Variety: ‘Joker 2’ and New Sofia Coppola Film to Receive California Tax Credits

Story from Variety:

“Joker” was a very New York movie — so much so that tourists flocked to the Bronx staircase where Joaquin Phoenix danced in a montage.

But the sequel, “Joker: Folie á Deux,” will shoot in Los Angeles, thanks to $12.6 million in tax credits to Warner Bros. from the state of California.

The California Film Commission announced its latest round of credit allocations on Monday morning, awarding $93.7 million to 18 projects. The recipients include an untitled indie film from Sofia Coppola and Amazon’s MGM, which will get $19.6 million to make the latest iteration of “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

Netflix — which has dominated recent rounds — once again took the lion’s share of the funding, with $37.1 million — or 40% of the total.

The streamer got $16.6 million for “Rebel Moon: Part 2,” just a year after getting $18.5 million in California tax credits to make the first “Rebel Moon,” a space epic from Zack Snyder. The two “Rebel Moon” films are projected to cost $83 million apiece just in “qualified” in-state spending, which excludes “above the line” costs like actor and director salaries.

Netflix was also awarded another $20.5 million on an even larger film, budgeted at $107.7 million in qualified spending. That project is untitled and no other details about it were disclosed. The “Joker” sequel is listed at $98.7 million in qualified in-state spending.

In addition to the four big-budget projects, the commission also announced funding for 14 independent films. They include “Pizza Girl,” a film from Margot Robbie’s production company; “Perfect Strangers,” a remake of an Italian comedy that will be produced and written by Issa Rae, who also stars; and “A Special Relationship,” a biopic about Elizabeth Taylor.

California gives out $330 million a year — upped to $420 million in 2022 and 2023 — in credits to keep film jobs from fleeing to other states and countries. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently vowed to extend the program through 2030. Assuming that extension bill passes, projects that receive the credit will soon have to submit a diversity plan, showing how they intend to make their workforce reflect California’s demographics.

Here is the full list of projects awarded tax credits this round: 

Studio Films:

• “Joker: Folie á Deux,” Warner Bros. Pictures, $12,600,000
• “Rebel Moon: Part 2,” Netflix Productions Inc., $16,618,000
• “Thomas Crown Affair,” MGM Pictures Inc., $19,570,000
• Untiled NF Project, Netflix Productions Inc. $20,511,000

Independent Films:

• “A Foot in the Grave,” FITG Film LLC, $1,415,000
• “A Special Relationship,” See-Saw Films Limited, $2,500,000
• “Creature,” Rush Job LLC, $2,500,000
• “Elmhurst,” XRM MEDIA, LLC, $440,000
• “Greenlight,” Faith Media Distribution LLC, $1,218,000
• “Guns and Moses,” Guns and Moses LLC, $735,000
• “Perfect Stranger,” Dangerous Game Productions, LLC, $2,474,000
• “Pizza Girl,” Maggot productions II, inc., $1,446,000
• “Shell,” Shell Movie LLC, $2,500,000
• “The Cure,” The Cure Movie LLC, $763,000
• “The Knockout Queen,” Atlas Entertainment, $2,500,000
• “Triage,” End Cue, LLC, $1,237,000
• Untitled JJR Surf Movie, Ghost Tree Films, LLC, $2,884,000
• Untitled Sofia Coppola Project, Peppermint Road Inc. $1,849,000