A new report calls for a more robust incentive program for California, as state lawmakers remain pensive about extending film and television tax credits.
The FilmL.A. report says Los Angeles remains good for a laugh but has a distinct lack of drama -- at least in terms of television productions.
It's no secret that California is losing productions to locations in New York, Louisiana, and Canada. When it comes to TV pilots, Los Angeles was thought to have a lock because of its talent base and studio infrastructure. But drama pilots are now filming outside the Los Angeles-area by a ratio of more than 2-to-1, according to a report by the not-for-profit organization that coordinates permits for Los Angeles-area productions shot on-location.
“Without a more competitive California tax incentive program, Los Angeles will find it hard to increase its share of total TV drama production," Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A., said in a statement.
Audley is adding his voice to a coalition of interest groups -- including the Directors Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA, state film commissions, and labor unions -- that are advocating for an extension of the state's $100 million film & TV tax credit program. A five-year extension is necessary to ensure stability and help producers plan for upcoming projects, supporters say. But because of the state's dire budget situation, it seems supporters might have to be satisfied with another one-year extension of the program -- and no additional funding.
There is a bright spot for California in the FilmL.A. report. By its count, 92 of the 152 broadcast and cable television pilots were produced in Los Angeles during the 2011–2012 development cycle. That's the second most productive on record. While the Los Angeles region was home to just 29 percent of the drama pilots produced for TV, it retained 91 percent of all television comedy pilots.
The report stated that the main reason producers are choosing non-Los Angeles locations is because of money. “Drama producers use incentives to offset the increased cost of long-distance production while affording higher-end production values," according to the report.
Critics of the incentive programs say there's little value in providing tax credits to film and TV productions and that California's infrastructure alone is enough to retain the industry
