Ben Affleck Says California Took Film & TV Industry For Granted

Ben Affleck doesn’t just play an accountant on the big screen. The Accountant 2 star is pretty good at running the numbers in real life.

Asked on the film’s red carpet Wednesday about California‘s film and TV tax incentive program, the actor-producer told AP that state officials “came to take this industry for granted a little bit.”

His statement came two days after FilmLA reported that overall shoot days in Greater L.A. were down by 22.4% during the first quarter, continuing a disturbing trend.

While Affleck acknowledged that Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed more than doubling the state’s present level of support from $330 million a year to around $750 million annually in fiscal 2025-2026, the actor observed that “the percentage of what you get back in terms of the actual budget doesn’t compete with places like England, which is why you see a lot of these big, huge movies shoot in the U.K.”

Affleck also rattled off a litany of other states that have “better exchange rates or tax rebate deals,” including Georgia, New Jersey and Louisiana.

The Artists Equity co-founder knows whereof he speaks. In fact, his comments come just days before the California legislature is set to hold a hearing on SB 630 and another proposal which would address that very issue.

The bills would increase the available credit for an individual project from 20% to 35% for amounts paid or incurred in Los Angeles, also giving the California Film Commission leeway to allow for additional credit percentages by 5% in other areas of economic opportunity.