State resorts to lottery to dole out film tax credits
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Demand for the state’s new film tax credit program is so high that the California Film Commission
will use a lottery system next month to select which applicants get reviewed first.
‘No one needs to send a PA [production assistant]to camp outside for five nights on Hollywood Boulevard,’’ Amy Lemisch, director of the California Film Commission, told a crowd of production executives at a reception in West Hollywood today.
The film commission, the state department that is running the film tax credit program, has been inundated with phone calls from film and TV producers inquiring about how they can apply for the credits.
Amid rising evidence that the state was losing shows to other cheaper locales, the state Legislature this year agreed to allocate $500 million in film tax credits over a five-year period. Producers can obtain a tax credit totaling 20% to 25% of ‘qualified production expenses.’ But there are key restrictions: Only feature films that cost $75 million or less are eligible. The program also is limited to new basic cable TV series, movies of the week or miniseries and existing TV series that move back to California.
Despite the limitations, there’s plenty of interest. Lemisch expects up to 50 applications will pour in July 1, when the program debuts. However, the state only has enough money to fund about 30 projects in the first year. That has led some to question how effective the program will be at curbing so-called runaway production.
But Lemisch predicts the program will have an immediate effect. ‘If I can keep 30 projects, that’s millions of dollars in revenue and hundreds of jobs that would have otherwise left the state.’
-- Richard Verrier
