Latest news with #StayInLA
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
California State Senators Call for 35% Tax Credit for All Los Angeles Productions, Aim to Add Animation and Sitcoms
California lawmakers behind one of the two bills intended to expand the state's film and TV tax incentive program have unveiled the legislation's full language, which includes calls to expand the types of productions eligible and offer a 35% credit to all productions based in Los Angeles. In the full language of Senate Bill 630 first introduced by Santa Monica State Sen. Ben Allen, changes to the tax credit program include reducing the runtime required for a TV show to be eligible for incentives from 40 minutes to 20 minutes. The 40-minute threshold was established during the last major overhaul of the program in 2014 to prioritize prestige TV dramas. But with TV productions once regularly filmed in California now leaving the state for more lucrative tax credit packages, the 20-minute threshold would allow sitcoms to apply for the incentives. The bill also proposes expanding the eligibility list for the credit to include 'animation films, series, and shorts, and large-scale competition shows' with a minimum budget of $1 million. Such a proposal comes as much of Hollywood animation has been outsourced to other countries like Canada, England and France, the latter of which being where 'Despicable Me' studio Illumination does much of its production business. But the proposal does make a notable exception to that expanded eligibility, saying that 'traditional reality, game shows, talk shows, or documentary television programming' would not be included. TheWrap has reached out to Sen. Allen's office for further clarification. To further incentivize production in Los Angeles, the bill proposes increasing the tax credit to 35% for any production that shoots within the thirty-mile radius of Beverly and La Cienega Boulevard, as well as other Southern California shooting locations such as Agua Dulce, Pomona, and Ontario International Airport. That expansion comes as entertainment workers in Los Angeles have launched the Stay In LA campaign, calling on studios, filmmakers, unions and lawmakers to come together to do all it can to bring productions back to Hollywood to help crew members and others in the industry who have seen their financial stability shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 strikes and this past January's wildfires along with the ongoing production exodus. The bill stops short of Stay In LA's topline demand, which is to uncap the tax credit program for three years as an emergency measure to bring as many productions back to Los Angeles as possible. SB 630 is set for a hearing by the California Senate rules committee on Wednesday. A companion bill, Assembly Bill 1138, has also been introduced with details of its proposed changes still forthcoming. The post California State Senators Call for 35% Tax Credit for All Los Angeles Productions, Aim to Add Animation and Sitcoms appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stay In LA To Hold Sun Valley Rally In April
Since its launch earlier this year, Stay In LA, the campaign designed to encourage more production to return to the city following the devastating wildfires, has hit over 22,000 signatures to petition. The group behind the campaign is now launching their first live event, a rally in Sun Valley. More from Deadline Andy Garcia, Jonathan Nolan & Paul Feig Join Stay In LA As Campaign Continues To Build Momentum Keanu Reeves & Bette Midler Join Stay In LA Campaign As 15,000+ Call For Local Production Boost Stay In LA: 6,000+ Including LeVar Burton & Alison Brie Sign Petition Calling For More Incentives To Bring Back Production After Wildfires The event will take place at SirReel Studios at 8500 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley, CA between 2pm and 6pm with organizers expecting 'hundreds' of people to attend. The rally will feature speeches from industry leaders, union representatives, and community members, with a full list expected next week, along with opportunities for attendees to learn how they can support the movement. 'Los Angeles is at a crossroads,' said Pamala Buzick Kim, CA United Board Chairperson and Stay in LA co-founder, 'If we don't act now, we risk losing the very industry that built this city's reputation. This rally is about sending a clear message: We're staying in LA, and we need real solutions to keep our jobs here.' This comes after the likes of Keanu Reeves and Bette Midler publicly supported the cause. The campaign was launched by the Buzick Kim as well as Channel Zero writer Alexandra Pechman, Lessons In Chemistry director Sarah Adina Smith, Wes Bailey, Marie Dunaway, Nick Antosca, Julie Plec, Michael Sucsy, and Alex Winter. The group has proposed uncapping the tax incentive for productions that shoot in LA County for the next three years as part of the overall disaster relief effort as well as calling on the studios and streamers to pledge at least 10% more production in LA over the next three years. They want to uncap mediums to also bolster short-form productions such as commercials as well as post-production work, want to reduce or eliminate permit fees to lower the cost of production and address insurance restrictions. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery How To Watch 'Wicked: Part One': Is The Film Streaming Yet? All The Songs In 'Severance' Season 2: From The Who To Ella Fitzgerald
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
#StayInLA Campaign Aimed at Bolstering Hollywood Production Accelerates
Hollywood heavyweights have started a campaign "Stay in LA" to pressure California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the California State Legislature and the city council to join forces in working on critical measures to incentivize entertainment production in the city.A Stay In LA petition created by "film/TV workers and concerned citizens of Los Angeles in the wake of the Eaton, Hughes, and Palisades Fires," has already garnered nearly 20,000 signatures. The creatives behind the push wrote: "We were already deeply worried about the livelihoods of Los Angeles area cast and crew, not to mention the countless small businesses suffering from production moving out of state and overseas. The fires have made a desperate situation worse. We are terrified that the city we love so much may lose its most vital resource: its people."Among the thousands who lost everything in the wind-fueled infernos that ripped through Los Angeles for weeks, killing 29 Angelenos, were more than a dozen celebrities. Paris Hilton. Mel Gibson. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, who shared a touching Instagram post about how the fire left a heart-shape in their son's bed."The one positive sign i saw as our house burned down was ours sons bed burned in the shape of a heart. A sign of how much love was in this house so thankful for all the years and memories there with our family," Pratt wrote. As countless Angelenos work to rebuild their lives, other actors - including Keanu Reeves, Kevin Bacon, Bette Midler, Olivia Wilde - along with directors, showrunners, and writers are asking Job losses centered on television and movie productions in Los Angeles were already staggering before the wildfires devoured thousands of homes and businesses and displacing 150,000 in and around the devastating burn zones. Stay in LA organizers want California politicians to uncap the tax incentive for productions that shoot in L.A. county for the next three years, as well as studios/streamers to pledge at least 10% more production in LA over the next three years. Newsom has already authored a proposal to increase California's film/tv tax incentive to $750 million annually, which needs the approval of the legislature. Last summer Bass implemented an Entertainment Industry Cabinet in an effort to keep production jobs in LA, but those measures have not stemmed the loss of L.A. based work, writers, actors, and below the line workers say. Get Your Daily Dose! Sign up for The Daily Brief to receive Los Angeles Magazine's latest stories directly in your inbox. Subscribe below or by clicking here.
