DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran were asked Friday in a DC presser about what they’re doing to keep production in California, particularly at a time when two wildfires have further threatened the possibility of more film and TV runaway shoots post the 2023 dual strikes.
It’s not an easy question, one that boils down to dollars and cents, and evaluated with each series or feature that’s greenlit. At the heart of balancing the budget scales for DC is Lars P. Winther, a former assistant director for Gunn from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
Said Safran, “I hope California steps up in a big away and increases the credit. Nothing would make us happy than to shoot here on a more consistent basis.”
He emphasized that the next DC Max series Lanterns from co-scribes Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King is set to shoot here in Los Angeles literally on the Warner Bros. lot. A premiere date on Max sometime in early 2026 is being eyed.
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“WBD worked closely with us so that we were able to bring it here instead of Atlanta,” said Safran. DC shot the majority of Gunn’s Superman in Atlanta, where the filmmaker lives. The current production of Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl is lensing in the UK.
Safran explained on Lanterns, DC “got the tax credit. We were able to make the stage deals work in a way that made it make sense. We’re thrilled to be in LA, particularly with everything that the city has just gone through. To bring that budgetary spend to LA is a great thing.”
What about Clayface? The DC project with James Watkins in talks to direct hopes to shoot this summer. The story is set in Hollywood and NYC. In regards to whether Clayface could shoot in Hollywood, Safran admitted, “it’s a tough question.”
Each production is assessed holistically with Winther pouring over each budget to make apples-to-apples comparisons and to maximize credits.
Gunn has shot several projects in Atlanta going back to the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. The ease for the filmmaker to do so stems from the short-hand he has with a team there from PAs to camera operators.
“Every time I have a new department head they need to learn this process that I use, which can be confusing, so I like having the same people around me as much as possible,” the filmmaker said Friday.
In a recent Deadline column, IATSE Vice President Michael F. Miller Jr. called on studios to “pledge a percentage of your content will be produced here in Hollywood for the next five years.”
“If you want to help Los Angeles recover, it’s about jobs. It’s about residents having stable incomes, being able to provide for their families and being able to earn enough money to rebuild their lives,” Miller wrote.
Separately, we’ve heard that behind the scenes that Penguin star Colin Farrell, who lives in LA, is trying to encourage more filming in LA (Gunn and Safran told reporters Friday that season 2 of The Penguin is still TBD, dependent on Farrell who has taken home a SAG and Golden Globe for playing the wobbling Batman villain).
California Governor Gavin Newsom revealed plans back in October that he intends to up the state’s film and TV tax credits from their present level of $330 million a year to around $750 million annually. This would take effect with the state’s 2025-2026 budget. The Motion Picture Association back in December announced that they were helping to propel state film and TV tax credits under the California Production Coalition. Currently, the California incentive is capped at 20% of below-the-line costs for most projects, while Georgia and New York offer 30% and also cover large director and cast salaries. New York swelled its incentive last year to $700M per year while adding eligibility for above-the-line salaries up to $500K per person. California caps eligibility at $100M per project, hence big productions can’t claim the full 20%.
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