‘Suits: L.A.’ Had 12 Million Reasons to Move Production to L.A.
It turns out “Suits: L.A.” had 12 million reasons to relocate from Vancouver, where it shot its pilot, to actual Los Angeles. OK, 12,000,001 if you count the title.
On Tuesday, the California Film Commission revealed the 19 new projects it has awarded a total of $51.6 million in tax credits to as enticement to shoot in the Golden State. Only one was a TV series: “Suits: LA” has been granted about $12 million in tax incentives through the Soundstage Filming Tax Credit Program to move to Los Angeles.
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The latest list includes three big-budget feature films and 15 independent films. Of note are the long-rumored (and now confirmed!) Janis Joplin biopic starring and produced by Shailene Woodley. That one got $2.5 million. Another $2.5 million will go to the Artists Equity film “Killing Gawker” — the one for which Ben Affleck is reportedly casting himself as Hulk Hogan. Affleck and Matt Damon founded the label in 2022. The “Community” movie will get $3.3 million in tax credits to shoot in California.
The financial incentive to film in California is meant to be mutually beneficial to the productions and the state and local economies. The return on the CFC’s investment will come in the form of employment and local spend. Combined, the 19 projects are expected to spend more than $284 million in California qualified expenditures, which is a fancy way of saying 1) wages to below-the-line workers ($112 million), and 2) payments to in-state vendors. The productions will employ 2,768 crew members, 1,086 cast members, and 16,997 background performers (measured in days worked), and generate approximately 618 filming days across California.
“Keeping jobs here in California and bringing jobs back to California have always been top priorities for our state,” Colleen Bell, the executive director of the California Film Commission, said in a statement. “We’re not only helping people get back to work but also keeping major projects like ‘Suits LA’ — which was planning to film elsewhere — right here in Los Angeles where it belongs. This is crucial for our economy and the well-being of our crew that call California home.”
“Suits LA,” from Universal Content Productions LLC, is expected to spend $25 million in qualified wages and a total of $507 million in California qualified expenditures. The series will create more than 2,600 new jobs in the state, according to the CFC.
“‘Suits LA’ is a show whose characters are deeply ensconced in the world of film and television,” showrunner Aaron Korsh said in a statement. “Being able to shoot here will be a huge part of the show’s authenticity. More importantly, thanks to the Soundstage Program, we’re able to provide employment for Los Angeles-based cast and crew who have been starving for opportunities at home.”
Also, “Suits: Vancouver” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
The three non-indie films — Sony’s “Community — The Movie,” “Lullaby” from TCS U.S. Productions 34, and an untitled Screen Gems feature — are expected to generate nearly $64 million in qualified California expenditures: $85 million in total spend, $32.5 million of that for California-based below-the-line workers.
The 15 indie films will spend $169.9 million in qualified expenditures, including $61.6 million in wages supporting 2,588 jobs for cast and crew and 12,354 extras.
Production flight from Los Angeles and the greater state of California has been very troubling to the local economies and workers. L.A.’s greatest export is entertainment, but the rise of alternative (read: cheaper) production options — like Georgia, Las Vegas, Vancouver, and Toronto, to name just a few — have forced Hollywood’s hand. That hand has been handing out more and more of these tax credits, incentivizing studios to stay in — or return to — Tinsel Town.
Woodley said her Joplin biopic had to be in California. Now it will be.
“California meant so much to Janis Joplin — from the stoops of San Francisco to the wooden walls of Sunset Sound, the state became the stage upon which she explored not just the world of music, but the world of her vibrant humanity,” her statement reads. “Being a Los Angeles native myself, and having grown up working alongside industry locals, knowing our film will be created with some of the most gifted, passionate, and devotional people leaves me giddy. I have a feeling Janis would be smiling ear to ear zipping down the PCH in her psychedelic Porsche knowing her story is bringing opportunities and funding to the city and people that held so much significance to her.”
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