DGA President Jack Shea applauded today’s action by California Governor Gray Davis in establishing a new special state fund that will encourage film producers to keep their productions in California.
"The Directors Guild of America applauds Governor Davis for responding to the suffering created by runaway production for the working men and women of our industry," commented Shea. "The DGA is grateful to Governor Davis and the Democratic leadership in the State Senate and Assembly for taking action on this serious threat to the livelihood of people who depend on entertainment industry jobs to feed their families."
Governor Davis’ Film & TV Industry Development Proposal includes the "Film California First Program," which will provide $45 million from the General Fund to help cover certain costs incurred by film productions in California. Among the costs eligible for reimbursement are: state employee costs; federal employee costs; federal permit and rental costs; and local public employee costs for fire services and non-police public safety. Also included are a film incubator program to help attract and retain innovative independent productions and the State Theatrical Arts Resources (STAR) Program that will streamline state bureaucracy for producers.
The DGA has been a leader in the battle against runaway production and last year co-sponsored a major study to document the extent of the problem. The study determined that direct production expenditures lost from the U.S. due to film and television economic runaway production was $2.8 billion in 1998. The report also confirmed that the vast majority of out-of-country production has gone to Canada, which has aggressively courted film and television producers with an array of NAFTA-exempted production incentives, including substantial tax rebates.
Shea also indicated that "the DGA is hopeful that the United States Congress will now follow the vision and leadership of Governor Davis in recognizing that the tax incentives and subsidies offered to producers by foreign governments must be countered if we are to bring industry jobs back to the United States."
