Entertainment Union Coalition Launches ‘Keep California Rolling' Campaign To Bolster State's Film & TV Jobs
Keep California Rolling is a labor-led initiative, described to Deadline as the unions' answer to Stay in LA, another similar initiative led by some of the industry's biggest stars as well as top film and TV writers and producers.
More from Deadline
California Lawmakers Introduce Bills To "Modernize" Film & TV Tax Credit Program In Conjunction With Newsom's Proposed Expansion
WGA East Slams MSNBC's "Mass Layoffs" As 99 Staffers Brace For Impact Amid Network Shakeup
WGA West President Meredith Stiehm Calls On Studios To Sue AI Companies, Takes Aim At Trump At Guild Awards: "We Do Not Cower In The Face Of Bullies"
Its main goal will be to urge the state to explore more ways to rework its current jobs-based incentive program to attract production back to the state, in addition to supporting Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposal to expand the California Film & TV Tax Credit from $330M annually to $750M.
On March 5, nearly 100 workers from across the Entertainment Union Coalition's member entities will travel to Sacramento to lobby lawmakers on the jobs-based program. Among those represented will be the American Federation of Musicians, California IATSE Council, Directors Guild of America, LiUNA! Local 724, SAG-AFTRA, Teamsters Local 399, and the Writers Guild of America West.
'California's entertainment industry sustains hundreds of thousands of middle-class jobs across every sector and in every corner the state,' EUC President and Directors Guild of America Western Executive Director Rebecca Rhine said in a statement. 'It's essential that the expansion of the Film & TV tax credit program prioritizes workers rather than corporate profits. The EUC fully supports the governor's proposal, marking the most significant expansion to the program in decades, but we must ensure it delivers on its promise: keeping production, and the jobs it creates, right here in California, where workers and their families can thrive in their own communities.'
The announcement of Keep California Rolling comes one day after state lawmakers introduced a pair of bills that are meant to 'amend, update, and modernize' the current Film & TV Tax Credit Program, sponsored by Senator Ben Allen and Assemblymembers Rick Chavez Zbur and Isaac Bryan. Details on how the program might be reshaped were not revealed yet, but Chavez Zbur vowed it would include 'expanding the kinds of productions that qualify for the program, again, focusing on those productions which we are losing and that provide the best jobs.'
Newsom's proposed expansion of the tax credit is also not yet set in stone, given California's 2025-26 budget is still being negotiated, though it still seems very likely to be approved.
Hollywood workers have been sounding an alarm for several decades on the loss of production jobs in California, particularly as other territories have begun offering more financial incentives for film and TV production. Several jurisdictions have no caps on their subsidies, including Georgia, Ontario and the UK.
In an impact report released Thursday, the Entertainment Union Coalition says that from 2015 to 2020, about 50% of the 312 productions that did not qualify for California's tax credit incentive relocated to another area, resulting in an approximate loss of 28,000 jobs and $7.7B in economic activity.
Local concerns have only grown over the last few years as work became even more scarce due to work stoppages from a global pandemic and historically, long dual strikes, followed by a massive, global contraction in production spending. According to a recent report from FilmLA, production in Los Angeles was down more than 30% over five-year averages in 2024.
The Entertainment Union Coalitions report also makes the case for the impact of the film and television industry beyond just direct job loss, illustrating how production supports tourism, hospitality, and more local industries in California. Per a 2023 report from the Motion Picture Association, the U.S. film and television industry alone supports more than 2 million jobs and contributes over $180B in total wages, encompassing 122,000 businesses nationwide.
Best of Deadline
2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
How To Watch The 2025 Oscars Online And On TV
How Jon Gries' Return To 'The White Lotus' Could Shape Season 3
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sarajevo Film Festival Unveils Lineup Exploring Life and Survival in 'Unstable Social Frameworks'
The Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina unveiled the lineup for its 31st edition on Wednesday. The festival's four competition sections – for feature, documentary, short and student films – will feature 15 world, six international, 28 regional and two national premieres. A total of 50 films will compete for the Heart of Sarajevo awards. This year, the Sarajevo festival programmers team, led by creative director Izeta Građević, watched 1,036 films, including 195 feature fiction films, 291 documentaries, and 550 shorts and student titles. 'The competition programs of the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival bring together filmmakers who, each from their own perspective and in various film formats and genres, explore how we live and how we survive within complex and unstable social frameworks,' said Građević. 'The backbone of this year's competition programs are films that, transcending national boundaries, remain true to the universal stories that shape our lives. In this range – from topics that deal with today to those that question the past – this selection opens up space to remember, through film stories, what we all have in common: the need for meaning, for closeness, for understanding – ourselves and others.' Elma Tataragić, the programmer of the competition program – feature film, said that the section's nine films include three world premieres and six regional premieres, making for 'an impressive and diverse panorama of contemporary regional cinema.' Touting 'a dynamic mix of bold narration, visual innovation and fresh perspectives that reflect the richness of the region's cultural tapestry,' she highlighted that the competition includes six debut films that 'bring original voices and bold creative approaches to the big screen.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Disney+ Sets Release Date for K-Drama Tentpole 'Tempest' Starring Gianna Jun, Gang Dongwon Korea's CJ ENM Launches Saudi Arabia Subsidiary in Major Middle East Expansion Julie Pacino on Exploring Female Trauma in Lynchian Feature Directorial Debut 'I Live Here Now' Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino will receive this year's Honorary Heart of Sarajevo award. The Sarajevo fest runs Aug. 15-22. Check out the full Sarajevo lineup below. COMPETITION PROGRAM – FEATURE FILM OTTER (VIDRA), Srđan Vuletić (Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Croatia, Kosovo, 2025, 88 min.) – World premiere STARS OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE (MINDEN CSILLAG), Renátó Olasz (Hungary, 2025, 83 min.) – World premiere YUGO FLORIDA, Vladimir Tagić (Serbia, Bulgaria, France, Croatia, Montenegro, 2025, 112 min.) – World premiere DJ AHMET, Georgi M. Unkovski (North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia, 2025, 99 min.) – Regional premiere FANTASY, Kukla (Slovenia, North Macedonia, 2025, 98 min.) – Regional premiere GOD WILL NOT HELP (BOG NEĆE POMOĆI), Hana Jušić (Croatia, Italy, Romania, Greece, France, Slovenia, 2025, 135 min.) – Regional premiere SORELLA DI CLAUSURA, Ivana Mladenović (Romania, Serbia, Italy, Spain, 2025, 103 min.) – Regional premiere WHITE SNAIL, Elsa Kremser, Levin Peter (Austria, Germany, 2025, 115 min.) – Regional premiere WIND, TALK TO ME (VETRE, PRIČAJ SA MNOM), Stefan Đorđević (Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, 2025, 100 min.) – Regional premiere COMPETITION PROGRAM – DOCUMENTARY FILM BOSNIAN KNIGHT (BOSANSKI VITEZ), Tarik Hodžić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, 2025, 79 min.) – World premiere I SAW A 'SUNO' (SUNO DIKHLEM), Katalin Barsony (Hungary, Belgium, 2025, 92 min.) – World premiere KITE (CHARTAETOS), Thanos Psichogios (Greece, 2025, 15 min.) – World premiere STEEL HOTEL SONG, Bojan Stojčić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2025, 19 min.) – World premiere LETTERS (PISMA), Aysel Küçüksu (Bulgaria, 2025, 11 min.) – International premiere MY DAD'S LESSONS (LEKCIJE MOG TATE), Dalija Dozet (Croatia, 2025, 62 min.) – International premiere RED SLIDE (CRVENI TOBOGAN), Nebojša Slijepčević (Croatia, 2025, 27 min.) – International premiere THIRD WORLD (TREĆI SVIJET), Arsen Oremović (Croatia, 2025, 101 min.) – International premiere CUBA & ALASKA, Yegor Troyanovsky (Ukraine, France, Belgium, 2025, 93 min.) – Regional premiere DIVIA, Dmytro Hreshko (Ukraine, Poland, The Netherlands, USA, 2025, 79 min.) – Regional premiere DREAMERS: PEOPLE OF THE LIGHT (XƏYALPƏRƏSTLƏR: İŞIĞIN UŞAQLARI), Imam Hasanov (Azerbaijan, 2025, 86 min.) – Regional premiere EVERYTIME YOU LEAVE, YOU ARE BORN AGAIN (SVAKI PUT KAD ODEŠ, PONOVO SE RAĐAŠ), Mladen Bundalo (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, 2025, 24 min.) – Regional premiere I BELIEVE THE PORTRAIT SAVED ME (MUA BESOJ MË SHPËTOJ PORTRETI), Alban Muja (Kosovo, The Netherlands, 2025, 10 min.) – Regional premiere IN HELL WITH IVO, Kristina Nikolova (Bulgaria, USA, 2025, 80 min.) – Regional premiere MILITANTROPOS, Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, Simon Mozgoviy (Ukraine, Austria, France, 2025, 111 min.) – Regional premiere OUR TIME WILL COME (UNSERE ZEIT WIRD KOMMEN), Ivette Löcker (Austria, 2025, 105 min.) – Regional premiere THE MEN'S LAND (KACEBIS MITSA), Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani (Georgia, Hungary, 2025, 15 min.) – Regional premiere SLET 1988, Marta Popivoda (Serbia, Germany, France, 2025, 22 min.) – Regional premiere 19-MONTH CONTRACT, Ketevan Vashagashvili (Georgia, Bulgaria, Germany, 2025, 77 min.) – B&H premiere TATA, Lina Vdovîi, Radu Ciorniciuc (Romania, Germany, The Netherlands, 2025, 82 min.) – B&H premiere OUT OF COMPETITION FILMOHO FILM, Damjan Kozole (Slovenia, Croatia, 2025, 93 min.) – International premiere, out of competition COMPETITION PROGRAM – SHORT FILM BERNA'S EYES (SYTË E BERNËS), Ermal Gërdovci (Kosovo*, North Macedonia, 2025, 17 min.) – World premiereDESERT, SHE (IERIMOS), Ioanna Digenaki (Greece, 2025, 14 min.) – World premierePROCEDURE (PROSEDÜR), Rabia Özmen (Türkiye, 2025, 18 min.) – World premiereALIȘVERIȘ, Vasile Todinca (Romania, 2025, 15 min.) – Regional premiereERASERHEAD IN A KNITTED SHOPPING BAG, Lili Koss (Bulgaria, 2025, 19 min.) – Regional premiereHYSTERICAL FIT OF LAUGHTER (HISTERIČNI NAPAD SMEHA), Matija Gluščević, Dušan Zorić (Serbia, Croatia, 2025, 15 min.) – Regional premiereINDEX, Radu Muntean (Romania, 2025, 28 min.) – Regional premiereTHE SPECTACLE, Bálint Kenyeres (Hungary, France, 2025, 17 min.) – Regional premiereUPON SUNRISE (KAD SVANE), Stefan Ivančić (Serbia, Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, 2025, 15 min.) – Regional premiereWINTER IN MARCH (LUMI SAADAB MEID), Natalia Mirzoyan (Armenia, Estonia, France, Belgium, 2025, 16 min.) – Regional premiere COMPETITION PROGRAM – STUDENT FILM AFTER CLASS (DUPĂ ORE), Marius Papară (Romania, 2025, 18 min.) – World premiereFOUND & LOST, Reza Rasouli (Austria, 2025, 17 min.) – World premiereHOME, A SPACE BETWEEN US, Effi Rabsilber (Greece, 2025, 16 min.) – World premiereRAHLO, Jozo Schmuch (Croatia, 2025, 19 min.) – World premiereTARIK, Adem Tutić (Serbia, 2025, 27 min.) – World premiereCURFEW (KOMENDANTSKA HODYNA), Yelyzaveta Toptyhina (Ukraine, 2025, 23 min.) – International premiereBACKSTROKE (SIRTÜSTÜ), Asya Günen (Türkiye, 2025, 14 min.) – Regional premiereLIVING STONES (ÉLŐ KÖVEK), Jakob Ladányi Jancsó (Hungary, 2025, 20 min.) – Regional premiereMILK AND COOKIES (FURSECURI ȘI LAPTE), Andrei-Tache Codreanu (Romania, 2025, 21 min.) – Regional premierePENINSULA (POLUOTOK), David Gašo (Croatia, 2025, 19 min.) – Regional premiereWISH YOU WERE EAR, Mirjana Balogh (Hungary, 2025, 10 min.) – Regional premiere Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Greatest Needle Drops in Film History The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tom Basden Wants the Heartwarming Success of ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island' to Give British Indie Filmmakers Hope
Even Tom Basden is surprised by how affecting his new film is. The Brit, who stars in and wrote The Ballad of Wallis Island with comedian Tim Key, is talking to The Hollywood Reporter about finally getting his film out in theaters in his native Britain and, oddly enough, being a little taken aback by its reception. More from The Hollywood Reporter New Just For Laughs Fest Owner Tells Ticket Buyers: Laugh or Get a Refund 'Top Boy' and 'Eddington' Star Micheal Ward Charged With 2 Counts of Rape by London Police Kieron Moore Relishes Taking on Complex Characters, From 'Code of Silence' to Queer Camboy 'We hit a few ideas early on,' he explains, referencing the short film he, Key and director James Griffiths first made about the characters all the way back in 2006. 'Herb's a little bit washed up, pining for his mid-20s, Charles has been obsessed with this band for a very long time and used to watch the gigs with his wife, who's now died. Quite organically, a sadness began to come out on the page, a kind of longing,' Basden recalls. 'It took us by surprise. And even at the point where we were watching a finished film with an audience, I don't think we realized how emotional those threads were. It's very hard to plan for the moments that the audience is going to become emotionally invested.' Basden and Key's comedy-drama debuted earlier this year at Sundance, later earning a limited theatrical release in the U.S. in March before it hit theaters in the U.K. in May through Focus Features. It follows musician Herb McGwyer (Basden), formerly half of folk duo McGwyer Mortimer, who has been contracted to play a private gig on the remote Wallis Island by widowed superfan Charles Heath (Key). But things start to go awry when Herb discovers Charles has also invited ex-bandmate (and actual ex) Nell Mortimer, played by Carey Mulligan, to join. Akemnji Ndifornyen stars as Michael, Nell's American husband, and Sian Clifford as Amanda, the island's sole shopkeeper. What transpires is a film bursting at the seams with heart, adored by laymen and critics alike. 'We drew up a list for who could play the part of Nell and Carey was at the top of that list, but we didn't know her,' says Basden about getting Oscar nominee Mulligan on board. 'Tim had been emailed by her about five years earlier, so he had her email by stealth and basically cold-called her.' According to Basden, Mulligan connected with the material immediately. 'She just really responded to the script — I think she wanted to do a comedy,' he says. 'She'd done quite a lot of, let's say serious, quite dark films in the last few years. She wanted to do something that was more comic and more touching. She really believed in it as it was, and had exactly the same aims for the type of film that we wanted it to be.' After the release of their 2007 short, Basden and Key left Wallis Island well alone until 2018. It was then — and with the help of an industry-shattering pandemic — that the pair returned to their feature-length dreams in earnest. The low-budget movie got everything it needed in just 18 shooting days on location, but even at a cheaper rate, it took some time to find the financing. 'We really believed in the script and we deliberately made it very small,' says Basden. 'We're all in our 40s, or in James's case, 50s. We've made a lot of TV, we understand budgets. We made it a very small film with a very small cast, all shooting in basically two locations and even so, we struggled to get any interest,' he admits. 'We were turned down by all the funding bodies in the U.K.: Film4, the BFI…' 'And Tim is such an idealist that he always believed we'd make it,' continues Basden. 'I'm a bit more defeatist. (Laughs.) Then we sent it to Carey and not only do you suddenly have something quite real to hold onto — a genuine, Oscar-nominated film star attached to your film — but it gives renewed momentum and confidence for us that people, someone like Carey, really likes the script. But it just feels quite arbitrary, the funding system in the U.K… It's a fundamentally British film and it's done best in the U.K., but it took American money to actually get the thing made.' Basden hopes that The Ballad of Wallis Island — a well-received, popular movie written and starring British talent, about British people and shot in Britain — will provide hope to fellow filmmakers. 'I believe that it's possible in cinema to make things that are original and also really popular,' he says. 'There shouldn't be this divide between reboots, sequels, recycled IP and live-action and then the slightly soporific art-house movies. We must be able to make stuff that's original and funny and moving but also can be popular and attract a mainstream audience. I haven't given up on that.' One of the more amusing aspects of releasing the film both in the U.S. and in the U.K. has been seeing different reactions from Americans and British audiences to the adventures of Herb, Charles and Nell. He says that being in the States when The Ballad of Wallis Island debuted reminded him that his project was 'very much an international movie.' 'They'd never seen anything like Tim's character,' he remembers. '[They were like], 'He just makes no sense to me.' And then you show it in the U.K., and we all know people like that. One in four people in the U.K. are like that,' he says of Charles' bumbling awkwardness and quirky personality. 'It's a very different thing [in the U.K.], where people just tap into the very British subtext of it. But American audiences have been really into it. I think they feel like they've discovered something really fresh.' The heartwarming success of The Ballad of Wallis Island has only left fans with one question: what do Basden and Key have planned next? He jokes: 'Carey talks passionately about the sequel and I think, because we made the short and 18 years later released the feature, I think 18 years later we should come back and make the sequel to the feature. Maybe Charles and Amanda will get married, and McGwyer Mortimer are playing at the wedding.' He tells THR that him and Key have a few ideas they're working on — one or two of which they are 'very excited by.' For now, the duo are trying to soak up the fervid fan reaction to this pretty neat indie they've put out into the world. 'There'll come a point where we think about another one, maybe with a slightly bigger budget [and] made with love… But it feels very special to us that we've got here.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Greatest Needle Drops in Film History The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best Solve the daily Crossword
Elle
9 hours ago
- Elle
‘Bend It Like Beckham 2' Is Reportedly ‘In the Works'
Lace up your cleats, fans! This week, writer and director Gurinder Chadha announced she is working on a sequel to the hit soccer film Bend It Like Beckham, released in 2002 and starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley. 'I'm excited to revisit the original characters and revive the enduring story and build on the legacy we helped to create for the women's game,' Chadha told Deadline in an interview. Here's everything we know about the project so far. In the original film, Nagra plays a teen girl named Jasminder who loves both soccer and Manchester United's David Beckham. Unfortunately, her parents are very unenthusiastic about her engaging in sports. She ends up joining a girls's soccer team in secret, where she meets Jules, played by Knightley. There, she discovers just how great she can be while also learning to navigate first romances and friendship. Her success ultimately brings her closer to her family in an uplifting story about following your dreams. Since it's 23 years later, everyone would obviously be in a new time in their lives. Chadha says a sequel will also address the changes in women's sports. 'I didn't want to do anything because I didn't have a story,' she said of the time gap since the first film. 'And then I came up with a great story, really super-cool story. So now I'm inspired. Literally came up with it just about a month ago. It's my very clear wish to bring the characters back very, very soon. Women's football is more competitive, more exciting, and more global than ever. It is an honor for me to be a small part of it.' She wrote the original screenplay with Guljit Bindra and husband Paul Mayeda Berges. Aside from Nagra and Knightley, fans would expect the return of Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the Hounslow Harriers team manager and Jasminder's love interest. But so far, no one is officially confirmed. Chadha stated that Nagra, Knightley, as well as cast members Archie Panjabi and Juliet Stevenson 'are aware that a sequel is being developed, but they obviously want to see a script before they commit.' 'I'm pretty certain that everyone's going to want to come back,' she added. 'Everything hinges on the script and if the original cast likes it. I am working really hard to make sure every character I bring back has a decent arc and scenes.' The goal for Chadha is to have the sequel out by 2027 for the original film's 25th anniversary, which will coincide with the FIFA Women's World Cup tournament in Brazil that year. This post will be updated.
