MTV's "Teen Wolf," for instance, will shoot 24 episodes in California thanks to the state's Film & Television Tax Credit Program. The series, which is airing its second season, was filming in Atlanta, Ga.
"Teen Wolf" was among the 28 projects that the California Film Commission awarded conditional tax credits. Ten other TV series received a share of the $100 million in credits, including TNT's legal drama "Franklin & Bash," ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars," and TBS's "The Wedding Band," which stars Brian Austin Green.
Funding also went to one studio film and nine independent film projects. Among those indie features are "10 Things I Hate About Life," the follow-up to "10 Things I Hate About You," which has Hayley Atwell attached. Also winning the first-round credit lottery was "Jesus in Cowboy Boots," an independent feature set on the Texas-Oklahoma border; and "Baggage Claim," a romantic comedy about a flight attendant in a frantic search for a mate.
One independent miniseries and five independent movies of the week also received tax credits.
The application window opened June 1 and saw 322 submissions arrive before close of business. That's up from 176 projects submitted on the first day last year. The $100 million in incentives translates to $683 million in production money being spent in California, including nearly $265 million in qualified wages, according to CFC estimates. Moreover, the 28 productions will employ an estimated 2,900 cast members, 2,800 crewmembers, and 57,000 extras and stand-ins.
SAG-AFTRA released a statement affirming its support for the program.
"The California production incentive ensures that our members can continue to work in California's heritage industry -- entertainment -- and that our business can continue as an integral part of our state's economy as it has been for almost 100 years," the union said.
Meanwhile, those that don't get the credit on the first try shouldn't despair, Amy Lemisch, executive director of the CFC, told Back Stage.
"We do clear a lot of projects off the waitlist throughout the year," she said, "because projects fall out or don't spend as much as they thought."
The six-year, $600 million program was designed to anchor productions in-state that would otherwise leave California due to incentives offered by other states and countries. New York state, for instance, offers $420 million annually in film tax credits. That makes California's program look "modest," Lemisch admitted. "We don't have as much funding as other places, and our demand is greater."
The process of doling out the credits has begun as lawmakers in Sacramento are still waiting to take action on legislation granting a five-year extension to the program.
A coalition of interest groups -- including the Directors Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA, state film commissions, and labor unions -- is advocating for the measure.
With lawmakers embroiled in budgetary concerns, though, it appears a vote on the extension won't happen until later in the summer. One source familiar with the process called it a "moving target"; another said it should happen in July or possibly early August.
Two extension bills are running on parallel tracks in the state Legislature. State Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Sylmar, is pushing the bill in the upper chamber, while Assembly Member Felipe Fuentes, D-Montebello, has similar legislation going through the Assembly. Both pieces of legislation are still in committee.
Fuentes' bill, A.B. 2026, is expected to come up for a vote in the Appropriations Committee at the end of June and then go to a vote in the full Assembly. Calderon's bill, S.B. 1167, is slated for a vote in the Governance and Finance Committee on June 13, according to his office.
But it's not guaranteed to pass and move on to a full vote in the state Senate, which last year rejected a similar proposal in favor of a one-year extension of the program. As one legislative hand put it, "The game's in the Senate." Still, others believe that Fuentes' bill has a better chance of clearing the Assembly and arriving in the upper chamber with momentum, which could help its passage. Either way, it seems inevitable the debate over the extension will be tied in to the broader discussion about the grim budget picture.
Source: www.backstage.com
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