Actor Danny Glover is leading a rally in San Francisco on Saturday to support bigger tax breaks for California’s film and television industry.
Supporters of Assembly Bill 1839 are trying to pressure lawmakers to sweeten the current program, “which is capped at $100 million a year and 20 percent of production costs — smaller than rival incentive programs in Georgia, Louisiana and New York,” Variety magazine reported.
The 10 a.m. rally will be held at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel. Also attending are Assembly members Marc Levine and Rob Bonta, San Francisco supervisors David Chiu and Mark Farrell, Teamsters VP Rome Aloise and IATSE Local 16 VP Eddie Raymond.
A flier for the event read: “Nearly 40 other states and 30 other nations offered nearly $1.5 billion in tax incentives last year to lure jobs and wages out of California, and the percentage of films made in California has gone from 66% to 40% in just a few years.”
The legislation is being touted as necessary to keep productions from being lured out of state. With no specific dollar amount attached, the bill cleared the state Assembly by a 76-0 vote on May 28, Variety reported.
Mr. Glover is best known for his roles as Mr. Albert Johnson in “The Color Purple” and Detective Roger Murtaugh in the “Lethal Weapon” franchise. He was also nominated for four prime-time Emmys.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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