Adam Schiff holds hearing with IATSE’s Noah Wyle and Matt Loeb
Sen. Adam Schiff will hold a field hearing Friday in Burbank with “The Pitt” star Noah Wyle and IATSE President Matt Loeb as he tries to build support for a federal film stimulus.
Schiff is also expected to focus on the employment impact of the Paramount-Warner Bros merger.
“There is a lot of pressure on the entertainment industry’s workforce – from generous tax breaks 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 manufacturing push. 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 for doing so.
Over the past year, Schiff has been rallying sponsors in Congress for a federal manufacturing incentive that would come on top of state-level subsidies. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents 160,000 entertainment workers, is also a leading supporter of increased tax incentives to maintain domestic production.
Also present at the hearing is Jax Deluca, executive director of the Future Film Coalition, a group of independent film professionals. The group has launched a website, BlocktheMerger.com, urging attorneys general to seek an injunction to prevent the deal between Paramount and Warner Bros. continues.
In a press release, Schiff argues that the U.S. film and TV industry faces stiff competition from foreign stimulus programs.
Schiff raised the issue with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos during a Senate hearing in February. Sarandos was on Capitol Hill to announce his company’s $83 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. to defend, which has since fallen apart. Paramount is now in line to acquire the studio in a deal worth $111 billion.
At this time, no one from Paramount or Warner Bros. testify at the hearing in Burbank.
“I look forward to hearing directly from industry leaders and experts about 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,” said Schiff.
