A coalition of unions joined with the Motion Picture Association on Tuesday to unveil a report showing that a federal film incentive would reverse the decline of domestic production and create 143,500 jobs per year. The MPA held a Zoom press conference with actor Jon Voight and Reps. Laura Friedman and Brian Jack, the bill’s Democratic and Republican co-authors, to showcase bipartisan backing for the measure.
The report argues that a 20% credit on production labor costs would double the domestic industry by 2032, leading to $125.3 billion in additional expenditures cumulatively through 2035. We are going to lose the primacy of entertainment production if we don’t do this. That’s not hyperbole.” The MPA has been working to rally Republican support for the idea, and got a major boost when President Trump endorsed it last month.
The lobbying group has argued that a federal incentive would benefit not just Los Angeles and New York, but workers in all 50 states. Jack, a Republican from the Atlanta suburbs, said that he looks forward to working with Democrats and with Trump on the proposal, saying that his district has been hit hard by the downturn. Supporters are hopeful that it could pass by the end of the year, though some caution that it will take more time.
Asked whether France or other countries might increase their own subsidies in response to a U.S. incentive, he said that he had recently met with Macron and other international leaders. So they certainly don’t fault us for wanting to play on the same playing field as everybody else.” Voight, who has done more than anyone to bring Trump on board, said that he recently heard from a blockbuster film producer who said it is simply impossible to film in the U.S. Our president is a compassionate man,” Voight said.
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