Ben Affleck weighed on what can be done to stem the wave of cinematographic and television productions moving away from California.
Speaking on the red carpet during the premiere of “The Accountant 2” this week, he said that the film incentive program and state television was not attractive enough to keep Hollywood in Hollywood.
“Other places will have better exchange rates or tax reimbursement agreements which are intended to attract this industry there because they understand how stimulating it is for savings,” Affleck told the Associated Press.
“I think that part of the problem with California was that they came to hold this industry to acquire a little.”
Filmla noted that the shooting days in the Grand Los Angeles fell by more than a fifth in the first three months of the year. The annual production of the cinema and television sector decreased by 58% between 2021 and 2024, for non -profit.
THE Los Angeles forest fires in January, will have contributed to the drop in shooting days as Several television and cinematographic productions have been interrupted.
Californian officials have taken measures to stem the wave of administrators, leaders and studios abandoning the Golden State for other jurisdictions that offer more favorable tax discounts. In October, Governor Gavin Newsom proposed more than to double the support of $ 330 million to around $ 750 million for the year 2025-26.
However, Affleck argued that “the percentage of what you recover in terms of real budget does not compete with places like England, which is why you see a lot of these great huge films in the United Kingdom.”
The production of films in California is in trouble. Aaronp / Bauer-Griffin / GC images
Affleck, who is also a producer, writer and director as well as an actor, has listed several other states which, according to him, offered “better exchange rates or tax delivery”, such as Georgia and New Mexico, which do not both have their caps on their incentive programs.
Despite this, the continuation of “The Accountant”, led by Gavin O’Connor, was partially shot in Los Angeles, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The next Netflix project by Affleck “Animals” has also been shot on site in Los Angeles.
Affleck admitted that the tax delivery programs were “controversial”, but said they had helped attract productions far from California.
Creative workers who continue their Hollywood dreams have also encouraged some to move to other entertainment centers.
As previously pointed out Business Insider, nearly 820,000 people left California between 2021 and 2022 – most of the states of this period.
On this subject, Affleck said: “If people are moving away, you know, it really hurts industry. It is really the technicians and the crew that make or break your film. You need the best people, you need good people. As a director, I know it’s true.”
Affleck’s comments follow similar feelings shared by Mel Gibson after being appointed one of President Donald Trump’s “special envoys” representing Hollywood’s interests.
In January, Gibson told Fox News that he wanted to “solve” the problem of the Californians abandoning the Golden State, referring to the two residents and those working in the entertainment industry.
People “go elsewhere because it’s more profitable. There are just a lot of prohibitive regulations and things in the way I think I think,” he said. “But I think it can be corrected.”
Gibson said that at an opportunity, it was cheaper for him to steal a crew in Europe and shoot for three days than “shoot for a day just at the bottom of the road”.
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