California Awards $193M Tax Credits to 38 Film Projects

California Governor Gavin Newsom's office announced on Thursday that 38 film projects have been awarded tax credits totaling about 193 million through the state's Film and Television Tax Credit Program, marking the first inclusion of animated feature films in the incentives. The selected productions, ranging from independent films to major studio releases, are expected to generate nearly 800 million in economic activity across the state.

Among the recipients are three groundbreaking animated projects: Disney's "Phineas and Ferb," which received 3.5 million in credits; "The Simpsons Movie 2" from 20th Century Studios, allocated 21.9 million; and an untitled DreamWorks Animation feature, granted 24.7 million. Other notable awards went to an untitled Paramount crime thriller with 25.9 million, Netflix's reboot of "13 Going on 30" with 10.9 million, Will Ferrell-produced "Self Help" with 2.6 million, and Laverne Cox-starring "Black is Blue" with 1.3 million. The projects include eight studio films and 30 independents, covering budgets from under 10 million to larger-scale efforts.

The incentives are projected to support more than 5,300 cast and crew members, along with over 20,800...