The Soundstage Filming Tax Credit Program, launched in 2022, has been a critical incentive to keep television projects in California. It incentivizes productions filmed on soundstages certified as part of a studio construction project built, renovated, or converted under the program. 

One of the independent projects is a Janis Joplin biopic produced by and starring Shailene Woodley, who said this of California’s film incentives: “Thank you to the California Film Commission’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program – myself and the other producers on this project believe California is the only place to film a slice of Janis’s life with authenticity and truth – and we are so grateful to have received the green light to do so!”

In addition to the independent projects, big-budget films and TV shows — like Mesquite Pictures’ “Community – The Movie” and Universal Content Productions’ “Suits LA” — will film in California and create over 1,200 new jobs. 

“Keeping jobs here in California and bringing jobs back to California have always been top priorities for our state. 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.” — Colleen Bell, Executive Director of the California Film Commission

For more information about these incentives and awardees, click here.