Commercialmakers can only wonder what might have been if spots had been deemed eligible for the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program which was part of last year’s state budget agreement. Clearly, the feature film and TV productions that qualified for the program prove that incentives have benefited these projects as well as the state’s economy.
In its first year, the program–administered by the California Film Commission (CFC)–allocated $200 million in tax credits to 77 projects. This year, another 30 projects are set to receive an additional $100 million in tax credit allocations. Together, they are estimated to bring $2 billion in direct spending to California communities, which includes $736 million in wages paid to “below-the-line” crew members (electricians, grips, drivers, costumers, etc), according to data compiled by the CFC. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) said that the incentive initiative has created and retained tens of thousands of jobs while generating spending in the Golden State.
The CFC reported that the 77 first-year projects approved for tax credits will hire 18,200 crew members, 4,000 cast members, and over 100,000 background or “extra” players. These approved projects include 51 feature films, both studio and independent, seven television series and 14 made-for-television-movies.
“For three years, I’ve been trying to make RED STATE. It wasn’t until my project qualified for the tax credit program that the flick fast-tracked into reality,” said feature film director Kevin Smith. “A film it seemed would never get made is now lensing right here in California.”
As of June 1, 2010, production companies could apply to California’s tax credit program for allocations from the program’s second year. Thirty productions have been approved for allocations which exhausts the fiscal year funding. The remaining applicants have been added to a waitlist. The 30 productions include 19 feature films, eight television series and three made-for-television-movies.
In order to spur job growth, Governor Schwarzenegger signed legislation enacting the tax credit program in 2009 as part of a targeted economic stimulus package to increase film and TV production in California. The program authorizes the CFC to allocate $100 million in tax credits each fiscal year (or up to $200 million in its first year of operation) to eligible productions through fiscal year 2013-’14. Productions will not receive their tax credit certificates until they have completed postproduction, and the tax credits do not become effective before January 1, 2011.
“The enormous interest in our tax credit program,” said Amy Lemisch, executive director of the CFC, “shows that a targeted incentive can keep tens of thousands of high-paying jobs in California.”
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More