Ben Affleck at the premiere of "AIR" held at the Paramount Theater on March 18, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Sxsw Air Tx Usa 18 Mar 2023
Los Angeles, California – Ben Affleck has issued a stark warning, stating that California is taking the film and television industry “for granted” and needs to implement significantly more robust incentives to lure productions back to the state. Speaking at the premiere of his latest film, The Accountant 2, in Hollywood on Wednesday, Affleck suggested that Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to double the state’s tax rebate program still falls short of what’s necessary.
Affleck told the Associated Press:
The current governor doubled the tax rebates amount in bulk available, but the percentage that you get back in terms of the actual budget doesn’t compete with places like England, which is why you see a lot of these huge movies shoot in the U.K.
He further cited several states offering more attractive tax rebates, including Texas, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Georgia. Georgia, for instance, provides tax breaks of up to 30% of a production’s base investment with no program cap, unlike California’s current limitations. Affleck explained:
Other places will have better exchange rates or better tax rebate deals that are meant to lure this industry there because they understand how stimulative it is for their economies. Part of the problem with California is that they came to take this industry for granted a little bit.
In October, Governor Newsom proposed increasing California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program from $330 million annually to $750 million through 2030. Two bills introduced in February, SB 630 and AB 1138, aim to achieve this goal and also increase the available credit for an individual project in Los Angeles from 20% to 35%.
Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, a co-introducer of the bills, stated in February that these measures would create “a formula that is competitive with those states and countries that are luring our jobs away.” Affleck acknowledged the “controversial” nature of tax rebate programs but emphasized their proven success in drawing productions away from California. Affleck noted:
One of the things that happens is that it does cause people who, where (Los Angeles) used to be center of that, to move to other states for work. It’s really the technicians and the crew that make or break your movie. You need the best people, you need good people. As a director, I know that to be true. So if people move away, that really hurts the industry.
In March, Newsom announced that the current year’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program allocated funds to 51 projects, including 46 independent features, which the governor claimed would generate nearly $580 million in economic activity and employ over 6,490 cast and crew. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates a significant decline in California’s dominance in motion picture production. In the 1990s, California accounted for approximately 45% of all U.S. motion picture production, a figure that has now fallen to less than 30%. Affleck’s comments underscore the growing concern that without more aggressive action, California risks further losing its grip on the industry it once defined.
