Sen. Adam Schiff, who is drafting a bill to create federal incentives for film and television production, said Friday he is continuing to work to secure a Republican co-sponsor.
Schiff held a public hearing at Burbank City Hall to drum up support for the bill, noting that Los Angeles County has lost 42,000 entertainment-related jobs in the past two years.
“We want to keep these jobs here because these are great jobs,” he said. “How to do that is not rocket science. It’s mostly a draft. It needs to be bipartisan. We’re working to get bipartisan support for this.”
Schiff has been working on the idea for more than a year, but has never discussed the details publicly.
He invited “The Pit” star Noah Wyle and IATSE Chairman Matt Loeb to testify at the hearing about the value of production jobs and the need for federal incentives. He also highlighted concerns about the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. merger, warning that it could lead to a new wave of layoffs in the industry.
Although few expect the merger to pass federal antitrust review very difficult, state officials have said they will give the merger a hard look.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said after the hearing: “We are now conducting a rigorous investigation and have shown that we will not hesitate when we see a violation of the law.”
Bonta noted that his office filed a motion Thursday to block the Tegna-Nexstar merger approved by the Federal Communications Commission, and continues to pursue antitrust cases against Ticketmaster and Live Nation even after the federal government withdrew.
“We do not expect the federal government to play a role,” Bonta said. “It still could happen and we hope it happens. There’s always time to change course. But as they pulled out, we stepped into that vacuum and that gap and did more.”
Schiff’s hearing was also attended by three Democratic congressmen from Southern California. He also heard testimony from former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta about the potential negative impact on the network if Paramount and Larry and David Ellison were to take over.
Undaunted, Mr. Acosta criticized Bari Weiss’s Paramount CBS management and called the Ellisons “MAGA-friendly oligarchs.”
“Basically, CBS News is run by a partisan hack,” he says. “Imagine editorial decisions being transferred to CNN…This is a frontal attack on every kind of media choice we have.”
Loeb, whose union represents 130,000 bottom-line workers, pointed out that Paramount has promised to make 30 films a year after the merger, but has not promised to make any films in the United States.
“Thirty pictures mean nothing if you don’t take them here,” he said, adding that federal incentives are needed to keep these jobs from going overseas. “What would the future look like if there were no tax incentives?”
Rep. Lou Correa, D-Orange County, asked witnesses what guardrails could be put in place on the merger to protect workers and the media.
Jax DeLuca, executive director of the Future Film Coalition, argued that approval conditions alone are not enough to protect jobs and independent filmmakers. Her group has launched a campaign to block the merger altogether.
Acosta agreed.
“For me, if this merger happens, there will be no guardrails,” he said. “I feel like there’s been a fix.”
Mr. Wiley was present to testify to the success of California’s film and television tax incentives. “The Pit” received $12.2 million in tax credits for each of its first two seasons, which were filmed on the Warner Bros. lot, and will receive $24.2 million for season three.
Before “The Pit,” he worked domestically and in Canada as producers sought incentives in other jurisdictions.
“It’s hard on families. It’s hard to disrupt an industry like that,” he said, noting that California’s subsidies allow production companies to tap into a deep pool of local talent. “It’s important to support these incentives. They’re an investment in our city’s most precious commodity, and they’re also an investment in our people.”
Speaking after the hearing, Schiff noted that President Trump has expressed support for imposing tariffs on foreign films to bring production back to the United States. No one in the industry supports the bailout, but some are encouraged that President Trump at least acknowledged the problem.
“We think, and I think the industry does too, that a federal tax credit makes sense,” Schiff said. “But I think there’s a lot of interest in this. I expect it to be bipartisan. And it should be.”
In his remarks, Loeb pointed out that the UK is attracting Marvel productions that previously filmed in Georgia. One idea currently being floated, Schiff said, is to provide additional federal incentives to companies that bring these jobs back from overseas.
California’s tax credit program has such a provision, giving TV programs relocating from other states or countries a 5% bonus on top of the base amount.
