California Lawmakers Move to Hike Film Credit to 35% for L.A. Shoots, Include Animation and Sitcoms
California lawmakers are moving to increase the payout to subsidized film and TV productions in the Los Angeles area to 35%, while expanding the range of productions that qualify.
The current program provides a credit of 20% or 25% to live-action films and scripted TV shows. Under legislative language submitted on Tuesday night, eligibility would be expanded to animated films and TV shows, sitcoms and 'large-scale' competition shows.
More from Variety
Untitled Daniels Film, 'Community' Movie, 'Cut Off' Secure California Production Tax Credits
California Lawmakers Introduce Bills to Enhance Film and TV Tax Credit
Inside the Future of TV and Film Production After the L.A. Fires
Gov. Gavin Newsom promised last fall to increase the program from $330 million per year to $750 million, as the state's production workforce struggles with a severe downturn.
A bill, SB 630, was introduced last month to implement the increase. The Motion Picture Association has also argued that the program needs to become more generous on a per-project basis in order to compete with other states.
California's two largest competitors — Georgia and New York — offer 30% rebates, and include among eligible costs the 'above the line' salaries of actors, directors, producers and writers.
Lawmakers introduced an amended version of SB 630 on Tuesday, which would increase the rebate to 35% for wages and other expenses incurred within the Los Angeles zone. The zone includes anything within a 30-mile radius of Beverly and La Cienega boulevards (the historic home of the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers), as well as certain other locations like Castaic, Pomona and the Ontario airport.
The current program limits TV shows to those with episodes of at least 40 minutes, excluding sitcoms and other half-hour shows. If approved, SB 630 would lower the threshold to 20 minutes, allowing sitcoms to qualify.
'Veep,' the 30-minute HBO show, was eligible for $20 million in incentives for its final three seasons, but only because it relocated from Maryland.
The program would also become eligible to animated films, shows and shorts with a minimum budget of at least $1 million. The bill would also allow 'large-scale' competition shows to qualify, also with a minimum budget of $1 million, though it would not include game shows, reality shows, talk shows or documentaries.
The bill would also offer a 5% bonus to shows that film in an 'economic opportunity zone.' The bill would also loosen the eligibility requirements for a separate incentive for soundstage construction. Under the current rules, those incentives have all gone to one project: the expansion of the Universal lot.
A hearing is set to be held on the expansion before a state Senate committee on Wednesday. Sen. Ben Allen and Assemblymen Isaac Bryan and Rick Chavez Zbur have taken the lead on the legislation. The amendment adds several new co-authors.
Best of Variety
The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Patrick Schwarzenegger considered adopting an alias
Patrick Schwarzenegger considered adopting an "alias" earlier in his career. The 31-year-old actor - who is the son of Hollywood icon Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver - actually thought about adopting another name in order to distinguish himself from his family. Speaking to his dad, for Variety's Actors on Actors series, Patrick explained: "I feel [the weight of my name] in multiple different ways. "['White Lotus' creator] Mike White said that it comes with baggage, the idea that when you have successful parents like I do with you and mom, there's an added level of what other people think. Mike was worried about, if he cast me, what other people would think. Which they did — they did care about that; people said I got the role because of you and mom. "There were times earlier in my career where I was wondering, does it make sense to go under an alias? It took a while for me to get to a point where I was less worried about living in your shadow versus wanting to do it the way I thought I should do it." Patrick's parents instilled a solid work ethic into the actor, and he's determined to "honour" their advice. He said: "I understand how hard you and mom have worked throughout your life to give me the opportunities that I've had. The biggest advice you gave us kids is to work hard. I've tried to honour that." Patrick recently admitted that he "grew as an actor" during his time on 'The White Lotus'. Patrick played Saxon Ratliff on the hit HBO series, and he took to social media to reflect on his experience. He wrote on X: "Today's quite bittersweet. I teared up last night in the finale… First — because It was this beautiful yet devastating and profound ending - but secondly, because It was also the end of this chapter for me in my life.. "White lotus has consumed my life the past 16 months. Prepping, filming , press etc etc. It was a Beautiful chapter of my life. One that I'll never forget. One that I made everlasting relationships. A chapter That I learned immensely from. That I grew as an actor and a Human. Just a moment in life that I'm forever grateful for. (sic)"
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Where Did the $750 Million Go? Hollywood Incentive Bill Passes CA Senate Without Newsom's Pledge
Legislation aimed at modernizing and expanding California's program that provides subsidies to film and TV productions has passed the California Senate, though this version of the bill doesn't commit to increasing the cap from $330 million to $750 million a year. Tuesday's near unanimous vote was 34 to one, with the only dissent coming from Sen. Roger Niello (R-Sacramento). The bill, which now heads to the state Assembly for consideration, would vastly boost subsidies to shoot in the state to at least 35 percent while expanding the category of productions that qualify to include shorter TV shows, animated titles and certain types of unscripted projects. More from The Hollywood Reporter New Report Portrays California's Film and TV Production Environment as Uniquely Burdensome and Expensive Steven Paul, Architect of Trump Ambassador Plan to Hollywood, Buys Production Facility L.A. Mayor Vows to Cut Red Tape and Make It Easier to Shoot Movies and Shows In the City Its passage is a crucial victory for workers across Hollywood who've seen significantly less work as productions increasingly opt to shoot in other areas that offer more tax credits. It's the first step in revamping California's program amid a tit-for-tat race to host the entertainment industry. 'We need to do whatever we can to make sure California remains the number one entertainment capitol of the world,' said Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach). 'In order to do that, we need to be in the ballpark. We don't need to top other states, but we need to be in the ballpark.' If passed, Senate Bill 630 would bring the most significant changes to the program since its inception in 2009. The bill, SB 630, was spurred by a historic downturn in filming in the state. The 20 percent base credit offered by California is lower than most competitive film hubs, including New York, Georgia and the U.K. There was broad bipartisan support for the bill, with several lawmakers stressing the impact that the downturn in production has had on their districts in recent years. 'The domino effect is vast,' said Sen. Carolina Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley), whose district includes Burbank. 'This impacts dry cleaners and the people with small restaurants around these studios. They've noted a decreased amount of pedestrian traffic to their businesses because they're surrounded by studios and there's not a lot of work.' Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares(R-Santa Clarita) said that soundstages and postproduction houses in her district are suffering as productions opt to work with vendors in other states and countries. She pointed to the first season of Amazon's Fallout filming in New York despite the story taking place in a post-apocalyptic California (season two opted to shoot in California after receiving tax credits). 'We're losing significant ground,' she said. 'Other states have built entire industries luring production away from California.' Under the bill, productions could get 35 percent of their spend back for costs incurred in the states. An additional five percent credit would also be available for shooting in certain areas outside Los Angeles. And in a bid to keep up with other regions broadening the types of productions that can receive subsidies, TV shows consisting of two or more episodes of at least 20 minutes would qualify for the program, which currently only allows series with episodes of at least 40 minutes to qualify. Other productions that could get credits under the revisions to the bill include sitcoms, animated films, series or shorts and 'large-scale competition' shows, excluding reality, documentary programming and game or talk shows. They must have budgets of at least $1 million. The bill, however, doesn't contemplate allowing any portion of above-the-line costs, like salaries for actors, directors and producers, to qualify for subsidies. California is currently the only major film hub to maintain such a scheme. Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) said that the state wants to 'avoid a race to the bottom.' He added that the program is 'grounded in jobs creation and economic activity' unlike Georgia's. The legislation is expected to meet more resistance on Thursday at the state Assembly, where lawmakers could express concerns over increasing subsidies to film and TV productions as the state proposes major cuts to health care and universities. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Arnold Schwarzenegger Makes Bold Comment About Son's 'White Lotus' Scenes
Arnold Schwarzenegger Makes Bold Comment About Son's 'White Lotus' Scenes originally appeared on Parade. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, 77, made a bold comment regarding his son, Patrick Schwarzenegger's NSFW scenes in the third season of the HBO series, The White Lotus. Entertainment Weekly reported that Arnold and his 31-year-old son, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Maria Shriver, had a conversation about their respective careers during a June 2025 episode of Variety's Actors on Actors. Arnold said he was surprised when he saw Patrick's character, Saxon Ratliff, naked on screen. "I couldn't believe [it]. I said to myself, 'I'm watching your show, and I'm watching your butt sticking out there.' And all of a sudden, I see the weenie. What is going on here? This is crazy," said Arnold during the interview with his son. Arnold then said he could not be upset with his son because he has also appeared nude in a few of his projects. "Then I said to myself, 'Well, Arnold, hello. You did the same thing in Conan and Terminator, so don't complain about it.' It was a shock to me that you were following my footsteps so closely," said the former governor of California. He also said he was proud of his son's acting ability. "Your acting surprised the hell out of me. Not that I didn't know you're good. But it was just unbelievable, the kind of stuff that you did in the show," said Arnold to Patrick. Patrick's mother has also shared her opinion of his work on The White Lotus Season 3. During an April 2025 interview on The TODAY Show, Shriver clarified that Patrick is nothing like Saxon, who makes several questionable decisions. "Patrick is not like Saxon. I just want to clear that up. Because people say, 'Is Patrick like Saxon?' I'm like, 'Do you think I would have raised a Saxon?'" said Shriver with a laugh. She also said she "is so happy" for her son that he found his big break on The White Lotus. Arnold Schwarzenegger Makes Bold Comment About Son's 'White Lotus' Scenes first appeared on Parade on Jun 3, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
