State film tax credit keeps Disney film local

California's first new film tax credit program has been panned by some filmmakers as too little too late, but it's already helping to spur at least some local production.

A low-budget Walt Disney Pictures comedy, "You Again," is the first studio feature to shoot locally after qualifying for the film credit.

The comedy, starring Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Bell and Jamie Lee Curtis, began seven weeks of filming last week in West Los Angeles. The production also will film on location in Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Monrovia, Chatsworth and Pasadena.

"You Again" is among 25 productions that have so far received credit qualification certificates from the California Film Commission. (Another project on the list, a made-for-TV movie called "Elevator Girl," began filming in Los Angeles in late July.)

Scheduled for release in 2010, "You Again" received a commitment for a tax credit totaling about $3 million. That's a significant savings for a movie with budget of less than $20 million.

"When you get a tax credit that equals $3 million, that's huge for a lower-budget movie,'' said Mario Iscovich, the movie's executive producer. "If it wasn't for this tax credit, this movie had a great chance to made somewhere else. This was the sort of movie that could have easily shot in New York or Boston.''

Although the tax credits can't be used until 2011, the film commission recently began issuing tax credit certificates and so far has issued commitments totaling $67 million. The state has authorized a total of $500 million in film tax credits through 2014.

The state program offers a 20% to 25% tax credit on qualified production expenses and excludes movies that cost more than $75 million.

It's too early to say whether they will do much to reverse the outflow of production that has pounded Southern California's entertainment economy.

But Amy Lemisch, director of the California Film Commission, says movies like "You Again," which employ more than 100 crew members (excluding extras), are a welcome boost to the local economy. "These are shows that were absolutely set to shoot elsewhere and now they are filming here. It's really having an effect," Lemisch said. 

Iscovich added: "I'm just so happy we're staying here. The people get to earn a living here in California and they can pay their taxes in the state. Lord knows California needs that."

-- Richard Verrier

25 film, TV productions among first to get California tax credits

California's effort to woo film and TV productions that have been fleeing to other states has netted its first results.

The California Film Commission on Monday announced that 25 productions had been awarded tax credits, which refund 20% or 25% of all spending in the state on so-called below-the-line employees, Hollywood parlance for behind-the-scenes crew.

Fifty-nine movies and TV shows applied for the credits once they became available on July 1. Almost all of them filed on that day, since the credits are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications that arrive on the same day are ranked randomly.

The state is awarding $67.5 million in tax credits for the 25 productions. Amy Lemisch, director of the CFC, said those movies and TV shows will spend $347 million on below-the-line employees. Lemisch said she was confident the vast majority of that money would otherwise not have been spent in California.

"Based on my talking to these producers for some quite some time before they even applied, I'm confident most of these would not have shot here without the incentives," she said.

The CFC has $32.5 million left to award in tax credits for the current fiscal year that ends June 30, 2010. But Lemisch is allowed to award credits from future fiscal years for current productions at her discretion.

Though they're being awarded now, the first tax credits won't be issued until January of 2011.

California's tax credits, where were approved in February, are relatively small compared to some other states, but many in the industry have said they are critical as productions such as "Ugly Betty," "Deal or No Deal" and "Terminator: Salvation" have shot in other states with tax credits. California's share of feature-film production has dropped from 66% in 2003 to 31% last year, according to the CFC. The effect on California  entertainment employment has been severe.

Productions using the credits include CBS Films' action flick "Faster"; DreamWorks' comedy "Dinner With Schmucks," starring Sacha Baron Cohen; and Sony's upcoming movie about the founding of Facebook, "The Social Network."

Comedy Central's "Important Things With Demetri Martin" is using a credit to help it move production from New York.

There's even a direct-to-DVD sequel from Disney that looks sure to increase employment among California dog trainers: "Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2."

-- Ben Fritz

Photo: "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." Credit: Disney Enterprises

New Mexico's Gov. Richardson comes to Hollywood, seeks Gov. Schwarzenegger's milkshake

 

Some states are so hungry to keep their slice of Hollywood, they'll even send their governors here to drum up business.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, arguably the most unabashed salesman for his state's film and TV business, was at it again Wednesday night, talking up New Mexico's generous film-production incentives to more than 30 TV studio executives who gathered for an industry dinner Wednesday night at the Little Door, a Miracle Mile eatery.

In a 10-minute speech, Richardson touted the state's generous 25% production rebate, loan program and crew base that now comprises 3,000 workers. The event was sponsored by the New Mexico local of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union.

"I'm on a recruiting trip,'' Richardson, who last year sought the Democratic party's nomination for President, said in an interview before the dinner.

Since adopting its own film incentive program in 2002, New Mexico has emerged as a major rival to California, attracting scores of TV shows and movies such as the AMC TV series "Breaking Bad" and the action movie "Terminator Salvation."

The growth of the film business in New Mexico and other states recently prompted the California Legislature to adopt its first-ever film tax credits. The California Film Commission is reviewing its first crop of applications, but the credits won't take effect until 2011.

"If we want to compete, we have to hustle, we have to stay competitive," Richardson said. "We've got the incentives, free state land. We've got the landscape and excellent weather."

Spoken like a true pitchman.

-- Richard Verrier

Photo: A film crew prepares for a shoot near Taos, N.M., last year. Credit: Theodore Y. Bott / Associated Press

Producers line up for California film tax credits

California may be teetering on financial collapse and about to pay its bills with IOUs, but that doesn't appear to be discouraging filmmakers and producers from seeking film tax credits from the state.

The California Film Commission said it received 56 applications for the tax credits on Monday, the first day companies could apply. The tax credits were adopted earlier this year by the state Legislature in an effort to keep movie and television production from migrating to other states.

"We got a great response,'' said Amy Lemisch, director of the California Film Commission, the state agency that is administering the program. Applicants included movies of the week to low-budget features, cable series and studio films, she said. "We got a little of everything."

The commission will review the applications over the next 20 days and send out "credit allocation letters" to those who qualify. Because of the interest, the commission has devised a lottery system to determine which applications will be reviewed first. The tax credits won't take effect until 2011.

To compete with cheaper locales, the 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." There are a number of 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.

-- Richard Verrier