Film group hinting for more money

FilmL.A, the group that monitors and coordinates on-location shooting, reports that third-quarter feature film activity fell 6.6 percent from a year earlier - and that drop could be due to the limited dollars coming from California's tax credit program. Only $100 million is available this year, down from $200 million in 2009. From the press release:

"Our last quarterly report showed the undeniable success of the State program in putting film crews to work locally -- thereby buoying the Feature category's numbers. With the reduction in available incentive funds, we expected to see a decline in Feature production this quarter," said FilmL.A. President Paul Audley. "We hope the State will recognize the program's ability to create jobs and will give the program renewed funding and life beyond its pending expiry."

FilmLA has been anxious to make a direct connection between the tax credits and an increase in location shooting across the state. Certainly, there has been an impact, but it's worth noting that production companies were shooting in California long before there was a giveaway program - and they will be shooting here even if the program is phased out. Actually, location shooting was down for television as well - partly because some of the one-hour dramas were shot on sound stages, where costs tend to be cheaper. The numbers always bounce around quite a bit, a function of the industry's sporadic activity.