California is golden again --- 50 projects approved for production perks

Well .. this is good news and I hope this is not just a band-aid.
--Jean-Luc


Touting the state's new production incentives, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed Monday that 36 film and TV productions are set to shoot in Hollywood's home state during the current quarter as a direct result of the program.

The governor said Monday 50 projects have been approved for the program to date. The projects have a combined budget of at least $467 million.

"Productions that were slated to film outside the state have shifted gears and are now shooting in California because of our film and television incentive," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "This is not only great news for our production workers but for the thousands of small businesses that support film and television production in California and our state's economy as a whole."

The announcement noted that Sony Pictures Television's new drama for FX, "Lawman," will begin production shortly in Santa Clarita -- even though the show's set in Kentucky and the pilot episode was lensed in Pennsylvania.

Other incentive-backed projects slated to begin production this quarter include Screen Gems' "Burlesque," Sony's "Social Network," DreamWorks' "Dinner for Schmucks" plus indies "Beginners," "The Raise," "Answers to Nothing" and "Max Rose," starring Jerry Lewis.

The California Film Commission, which administers the program, said 50% of the approved projects are indie features, 22% are studio features, 8% are direct-to-DVD films, 14% are telepics and 6% are TV series. Fourteen projects have already begun lensing, and 22 more will begin shooting before the end of the year while the remainder will begin filming early next year.

The state's five-year, $500 million tax credit program covers 20% of below-the-line expenses for productions of up to $75 million. It can be sweetened to 25% of expenses for indie feature productions of up to $10 million -- and for all existing TV shows that relocate to California.

The state Legislature approved the production incentive program in February as part of a massive package of $12 billion in tax hikes.