Showbiz Sandbox 248: Hollywood Squeezes States For More Tax Breaks

September 9, 2014

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California is set to triple their tax subsidies for film and television production to more than $330 million annually in an effort to stem the tide of runaway production to states with larger tax incentives. Richard Verrier of the Los Angeles Times discusses the growing debate over the value of film tax breaks and whether they actually create new jobs, or just shift them to different locations.

There is absolutely no debate over whether this summer’s box office was down from the previous year. However as we explain, comparing year-over-year box office figures is misleading at best and ultimately a fool’s errand.

In an unusual move the rock band U2 will be giving away its new album “Songs of Innocence” to more than 500 million iTunes users for a limited time. Making the release free to download only serves to further underscore where most artists make their money these days; on tour.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including the new head of DreamWorks, why it will take a century for anyone to read author Margaret Atwood’s latest work and “The Simpsons” make their way to China.

Are Film Tax Credits Cost Effective?
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-fi-film-tax-credits-20140831-story.html

MPAA’s Chris Dodd Invites Film Commissioners To Summit On Incentives
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-summit-mpaa-20140902-story.html

California Boost: Will Tripling Tax Credits Work?
http://variety.com/2014/artisans/news/california-boost-will-tripling-tax-credits-work-1201293066/

Box-Office Crash: What Caused Hollywood’s Miserable Summer?
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-crash-what-caused-728367

First 4DX Theater in U.S. a Hit with Audiences, Data Shows
http://variety.com/2014/film/box-office/first-4dx-theater-in-u-s-a-hit-with-audiences-data-shows-exclusive-1201295816/

Venice: Roy Andersson’s ‘A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence’ Wins Golden Lion
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/venice-roy-anderssons-a-pigeon-730677

U2 Releases New Album for Free on iTunes
http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/free-u2-album-apple-itunes-1201301974/

Turner’s Michael Wright Takes Top DreamWorks Job
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/official-turners-michael-wright-takes-730142

‘Doctor Zhivago’ Musical Coming to Broadway
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/doctor-zhivago-musical-coming-to-broadway/

Larry David’s ‘Fish in the Dark’ to Open on Broadway in March
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/02/larry-davids-fish-in-the-dark-to-open-on-broadway-in-march/

‘The View’ Taps Rosie Perez and Nicolle Wallace to Round Out Panel
http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/the-view-taps-rosie-perez-and-nicolle-wallace-to-round-out-panel-1201297293/

Margaret Atwood’s New Work Will Remain Unseen For A Century
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/05/margaret-atwood-new-work-unseen-century-future-library

Tom Hanks, Lily Tomlin, Sting to Receive Kennedy Center Honors
http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/tom-hanks-lily-tomlin-sting-to-receive-kennedy-center-honors-1201297630/

‘The Simpsons’ to Air in China for First Time in Pact with Sohu Video
http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/the-simpsons-to-air-in-china-for-first-time-in-pact-with-sohu-video-1201300605/

It’s Official: James Corden to Replace Craig Ferguson on ‘Late Late Show’
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/james-corden-late-late-show-728325

TiVo to Unveil DVR With 26,000 Hours of Storage Space
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tivo-unveil-dvr-26000-hours-731305

AT&T and Verizon say 10Mbps is too fast for “broadband,” 4Mbps is enough
http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/09/att-and-verizon-say-10mbps-is-too-fast-for-broadband-4mbps-is-enough/

Director Andrew V. McLaglen Dies at 94
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/director-andrew-v-mclaglen-dies-729718

Joan Rivers Dies At 81
http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-joan-rivers-20140904-story.html

Seven Broadway Theaters Will Dim Lights for Joan Rivers
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/08/broadway-theaters-will-dim-lights-for-joan-rivers/

Comments

One Response to “Showbiz Sandbox 248: Hollywood Squeezes States For More Tax Breaks”

  1. Michael Giltz on September 11th, 2014 12:23 pm
     

    I think most states are suckers for offering tax breaks. At least when they get a company to base their manufacturing plant in a state, you know the business won’t up and leave in five years. But movies and TV shows can be filmed anywhere from Canada to New Zealand and what loyalty does a producer have to North Carolina vs New Mexico vs Prague? I think only California and New York have the infrastructure and talent pool to make themselves a permanent draw. The rest are just treading water and prob spending more money on luring shows than they’ll make off them.