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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
California Senate Approves Film & TV Tax Credits Bill
In a near-unanimous vote, the California Senate today passed its version of legislation aimed at expanding and retooling the state's Film and Television Tax Credit Program. The vote on Senate Bill 630 was 34-1, with the only nay coming from Sen. Roger Niello, who represents the city of Sacramento and surrounding areas. The bill (read it here) now moves on to the state Assembly. More from Deadline Show Us The Money: When Can Productions Expect To Reap Benefits Of California's Proposed $750M Film & TV Tax Credit Expansion? SAG-AFTRA's 'Here's Looking At You L.A.' & Mayor Karen Bass Push For State & Federal Tax Incentives To Get Hollywood Working Again Sweetened New York Production Incentives A Go As State Budget Passes Along with Assembly Bill 1138 — which passed the Appropriations Committee last month — the legislation would expand the definition of a qualified motion picture, allowing additional projects to apply for the program, including series with episodes averaging 20 minutes or more, animation films, series, and shorts, and large-scale competition shows. After years of strife for the California film and television industry, Gov. Gavin Newsom in October proposed a significant increase to the overall cap on incentives, more than doubling it from $330 million to $750M annually. SB630 and AB1138 seek to do more than just provide additional finance incentives to studios who bring physical production back to California. The sister bills also are meant to 'amend, update, and modernize' the program. The legislation comes amid the latest spurt of runaway production as other states ramp up their film and TV tax incentives programs in an effort to lure production away from California. New York last month passed a state budget that includes expanded incentives. RELATED: Also getting Hollywood's attention is President Donald Trump's bombshell announcement of planned tariffs on movies produced outside the U.S., which were decried many in the industry, along with Newsom, who said Trump has 'no authority' to impose the tariffs. Here is how the voting on SB630 went: Best of Deadline 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Issues Executive Directive To Reduce Red Tape On Local Film & TV Production
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive directive Tuesday aimed at removing some of the red tape surrounding local film and television production. The directive orders city departments to 'cut regulations and streamline processes' for the industry, per Bass' office. Those orders include making iconic locations like the Griffith Observatory, Port of LA, and the Central Library cheaper and easier to shoot at and instituting a 'proactive, film-friendly approach to communication' between productions and the city, particularly on matters that could impact filming schedules. More from Deadline SAG-AFTRA's 'Here's Looking At You L.A.' & Mayor Karen Bass Push For State & Federal Tax Incentives To Get Hollywood Working Again Sweetened New York Production Incentives A Go As State Budget Passes Donald Trump Tells Los Angeles Officials At Wildfire Briefing "I'm Going To Give You Everything You Want" - Update Bass is also directing the city to require only a single city staffer on set. Previously, multiple staffers including firefighters and retired or off-duty police could be required depending on the shoot. 'The City is taking bold action to support our legacy industry,' Bass said Tuesday. 'Keeping entertainment production in L.A. means keeping good-paying jobs in L.A., and that's what we are fighting for. I am taking action alongside Councilmember Adrin Nazarian to make sure L.A. is always the best place for film and TV production while we continue to champion making California's production tax credit more powerful. Hard working people across Los Angeles are counting on us.' Bass' action comes after the L.A. City Council passed Nazarian's motion to reduce 'onerous regulations and permitting' as well as other 'unnecessary fees, inconsistent safety requirements.' The motion directs the city's Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), and all relevant departments to report back on adjustments to city fees, permits, parking and security requirements for location shooting, filming on city-owned property and certifying new sound stages. This directive from Bass appears to be the progression of those efforts. Added Nazarian: 'I'm focused on making it easier to shoot in L.A. We need to cut the red tape and roll out the red carpet for our film crews. That means lower fees, an end to price gouging, and expedited approval for film permits. Film and TV production aren't just essential to our economy, they're essential to our identity as a city. For over a century, this industry has made Los Angeles a magnet for talent and a hotbed of innovation in culture and technology. If we want Los Angeles to remain the capital of the global entertainment industry, we need to Keep Hollywood Home.' As L.A. looks for local solutions, the response to runaway production has extended all the way to the White House after Jon Voight presented a plan to Donald Trump aimed at enticing production back from overseas. California Governor Gavin Newsom has also led the charge on increasing domestic production, and his proposal to expand the state's Film & TV Tax Credit Program is also currently making its way through the Legislature. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds All The 'Mission: Impossible' Movies In Order - See Tom Cruise's 30-Year Journey As Ethan Hunt Denzel Washington's Career In Pictures: From 'Carbon Copy' To 'The Equalizer 3'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Menendez Brothers' Attorney Seeks Lesser Voluntary Manslaughter Sentence As Hearing Begins
Relatives of Lyle and Erik Menendez testified Tuesday on why they believe the brothers should be released after serving almost three decades in prison for the 1989 murders of their parents. The brothers watched the hearing at the Van Nuys Courthouse via video screen, per the AP. It is unclear if they will make a statement during the proceedings, expected to last for two days. More from Deadline SAG-AFTRA's 'Here's Looking At You L.A.' & Mayor Karen Bass Push For State & Federal Tax Incentives To Get Hollywood Working Again Show Us The Money: When Can Productions Expect To Reap Benefits Of California's Proposed $750M Film & TV Tax Credit Expansion? Menendez Brothers Suddenly Withdraw Move To Toss L.A. DA Off Case; Resentencing Hearings Set For Next Week Their attorney, Mark Geragos, told reporters that he would seek a reduced sentence of voluntary manslaughter, something that would allow the brothers to be released without a parole board hearing. 'What we are pushing for, under the statute, is a recall of the sentence, a resentence that is meaningful modification,' he said, adding that he would seek time served for the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. The 1989 shotgun murder of the brothers' parents by the siblings returned to the spotlight in part due to the success of the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and some documentaries claiming new evidence. The Menendez brothers insist the shooting of José Menendez and Kitty Menendez was self-defense against the ongoing sexual abuse by their father, a record company executive. The brothers were sentenced in 1996 to two consecutive sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole. A lesser sentence of murder would require a hearing before the parole board, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a comprehensive risk assessment report as part of his clemency consideration. Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who opposes resentencing, told reporters that 'our position is not no, and not never. It's not yet.' 'The Menendez brothers have failed to come clean with the full extent of their criminal conduct, their cover up, their lies and their deceit in the past 30 years,' he said, calling their 'self-defense defense' a 'lie.' Hochman cited risk assessments done by board certified psychologists for the Parole Board that cited Lyle and Erik Menendez's violations of the rules by bringing cell phones into the prison. That took place after they filed their resentencing motions, Hochman said. 'This shows that not withstanding those rehabilitative efforts, their risk level is no longer low. It is moderate. There is a moderate risk of violence, because if the Menendezes are released they are not going to be in highly structured setting like a prison. If they can't follow the rules in prison, then the confidence level of these psychologists have dropped on whether they will pose a risk of violence in society.' But Geragos said that the issue before the court in the resentencing is whether there is a likelihood that the brothers 'will commit a super strike, what I call the seven deadly sins. There is zero likelihood, that's what the record reflects. No one has suggested that anywhere, anytime.' Best of Deadline TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
