Latest news with #CaliforniaFilmCommission
Business Wire
28-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Take 2 R&S LLC Positioned as Industry Leader as California Mandates Safety Advisors in Film & TV Tax Credit Program
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the California Film Commission's recent enhancement to its Film & Television Tax Credit Program, mandating Safety Advisors on qualifying productions, Take 2 R&S LLC is proud to announce its readiness to meet this critical industry need with unparalleled expertise, infrastructure, and talent. Effective immediately, all productions receiving the California Tax Incentive must now retain Safety Advisors to oversee compliance with set safety protocols. This move—designed to elevate health and safety standards—mirrors longstanding studio-level expectations and aims to protect cast and crew across all production environments. Take 2 R&S LLC, a trusted partner in risk and safety management, is the only firm in California uniquely positioned to fulfill this mandate at scale. The company offers a turnkey solution modeled after major studio safety departments, combining decades of hands-on experience with a robust roster of certified professionals. 'This new requirement aligns perfectly with what we've been doing for years,' said Michael Tamburro, Founder of Take 2 R&S LLC. 'Our team doesn't just check boxes—we integrate safety into the culture of each production. We've built a structure that mirrors the major studios and can scale immediately to support both indie and large-scale projects.' Take 2's Safety Advisors are more than compliance officers—they are production veterans with specialized training in film and television safety standards, OSHA protocols, and incident prevention. The company supports clients with: On-set Safety Advisors tailored to each project's scale and complexity Studio-style infrastructure including incident reporting systems, site inspections, and daily safety briefings Close collaboration with producers, line staff, and labor unions to meet and exceed state mandates As Hollywood adapts to this evolving regulatory landscape, Take 2 R&S LLC is already delivering proactive, trusted solutions—ensuring productions remain eligible for tax incentives while protecting the people who bring stories to life.
Los Angeles Times
23-06-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
48 films selected for California film and TV tax credit program
The latest round of California's film and television tax credit program will provide government incentives to 48 upcoming projects, according to the California Film Commission. The slate, which includes both major studio projects and independent films, is expected to employ more than 6,500 cast and crew members and 32,000 background performers, measured in days worked. These projects will pay more than $302 million in wages for California workers, the commission said Monday. The projects are estimated to collectively generate $664 million in total spending throughout the state. Of the awarded films, five are features from major studios, including the sequel to Sony Pictures' 'One of Them Days,' which is expected to receive almost $8 million in tax credits and spend $39 million in qualified expenditures. An untitled Netflix project, which is set to film in California for 110 days, is expected to receive the largest credit of the slate at $20 million. The rest of the awarded projects are independent, with 37 of them operating on budgets under $10 million. More than half of the films will be shot in the Los Angeles area, the commission said. 'California didn't earn its role as the heart of the entertainment world by accident — it was built over generations by skilled workers and creative talent pushing boundaries,' Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. 'Today's awards help ensure this legacy continues, keeping cameras rolling here at home, supporting thousands of crew members behind the scenes and boosting local economies that depend on a strong film and television industry.' The announcement comes as the industry has expressed concern over the amount of production fleeing California in favor of other states or countries that offer more attractive tax incentives. Late last year, Newsom proposed an increase to the state's film and TV tax credit, upping the annual tax credit allocation from $330 million to $750 million in an attempt to keep production in California. In March, the commission announced it was selecting a record 51 projects with tax incentives, marking the most amount of awarded films in a single application window.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
California Assembly Passes Film Tax Bill to Expand Production Incentives
The California State Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would overhaul the state's production tax incentive program, a key step in legislators' efforts to provide support to struggling Hollywood workers. The vote on Assembly Bill 1138 was 73 in favor and one against, and comes a day after a similar bill, SB 630, passed 34-1 out of the state senate. The bills now head to the opposite houses as its co-authors say they are looking to expedite the committee vote process so that they can be passed by the legislature, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, and implemented by the California Film Commission all ideally before the legislative session ends for the year in September. 'We are in an emergency, given the unemployment levels and the loss of business in California due to the film industry, so we are working with the legislative leadership to find ways to have the bill go into effect this summer,' said Hollywood Asm. Rick Chavez Zbur, who is one of the co-authors on the bills. The two bills had language removed that calls for the program's cap to be increased from $330 million to $750 million, though that increase is still included in Gov. Gavin Newsom's revised proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. Zbur says that there is high confidence among supporters of the program expansion that the cap raise will be approved in the final budget. 'The structural support that we are receiving from all of the entertainment unions, all of the studios, independent producers, the sound stage managers and owners is uniform, and I've never seen anything like it,' he said. The two bills, known together as the California Film & TV Jobs Act, would expand the types of productions eligible for the tax credit, including animated productions and TV shows with a half-hour runtime. The bill also allows productions that shoot in Los Angeles County and other select nearby shooting locations in Southern California to be eligible for an increased tax writeoff of 35% of all eligible spending. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of film and TV production jobs in California in 2024 fell by approximately 40,000 from the all-time high recorded in 2022, when ongoing demand for streaming shows and a need to catch up on projects delayed by the 2020 pandemic helped fuel a surge in productions. But a variety of factors led to production jobs dropping not just in California but in other major American production hubs like Georgia and New York in 2024. Among them was an industry-wide cutback in production spending as media companies looked to make their streaming services profitable, as well as increased competition from other countries with their own production tax incentives. The combination of that drop in jobs and the loss of work caused by the 2023 strikes that shut down productions for 191 days has led to thousands of entertainment workers in California facing serious financial struggle and has called the future of a cornerstone of the state's economy into question. The post California Assembly Passes Film Tax Bill to Expand Production Incentives appeared first on TheWrap.
Economic Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
California Film Credit expansion claims to bring back jobs; effect remains uncertain
iStock California Film Credit expansion California legislators are moving to greatly expand the state's Film and Television Tax Credit Program as a means of stopping the flow of runawaproduction and revitalizing a struggling entertainment industry. The expansion, if approved, would double the program's annual limit from $330 million to $750 million. But, even with the broad changes, analysts and industry officials warn that the effect on employment might not be as dramatic as anticipated. As reported by the California Film Commission, the expansion would increase direct employment by 40–50%, or approximately 4,400 to 5,500 new cast and crew jobs. However, this is only a small portion of the 17,000 jobs that have been lost since 2022, according to figures presented by the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan. The Bureau of Labor Statistics further reports that California experienced a decline of approximately 40,000 jobs within the industry since before the pandemic, with some entertainment unions having claimed that as much as half of their members have been laid off. Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, chief sponsor of the expansion, recognized the limitations: 'This is not a panacea. It will not reverse the steep slide in jobs, but it will bring some of the jobs back.' He pointed out that increasing the payout might attract more high-budget films to film in California instead of abroad, although the state's incentive is still smaller per job than those from New York and Georgia. Economic studies provide conflicting views. A recent study for the Milken Institute indicated the expansion could create an additional 14,886 jobs accounting for ripple effects on the economy. The California Legislative Analyst's Office has challenged such assertions, however, to say there is "no compelling evidence" film tax credits significantly improve the overall state economy and that incentives instead could simply displace other economic activity. Industry supporters, such as Local 724's Alex Aguilar and Rebecca Rhine of the Directors Guild of America, recognize that any forward movement is necessary. Rhine commented, 'While more resources would lead to more jobs, we recognize the challenges of the current moment and competing priorities. Action is necessary now, and we cannot allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.'The California Film and Television Tax Credit Program is a state incentive program that provides film and television production companies with tax credits they can use to offset part of their qualified costs in order to incentivize them to film their productions in California. The overall objective of this program is to assist in the creation and retention of jobs within the entertainment sector in the employments of Californians that benefit not just the actors and directors but also the large network of crew, technicians, and local businesses dependent upon film and television the plan, eligible productions—feature films, TV series, miniseries, and pilots—can qualify to get tax credits normally between 20% and 25% of their qualified expenditures, based on the type of project and whether produced by an independent or non-independent credits cut into the tax obligation of the production companies directly, so it is more desirable for them to shoot in California than elsewhere in other states or nations that provide similar program is specifically designed to generate the highest employment. For example, productions have to spend a minimum of 75% of their production budget or principal photography days in California in order to qualify, so that lots of money is spent locally and employment is generated for the people of California.
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
California Film Credit expansion claims to bring back jobs; effect remains uncertain
California legislators are moving to greatly expand the state's Film and Television Tax Credit Program as a means of stopping the flow of runawaproduction and revitalizing a struggling entertainment industry. The expansion, if approved, would double the program's annual limit from $330 million to $750 million. But, even with the broad changes, analysts and industry officials warn that the effect on employment might not be as dramatic as anticipated. As reported by the California Film Commission , the expansion would increase direct employment by 40–50%, or approximately 4,400 to 5,500 new cast and crew jobs. However, this is only a small portion of the 17,000 jobs that have been lost since 2022, according to figures presented by the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan. The Bureau of Labor Statistics further reports that California experienced a decline of approximately 40,000 jobs within the industry since before the pandemic, with some entertainment unions having claimed that as much as half of their members have been laid off. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Massive Refunds Rolling Out from Close Brothers - Lookup Your Name Get Offer Undo Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, chief sponsor of the expansion, recognized the limitations: 'This is not a panacea. It will not reverse the steep slide in jobs, but it will bring some of the jobs back.' He pointed out that increasing the payout might attract more high-budget films to film in California instead of abroad, although the state's incentive is still smaller per job than those from New York and Georgia. Economic studies provide conflicting views. A recent study for the Milken Institute indicated the expansion could create an additional 14,886 jobs accounting for ripple effects on the economy. The California Legislative Analyst's Office has challenged such assertions, however, to say there is "no compelling evidence" film tax credits significantly improve the overall state economy and that incentives instead could simply displace other economic activity. Live Events Industry supporters, such as Local 724's Alex Aguilar and Rebecca Rhine of the Directors Guild of America , recognize that any forward movement is necessary. Rhine commented, 'While more resources would lead to more jobs, we recognize the challenges of the current moment and competing priorities. Action is necessary now, and we cannot allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.' What is California's Film and Television Tax Credit Program? The California Film and Television Tax Credit Program is a state incentive program that provides film and television production companies with tax credits they can use to offset part of their qualified costs in order to incentivize them to film their productions in California. The overall objective of this program is to assist in the creation and retention of jobs within the entertainment sector in the employments of Californians that benefit not just the actors and directors but also the large network of crew, technicians, and local businesses dependent upon film and television production. Under the plan, eligible productions—feature films, TV series, miniseries, and pilots—can qualify to get tax credits normally between 20% and 25% of their qualified expenditures, based on the type of project and whether produced by an independent or non-independent firm. These credits cut into the tax obligation of the production companies directly, so it is more desirable for them to shoot in California than elsewhere in other states or nations that provide similar incentives. The program is specifically designed to generate the highest employment. For example, productions have to spend a minimum of 75% of their production budget or principal photography days in California in order to qualify, so that lots of money is spent locally and employment is generated for the people of California.
