Hollywood Pushes California Legislature For Filming Incentive Extension..

Lobbyists, including the Motion Picture Association of America, look to extend a $500-million tax credit to keep TV and film production in the state.
A coalition of Hollywood unions, moguls and lobbying groups are pushing the California state legislature to extend a five-year, $500-million tax credit to promote filming of TV shows and movies in the state. But the measure is getting push-back from some who feel the benefit to the entertainment industry is coming at the expense of college students, the sick and the poor, all of whom have seen government services cut as California faces a budget crunch.

A peerless ruling: MPAA wins $110 mil in TorrentSpy suit

Q&A: Meet New MPAA Chief Chris Dodd
The Los Angeles Times reports that the tax credit, which was originally passed in 2009 under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, offers a rebate of up to 25 percent of qualified production expenses. The money goes to sales or business-use taxes, but isn't used to pay actor salaries.
The program was originally supposed to run through 2014, but $400 million in rebates have already been distributed. In order to keep the program going through 2012, an extension would be required.
Those opposed to the credit extension cite the hardships already being imposed on the state's education system as a reason not to devote further resources to the entertainment industry. The continuing economic difficulties across the country have led at least five states to end or suspend their filming incentive programs over the last two years.
Those in favor of the extension point to a study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. that found $3.8 billion had been added to the state economy, as well as 20,000 jobs, because of the tax credit. However, some question the reliability of the study, which was sponsored by Motion Picture Association of America.
The full extension has passed the Assembly, but the Senate has limited it to one year, provided the state reaches revenue targets through the rest of 2011. Those behind the extension may wait until the Legislature reconvenes in January to push for the full five-year extension.

Thank you Hollywood Reporter

Have a great day ☼

------------------------------------------------------ --> Submit to:

Show contact info

In order to avoid all the SCAMS, we decide not to publish all the info of the recruter in the job postings. You'll find the Daily Password in our Monthly Newsletter. You can Subscribe to our Newsletter here Thanks. A. www.chicas-productions.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> Translate post:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read more

Hollywood lobbies to extend tax credit for California filming

Hollywood moguls and unions ask California Legislature to extend a $500-million tax credit for film and television show productions in the state.

Hollywood is lobbying the California Legislature to grant a five-year extension of tax credits that the industry maintains are necessary to keep jobs in the state. (Ann Johansson / For The Times / February 11, 2010)

By Nicholas Riccardi and Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times
September 4, 2011, 7:25 p.m.
Hollywood wants a $500-million blockbuster out of Sacramento.

In the final days of the legislative session, the industry is seeking a five-year extension of a tax credit for producing films and television shows in California. It has assembled a powerful coalition of moguls and unions, who argue that failing to re-up the program risks losing film jobs to states offering even more generous rebates.

That is something, advocates argue, that the state with the second-highest jobless rate in the nation cannot afford. "This is a proven program that creates jobs and stimulates the economy," said Vans Stevenson, senior vice president of government affairs for the Motion Picture Assn. of America. "Our companies are all based in California, and we want to see the industry grow here."

But California is also the state with the largest budget deficit, and opponents balk at reserving $500 million for industry incentives at a time when lawmakers are slashing social services, laying off teachers and raising tuition at public universities.

"It's a little unusual to me that a Democratic-controlled Legislature would give $500 million to corporations when they've so viciously cut poor people and sick people over the last four years," said Dave Low of the California School Employees Assn., one of the few unions to oppose the measure.

The debate comes as many states — spurred by the economic downturn — have begun to question the efficacy of using public money to lure film production. At least five states have ended or suspended their programs in the last two years.

Still, nearly 40 states continue to have some sort of film incentive, and there is little doubt that many have poached productions from California. "Battle: Los Angeles," for example, was filmed mainly in Louisiana, which has an aggressive program to lure Hollywood shoots. The HBO series "Mildred Pierce" was set in Glendale but filmed in New York. Producers had to import palm trees.

The proposal to extend California's film credit sailed through the Assembly. But in the Senate, the extension was limited to $100 million over a single year, contingent on the state hitting revenue targets through 2011. Should they drop, up to $4 billion in cuts would land on colleges and kindergarten-through-12th-grade education in January.

"I don't think it would be the right signal to extend the tax credit under those circumstances," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).

But a single-year-extension, the bill's backers say, is not enough. "It's important for us to … signal to the industry that California is committed to [its] future," said Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes (D-Sylmar), author of the bill.

The initial tax credit passed as part of the 2009 budget deal between the Democratic Legislature and an avid film industry supporter, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The $500-million program gives a rebate of up to 25% of qualified production expenses. It can be used to offset any sales or business-use taxes that production companies have with the state but cannot be used to pay actors' salaries.

"The people this benefits aren't living in Brentwood or Beverly Hills," said Thom Davis of Local 80 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, noting that large film shoots employ up to 300 cast and crew members, such as grips and camera operators. "They live in Reseda, Burbank and North Hollywood. Every time one of my members isn't working, they are collecting unemployment benefits. And that doesn't benefit business or the California economy."

Although the initial program ran through 2014, more than $400 million in rebates — which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis — have been distributed. The last ones are expected to go out next summer. Fuentes said that if he can't persuade the Senate to grant an extension of more than one year, he may opt to try again when the Legislature reconvenes in January. For the program to continue in 2012, a two-thirds vote of the Legislature would be needed to implement it on an expedited basis.

In arguing for a full extension, advocates cite a study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. that found the program so far had pumped $3.8 billion into California's economy and created 20,000 jobs.

Skeptics noted that the study was sponsored by the MPAA and that some examinations of other states' programs have found they don't create enough jobs to recoup their cost.

Jean Ross of the California Budget Project, which advocates for greater spending on social services, said that the annual $100-million cost of the credit is about the same amount the Legislature has hiked community college fees. "In essence," she said, "we have taxed community college students to give a tax break to Hollywood."

thanks the Los Angeles Times !

Have a great day ☼

------------------------------------------------------ --> Submit to:

Show contact info

In order to avoid all the SCAMS, we decide not to publish all the info of the recruter in the job postings. You'll find the Daily Password in our Monthly Newsletter. You can Subscribe to our Newsletter here Thanks. A. www.chicas-productions.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> Translate post:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read more

Industry News: Former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, a veteran Washington insider, is Hollywood's new chief lobbyist.

Former Sen. Chris Dodd to head Motion Picture Assn. of America

March 1, 2011 | 10:40 am
Former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, a veteran Washington insider, is Hollywood's new chief lobbyist.

The Motion Picture Assn. of America said Tuesday that Dodd will become the new chief executive of the MPAA, the lobbying arm for the main studios that also oversees the film ratings system.

Dodd succeeds Dan Glickman, a former Kansas congressman and Secretary of Agriculture, who stepped down a year ago after five years on the job. Dodd will pull down more than $1.5 million in salary, 25% greater than the $1.2 million Glickman received.

In selecting Dodd, the MPAA's board is counting on the one-time U.S. presidential hopeful to restore some of the clout that the organization had during the four decades it was run by the legendary Jack Valenti, the former aide to President Lyndon Johnson who turned the lobbyist's role into a starring turn.

Dodd's appointment caps a year-long search for a successor that showed how much the MPAA job, once a coveted position, has diminished in recent years. Last summer, the job looked like it was going to be filled by former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.). But the MPAA's board eliminated him from consideration after he expressed last-minute reservations and the prospect of moving to Washington from his home in New York.

The 66-year-old Dodd is taking over the MPAA at critical time for the organization and the film studios whose interests it represents. 

The major media companies are suffering from declining DVD sales, which have traditionally been a main source of revenue; falling theater attendance; and a digital revolution that is disrupting the entertainment industry's longtime business models. The studios are also threatening to make movies available for home viewing earlier, angering theater owners who believe it will undercut ticket sales.

In addition, Hollywood is facing the seemingly intractable problem of how to stem losses from piracy, which have accelerated as broadband Internet access spreads worldwide, making it easier for consumers to watch movies and TV shows without paying for them. Pressing countries such as China to open its market further to American entertainment is another priority for the MPAA.

As Glickman experienced, Dodd's biggest challenge will be to wrangle consensus among the five major studios, which are all now units of competing media conglomerates with often conflicting agendas.

Even on issues on which there is broad consensus –- such as fighting piracy -– approaches differ.

For example, while ABC and other networks have embraced the dynamics of the Internet by striking deals with Google's YouTube site to promote shows such as "Grey's Anatomy," Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures parent Viacom Inc. filed a $1-billion lawsuit over the use of unauthorized clips from programs such as Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" on its video sharing service.

"It's a very awkward time to be stepping into this thing," said Gigi Johnson, a lecturer at UCLA's Anderson School of Management who specializes in the media industry. "You've got so many forces going in different and not necessarily positive directions and you've got a group of incredibly opinionated members each with different perspectives and business models. Making all of them happy is probably nearly impossible."

Of course, that could also be said of Washington, where as a senator Dodd developed relationships across the aisle, including with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.).

Dodd is expected to work closely with Interim MPAA Chief Executive Bob Pisano, who is viewed a veteran executive and was himself a candidate for the job.

The MPAA's search committee recently settled on Dodd largely because of his stature and connections in Washington.

Dodd served five terms in the U.S. Senate, where he was known for his expertise on family and children's issues -- he was the author of the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act -- as well as financial services. He served as chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, where he steered a massive banking overhaul.

But his political career also had blemishes. He took heat for his role in allowing insurance giant American International Group Inc. to pay $165 million in bonuses in 2009 at a time when the company was receiving federal bailout money.

In 2008, Dodd also was investigated by a Senate ethics panel over allegations that he received improper discounts for mortgages he received from Countrywide Financial Corp. In August 2009, the committee found "no credible evidence" that Dodd had violated any rules but criticized Dodd and his former Senate colleague Kent Conrad of North Dakota for not avoiding the appearance of impropriety.

Thank you Los Angeles Times !

------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> Submit to:

Show contact info

In order to avoid all the SCAMS, we decide not to publish all the info of the recruter in the job postings. You'll find the Daily Password in our Monthly Newsletter. You can Subscribe to our Newsletter here Thanks. A. www.chicas-productions.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> Translate post:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read more