Only a few years ago, as feature and television productions bolted from California in pursuit of tax breaks elsewhere, there was real concern that filmed entertainment might be on the way out as an economic driver in greater Los Angeles.
These days, those worries are gone. In the spirit of imitation as the sincerest form of competition, California got into the film tax credit business in 2014, and the counter attack worked. The state has since tweaked the qualification rules to allow credits to go to larger productions. Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” filmed in part in Santa Clarita, was the first beneficiary of that change.
The other factor driving a boom in production in Santa Clarita and across the state has been massive investment in new shows from streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix. Put those trends together and the worries of a few years ago that production would dry up have given way to a very different and happier challenge: a shortage of sound stage space to keep up with demand. We hope you enjoy this month’s look at the current boom in the business of show.
Patrick
