'The worst it's ever been': California's post-production workers push for new tax credit
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Set us as preferred For 45 years, Alyson Dee Moore made the sounds that movies needed — the footsteps, the rustling clothes and doors swinging shut.This year, for the first time, the Foley artist who worked on blockbuster movies such as “Frozen,” “Interstellar” and “The Dark Knight” did not have enough hours to qualify for her union healthcare.
She retired from her job at Warner Bros., where she has worked for 27 years.“My decision to retire was out of need versus out of wanting to,” said Dee Moore, 65.
“I didn’t have any income coming in, so at least I could get my pension from the union and my healthcare and collect Social Security.” Dee Moore, a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild for 21 years, is one of thousands of California workers on the back end of film and television production — sound mixers, composers, visual effects artists — watching their corner of the industry hollow out.As Hollywood productions chase tax credits to other states and countries, the post-production work is going with them.
Hollywood Inc.The story of how L.A.
steadily lost much of its homegrown industry to other locales is a tale of hubris, escalating costs, political inaction and fierce competition from states and countries hungry for a piece of the Hollywood pie.Now the industry is asking Sacramento for a credit of its own.AB 2319, written by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank), would create a tax incentive aimed specifically at post-production work.
It cleared the Senate’s appropriations committee this month and heads to a Senate vote.Its backers are seeking $100 million in annual funding.
The bill would allow a 35% to 50% credit on qualified expenses relating specifically to post-production in California.Most Foley work, Dee Moore said, has moved to non-union studios and overseas.
“[Warner Bros....