Sen. Adam Schiff will hold a field hearing on Friday in Burbank with “The Pitt” star Noah Wyle and IATSE President Matt Loeb, as he looks to build support for a federal film incentive.
Schiff is also expected to focus on the job impact of the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros.
“There are many pressures facing the entertainment industry workforce – from generous tax incentives offered by other countries, to the potential merger of two of Hollywood’s biggest studios,” Schiff said in a statement.
“The Pitt” is often highlighted as a success story for California’s production incentive. The show is set in Pittsburgh but films on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, and has received $24.5 million in state tax credits to do so.
For the last year, Schiff worked to gather sponsors in Congress for a federal production incentive that layers on top of state-level subsidies. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents 160,000 entertainment workers, is also a key supporter of increased tax incentives to preserve domestic production.
The hearing also includes Jax Deluca, executive director of the Future Film Coalition, a group of independent film professionals. The group has launched a website, BlocktheMerger.com, that urges state attorneys general to seek an injunction to prevent the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal from going through.
In a press release, Schiff argued that the U.S. film and TV industry is facing intense competition from foreign countries’ incentive programs.
Schiff raised the issue with Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, at a Senate hearing in February. Sarandos was on Capitol Hill to defend his company’s $83 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros., which has since fallen apart. Paramount is now in line to acquire the studio in a deal valued at $111 billion.
As of now, no one from either Paramount or Warner Bros. is slated to testify at the hearing in Burbank.
“I look forward to hearing directly from industry leaders and experts on the state of the industry, what we need to do to compete, and how this proposed deal would impact workers as we seek to strengthen film and television production in California and the United States,” Schiff said.
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