California Productions look to Texas
For the first time, there’s a calculation of just how much coin California is losing as a result of runaway production — and it’s not a pretty picture.
According to the California Film Commission, the state has lost $2 billion in production spending since 2010.
The org’s just-released annual report on the state’s production tax-credit incentives includes an analysis of the fate of the hundreds of projects that applied for the credit but were denied via the commission’s lottery system. The report showed that in the most recent fiscal year, the 326 projects that failed to receive the credit went on to spend $211 million in California, and an eyebrow-raising $1.02 billion — or 83% of their total spending — outside the Golden State.
“The report just reinforces what we hear every day,” says Amy Lemisch, exec director of the commission. “Incentives are among the most important factors in where a project is shot.”
JULY 29, 2014 | 04:00PM PT
Dave McNary
Film Reporter@Variety_DMcNaryBack to Press Releases
