Some 1,500 cinema and television workers should join this weekend in Los Angeles by supporting the restoration of lost production jobs, while industry continues to fight with a slowdown in content.
Union and commercial leaders put pressure for more than double the incentive to the California production tax and to open the program to a wider range of projects, including sitcoms and animations. Governor Gavin Newsom initially proposed to put an incitement from $ 330 million to $ 750 million in October, but the bill must always go through a legislature that faces competing priorities.
“We want to maintain pressure on all our politicians to make sure they see it until the end,” said Wes Bailey, CEO of Sirreel Studio Services, which welcomes the rally on Sunday afternoon to Sun Valley.
California is not the only one to see a significant drop in production jobs. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, none of the three largest production centers in the country – California, New York and Georgia – has completely recovered from the decline that even started before the strikes in 2023.
The slowdown has reached particularly strong in California, which remains the largest production center in the country.
“We knew in 2022 that there would be a huge change in our industry. What the studios were doing – the whole war in streaming – could not have been supported,” said Pam Elfea, vice -president of History for Hiry, an accessory rental company based in North Hollywood. “What we have not seen coming is how long bad weather was going to last.”
Elyea is a member of California Production Coalition, a group of studio and auxiliary companies who have joined the Motion Picture Association, the lobbying branch of the seven major studios.
The coalition is only one of the many, including California United, maintains California Rolling and stays in Los Angeles – who urge legislators to help relaunch the industry. The stay campaign formed after the devastating fires in January and called to eliminate the ceiling on the incitement of the film for three years to help the recovery.
“We really have to understand what is going on here in Los Angeles,” said Marie Dunaway, a producer based in Los Angeles, who noted that the company was also beaten by the pandemic and strikes. “It’s really a time when we need to get the public and the government and business leaders in terms of need to preserve this community at”
Last week, Senator Ben Allen and other legislators unveiled the revisions of SB 630, the bill to hike in the state incentive program. Legislators intend to pass the fiscal incentive from 20% to 35% for productions based in Los an
The bill is still in mass, while the leaders of the AMP and the Union continue to negotiate some of the fine points. The MPA proposed to eliminate the requirement that 75% of a production be filmed in California in order to qualify. The unions have rejected this, arguing that the incentive should be used to keep as many jobs in California as possible, and not to subsidize projects mainly filmed in other states or abroad.
California Production Coalition also pushes to add advertisements, post-production and the notation of music to incentive.
“I think we are approaching an agreement,” said Allen on Friday.
He said it was “optimistic” that the expansion will be approved by the Legislative Assembly, but that it is not guaranteed.
“The global conditions are very unpredictable to say the least,” said Allen, D-Santa Monica. “We have to do our job to ensure that colleagues from the whole state see merit and benefit.”
The legislative committees kept two hearings on the bill and heard often emotional testimonies from the movie workers who had lost their health insurance or who were forced to make a descent.
“There was no work,” said Cecilia Hyoun, a chief editor whose last job was in 2023. “My house was down. I had two years of emergency savings. They left.”
Although the legislators paid tribute to the state signature industry, some have also expressed their concern about budgetary constraints and noted that AMP also supports cinematographic incentives in Georgia and New York.
“How does the administration make sure we are not played?” Asked Senator Christopher Cabaldon, D-West Sacramento.
The Alex Lee assembly, D-San Jose, said in an interview that the budgetary situation had become more precarious since last fall, in the light of the Trump fires and actions.
“The federal government cracks us towards another recession,” he said. “We literally speak:” How does he not cut medical for the poor? ” And “how to ensure that school lunches are paid?” We are in this serious crisis.
Rebecca Rhin, the president of entertainment Union Coalition, argued that incentive helps to stimulate tourism and strengthen communities by offering well -paid jobs.
“We do not consider this as a kind of gift,” said the Rhine, who is also executive director of Directors Guild of America. “We think the state gets something really precious for that. We believe most legislators will land with us on this. ”
New York is passing its incentive to the film from $ 700 million to $ 800 million a year, while the country’s second production godfather confronts its own slowdown. The incitement of Georgia is not capped, but production has also also decreased.
Even some supporters of expansion in California say that others will be necessary to restore solid employment levels.
“I do not think it will be the resolution which is the end of the industry,” said Pamala Buzick Kim, co-founder of Stay in the “but at least that is part of the conversation and more competitive”.
While unions and studios continue to negotiate, there does not seem to be a discussion to exceed $ 750 million – and even less elimination from the ceiling.
“We live in a world with parameters, and we work in these parameters,” said Rhine. “If there was more money, we take more money. But we are not going to let the perfect being the enemy of good. ”
