Valley Studios Win Film Tax Credits

The California Film Commission selected 22 feature films to receive tax credits from the state’s expanded production incentive program. The films were chosen from among 93 applications submitted in January. This is the second set of feature films to receive credits from among the $100 million the commission will allocate. Among the films from Valley studios receiving credits are Warner Bros. Studio’s remake of “A Star is Born” and the studio’s still untitled film based on the story of kidnapped American aid worker Jessica Buchanan. Another recipient is “Marwencol” from Universal City Studios, a feature narrative based on a documentary about the life and work of artist and photographer Mark Hogancamp. The state’s expanded tax credit program, which started last fiscal year, tripled the size of California’s production incentive, from $100 million to $330 million annually. It also removed restrictions on the film budgets that under the old program had been limited to $75 million. In the current round of credits announced on Monday, an untitled Paramount Pictures film with a budget of more than $75 million was allocated some of the credits. The project will employ nearly 300 cast and crew members and bring more than $100 million in qualified in-state spending, including $50 million in wages to below-the-line-workers. Film Commission Executive Director Amy Lemisch said that keeping that project and creating jobs was great news for California. “Thanks to the expanded tax credit program we’re now on a path to win more and more battles in the fight against runaway production,” Lemisch said in a prepared statement. The application period for the next round of tax credits for television projects ends Feb. 17.