Actor Ben Affleck recently attended the premiere of his upcoming movie The Accountant 2 in Los Angeles. While walking the red carpet, he spoke about a serious issue affecting the film industry in California.
Ben said that California is losing many big-budget movies to other places, like the UK, because they offer better tax deals and cheaper production costs. He explained that other countries and states are giving great incentives to attract filmmakers, while California has become too comfortable and isn’t doing enough to keep productions at home.
Although California Governor Gavin Newsom has suggested increasing tax benefits for filmmakers, Ben believes it’s still not enough to compete with countries like England. That’s why, he says, “you see a lot of these huge movies shoot in the UK.”
Ben also pointed out that other U.S. states like Georgia, New Mexico, Texas, and New Jersey are doing a better job attracting film crews. As a result, talented workers from California are moving out, which could hurt the local industry in the long run.
Despite these challenges, Ben is still investing in California. His movie The Accountant 2 was partly shot in Los Angeles and Santa Clarita, and he’s also working on a Netflix project called Animals, which is being filmed in California too.
Apart from acting, Ben has been busy producing several movies like Kiss the Future, The Instigators, Unstoppable, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Accountant 2, and RIP.
In The Accountant 2, he stars alongside Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, JK Simmons, and Daniella Pineda.
