of $70 million dollars was analyzed for its economic
impact. The bottom line for the resulting figures meant that $12.6 million was
generated in total resulting in $630,000 state tax revenues for California and
the part-time employment of 588 California cast and crew members and 1,182
extras.
The release of the study’s
results comes just days after the announcement of a bill backed by Governor
Schwarzenegger, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez and California Film Commissioner
Amy Lemisch that would secure a reported $50 million a year which would make it
just $15 million shy of the nations biggest film tax creditor state,
Louisiana.
But not everyone agrees that
Hollywood is the place to pump the
state’s money. Critics of the bill, or any program that would give money to
state tax incentives for in-state film and television production, say that the
money would be better spent on education whose initially promised budget was cut by $3 million this
year.
Despite the huge dip in film production in California, which has fueled the need for more tax incentives, separate reports from the Entertainment Industry Development Corporation (EIDC) recently highlighted the boom in television production in California and the continuing high demand for qualified crew members.
