STUDIOS TO PLEAD CASE IN SACRAMENTO FOR MORE TAX CREDITS

Reacting to a recent Los Angeles Times study indicating that the number of top-grossing films shot in California has plummeted 60 percent since 1999 as tax incentives from other states attract producers, L.A. “film czar” Tom Sherak has promised to lobby Sacramento lawmakers to increase California’s tax-incentives for filmmakers. “Our goal is to go up there [to Sacramento] and make the case based on statistics,” said Sherak in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.. Currently, California distributes $100 million to productions that are eligible for up to a 25-percent tax credit, but Sherak and industry leaders plan to push for an increase closer to the $420 million offered by New York.