On the latest episode of Variety’s “Strictly Business” podcast, Colleen Bell, director of the California Film Commission, talks about the Golden State’s triumphs in its directorial role and the hurdles that remain to restart heavy television and film lensing activity in Hollywood’s backyard.
Bell said the past few years have been a “pivotal moment” for California’s entertainment industry. “People want to film their projects here, and public policy needs to evolve with that moment,” she says.
California is more focused than ever on the needs of Southern California’s creative community, a concentration of highly skilled film and television production that has been the core of the industry for more than 100 years. Bell acknowledges there is some debate about whether the state’s recent efforts to ease the production tax incentive program are too slow amid a sharp downturn in the lens business in Los Angeles County.
But there’s no arguing that the state she oversees increased its annual incentive program from $330 million to $750 million. The legislation became law a year ago this month after a great deal of public policy diplomacy and coalition-building by Bell and others in Newsom’s administration in Sacramento.
A major shift in the local political landscape has helped the industry with the fact that Sacramento legislators from states other than Hollywood recognize the value of investing in production tax credits. The Bell Commission published research demonstrating that every dollar awarded in production tax credits boosts economic activity for producers by $24.40, and that spending has tangible ripple effects throughout the community.
As the value of television and film production has become better understood, lawmakers have become more supportive of tax credits to support the entertainment industry.
“There’s a stronger understanding than ever of the utility of tax credits and that it’s an investment, and when we invest in the industry, the industry invests back in us,” said Bell, who was appointed state film commissioner in May 2019.
“But we continue to strive to expand our opportunities. We offer the high of shooting outside the 30-mile zone, and that has helped,” she says. “We’ve had strong bipartisan support for the launch of this newly updated and modernized program, and it came out of a lot of conversations and an understanding that this is our legacy industry and our kind of tax credit program. These are employment programs that keep talented people working in the entertainment industry working in California, where they’re supposed to work. I think the conversation has changed dramatically. I’m really happy that we’re able to change that narrative.”
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