The battle is on to get more support for film and television production from the California government. Only days after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti put industry vet Tom Sherak in charge of lobbying Sacramento for more tax credits for Hollywood, the Motion Picture Association of America has issued a new call to bolster the incentive program for big-budget blockbusters.
Some 96 pilots filmed in the Los Angeles area during the 2012-13 development cycle. That’s four more than last year and second only to the region’s peak cycle in 2004-05, when 102 pilots filmed in L.A. But with a total of 186 broadcast and cable television pilots produced, L.A.’s slice of the pilot pie was just 52 percent—the region’s second-lowest share on record and a steep decline from a record 82 percent in 2006-07.
While some states are debating whether they should have film tax incentives at all, others are starting to offer cold, hard cash to attract Hollywood production. Montana just joined the ranks of those offering cash benefits to filmmakers.
The number of people filing new jobless claims across the country dropped by 11,000 to 346,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. California saw the largest increase in new claims.