The Daniels’ followup to the Best Picture winning Everything Everywhere All at Once is among the 51 projects announced under the latest round of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program, the largest round of approved projects in the history of the program. The film and TV tax credits are part of the state’s efforts to roar back from a year of strikes and January’s devastating Los Angeles fires.
Forty-six of the 51 approved projects are for independent features. In all, the 51 projects are expected to generate nearly $580 million in economic activity and employ more than 6,490 people as cast and crew, the California Film Commission announced. They are also expected to fuel the hiring of 37,000 background performers, measured by days worked.
The Daniels project, from NBCUniversal, is expected to have $106,776,000 in qualified expenditures and receive a credit allocation of $20,784,000, making it one of the biggest projects on the list. The biggest is an unnamed Warner Bros. film that is expected to have $107,782,000 in qualified expenditures and to receive $20,096,000 in credits. Details were scarce on the nature of the two biggest projects.
The Daniels on the Benefits of California Film and TV Tax Credits
The Daniels, aka Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, are making their new project will producer Jonathan Wang, and it is expected in theaters next year.
“We are LA filmmakers, with very dear LA friends, who happen to be some of the greatest creative talents we’ve worked with,” said The Daniels and Wang in a joint statement. “On Everything Everywhere All At Once, we received the California tax credit, and had we not, it would have been utterly impossible to make that film.
“We were also deeply moved by the CFC’s commitment to supporting local filmmakers and the broader community. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to film our next project in Los Angeles, creating jobs and opportunities for countless Californians.”
Added Colleen Bell, director of the California Film Commission: “The devastating wildfires in Southern California have presented unprecedented challenges for our film and television community, disrupting more than a dozen productions within our Film & Television Tax Credit Program alone and impacting countless more.
“These disruptions have impacted employment for thousands of cast and crew members, affecting everything from production schedules and financing to housing and location access. Now more than ever, this program is a critical tool to help productions recover, keeping jobs and investment here in our state, all while ensuring that California remains the heart of the entertainment industry.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, said the projects would benefit people across the state, in all walks of life.
“While other states try to chase California’s on-screen success, everyone knows the Golden State is the entertainment capital of the world – built through decades of innovation and hard work,” he said. “Today’s awards are vital to keeping production where it belongs – generating thousands of good-paying jobs ‘below the line,’ and supporting the local businesses that rely on a thriving film and television industry.”
Another notable project to receive the tax credits is an untiled drag queen movie from World of Wonder Productions and producer RuPaul Charles. It secured $1.7 million in tax credits and will have estimated wages of $4.4 million and total qualified spending of $6.6 million.
“Category is: there’s no place like home!” Charles said. “As someone who’s produced a TV series in Los Angeles for 17 years, I’m thrilled that our feature film, ‘Untitled Drag Queen Movie,’ is receiving tax credits from the California Film Commission. These incentives have been instrumental in supporting our financing. And best of all, we’re getting people back to work in Hollywood.”
Main image: The Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All at Once. A24.