Runaway Production Cost Calif. $4B
A Milken Institute study released last week calculates that the exodus of film and television production from the Golden State to elsewhere cost the state $4.2 billion since 1997. The wages from 25,000 lost jobs are factored into that figure.The report, Film Flight: Lost Production and Its Economic Impact on California was written by Milken's Kevin Klowden, Anusuya Chatterjee, and Candice Flor Hynek. The report is available as a .pdf here-- as are an executive summary, video, and slideshow.
According to the abstract, the report makes the following policy recommendations to stem the loss:
""¢Designing a two-tier film incentive program - with one set of benefits to engage big-budget studio films that are not covered under the current incentive program, and another set to attract smaller independent productions; "¢Implementing a new digital-media tax credit to attract and retain developers of digital animation, visual effects and video games; "¢Making tax incentive programs permanent, signaling long-term commitment;"
Not everyone, of course, agrees that tax incentives are worthwhile. Here's one quick out-of-town example.
Photo credit: The image accompanying this post was taken by Flickr user ">license.