A HISTORY OF FIGHTING FOR HOLLYWOOD

Councilmember Paul Krekorian has always been a strong advocate for the arts and the entertainment industry and is the author of the state's first-ever incentive package to ensure Hollywood stays in California. As a member of the State Assembly, Krekorian also wrote a stream of bills to support the arts, including the celebrated AB 700, which sought to secure a stable revenue source for the California Arts Council. The bill sought to support arts programs and artists throughout the State by encouraging awareness, creating exhibitions, and awarding grants to individual artists and arts organizations.

In 2007, Krekorian was selected to Chair the Assembly Select Committee on the Preservation of the Entertainment Industry. Through the committee, he spearheaded efforts to study and curb the economic impact of runaway production, analyze workforce development and investment in arts and tech education, and counter intellectual property crimes like piracy and counterfeiting.  Those efforts culminated in the passage of his legislation to incentive the Industry, which has already contributed to a significant increase in local film production, creating and facilitating more than 11,000 jobs throughout the city and state.

During his tenure in the State Assembly, Krekorian also sought to support the next generation of filmmakers by creating an annual film festival designed specifically for high school students of his district. FILMFEST 43 was remarkably successful, attracting more than 100 student submissions each year, and was sponsored by a number of major studios, including Disney, NBC Universal, Warner Bros, Sony, and Paramount.  As a Los Angeles City Councilmember, Krekorian plans to continued that tradition and create a new festival allowing young filmmakers from across Los Angeles the unique and exciting opportunity to screen their work to the general public in an elegant “premiere”-style setting, and to receive the well earned recognition they deserve.

 

 

§ AB 1696 (2007 – Bass, Krekorian, Portantino)
• Would have created a grant program, administered by the California Film Commission, to fund Film and TV Productions in California.

§ AB 2750 (2008 – Krekorian)
• Creates a new formula to calculate restitution for victims of piracy.
• Prior to this bill, victims of music and movie piracy were paid pennies in restitution when they should have gotten dollars.
• Bill corrected an injustice and creates a new disincentive against piracy of copyrighted content.
• Sponsored by the RIAA and supported by the MPAA.

§ AB x3 15 (2009 – Krekorian): First ever Film and TV Production incentive in the State of California.
• Created a five-year, $500 million tax cut to keep Film and TV Production in California.
• Has already saved or created 50 movies and television productions in California, accounting for about half a billion dollars for the state economy.
• An average, $70 million production generates $199 million in economic activity:

§ At least $10.6 million in tax revenue for California
•  $2.8 million in sales tax, $7.8 million in income tax
-141 full- time direct jobs
- 425 full-time indirect jobs
• According to SAG, 42 States have incentive programs.