Ben Affleck claims California takes Hollywood “for granted”
Speaking at the red carpet premiere of his new movie The Accountant 2, Ben Affleck criticised the Californian government for not providing more financial incentives to help the movie industry thrive in Los Angeles.
While Los Angeles was once the home of cinema, it’s now more international than ever. Notable examples include Denis Villeneuve’s Dune series, which was filmed in various locations around the globe but mainly in Hungary, and Wicked, which was shot in London.
Now, Affleck has addressed the decline of Los Angeles’ foothold on the movie business, telling the AP at the premiere of The Accountant 2: “Other places will have better exchange rates or tax rebate deals that are meant to lure this industry there because they understand how stimulative it is for their economies. I think part of the problem with California is they came to take this industry for granted a little bit.”
While he did praise Democratic politician Gavin Newsom for attempting to introduce incentives, Affleck believes more work needs to be done, adding, “Now, I will say, the current governor (Newsom), I think doubled the tax rebates amount in bulk available but the percentage you get back in terms of actual budget doesn’t compete with places like England, which is why you see a lot of these big, huge movies shoot in the UK. Or even, there have been New Mexico, Louisiana, Texas, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Georgia.”
Affleck continued: “People give these tax rebates, and they’ve sort of been controversial, but one of the things that happens is that it causes people who, where this used to be the centre of that, to move to other states for work. And, it’s really the technicians and the crew that make or break your movie. You need the best people, you need good people.”
“I, as a director, know that to be true, and so if people move away, that really hurts the industry,” Affleck concluded.
Affleck’s comments coincide with a new report that revealed the UK taxpayer funded £89 million of the budget for the upcoming blockbuster Jurassic World: Rebirth.
The UK government incentive scheme began in 2007 and was designed to drive investment in the UK’s film industry. It reimburses studios up to 25.5 per cent of the sum they spend on making a movie in the UK, provided that at least 10 per cent of its total cost is incurred there. Data from the British Film Institute (BFI) shows that in 2019, every £1 of reimbursement handed to studios generated £8.30 of additional Gross Value Added benefit for Britain’s economy.
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