Sacramento Report: A Push to Bring Filmmaking to San Diego

On Wednesday Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared with LA leaders in Burbank to announce $750 million in tax credits intended to entice film and TV productions to California. 

Hollywood won’t be the only place to benefit. San Diego lawmakers pushed for amendments to the tax credit that could help a fledgling studio set to open in San Diego County next year, the Chula Vista Entertainment Complex. 

Filmmaker Aaron Roberts, a San Diego native, is launching the $85 million studio with the goal of bringing movie, TV and other productions to the region. 

Its first phase in 2026 will open at the new Millenia Library in Chula Vista, with podcast studios, photography rooms and editing spaces. Those facilities could accommodate social media recordings, marketing and advertising content and smaller film projects, Roberts said. 

It will also host training for film and TV pathway programs at local high schools and might collaborate with colleges and universities. 

In the second phase in 2027, the company plans to buy 8.6 acres of city land across from the library and build soundstages for virtual production, which allows movie makers to project digital backgrounds on LED screens during filming.  

“We’re confident that San Diego is going to be – and Chula Vista in particular – a real hot spot of film production, once we get all our programs rolling,” Roberts told me. 

How California Film Tax Credits Could Help Make this Happen  

Tax credits allow businesses to offset their tax liabilities by deducting a certain amount from what they owe. The $750 million film tax credit that Newsom announced this week more than doubles the current $330 million program.  

Since 2009, the state film tax credit has generated $27 billion in economic activity, supported more than 209,000 entertainment industry jobs and awarded nearly 850 projects, Newsom said in a statement Wednesday. 

But California’s entertainment industry has taken blows in recent years starting with a production slowdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, the writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023 and the LA wildfires earlier this year. 

Other states also offer substantial tax credits to lure film projects from California.  

“The world we invented is now competing against us,” Newsom said at the press conference. The expanded tax credit program aims to keep more of those projects in California. 

Beyond Hollywood: While LA is the center of the entertainment industry, San Diego lawmakers want to make sure film and TV companies in other regions can take advantage of tax credits too. 

“That’s important because historically everybody knows Hollywood,” Assemblymember David Alvarez told me. “I believe when we’re making substantial investments and we as Californians are giving to this industry, that the benefits are not just to one part of the state but benefit all of the state.” 

He worked with state Sen. Steve Padilla to expand options for independent studios such as the one planned in Chula Vista. A state bill, AB1138 would increase the total amount of state tax credits and the kinds of productions that qualify.   

It would nearly triple the amount of tax credits available to independent films and studios, setting aside up to $75 million – 10 percent of the total funding pot – for smaller productions.  

The bill would let independent film companies apply for tax credits on $20 million in eligible expenditures, such as labor and production costs, doubling the current $10 million cap. 

And it would boost the base tax credit rate from the current 20 percent to 35 percent. Film studios and projects outside the Los Angeles zone could get an extra 5 to 10 percent.  

“That could make Chula Vista a much more attractive place for someone looking to film,” Alvarez said. 

Roberts organized a coalition of “out-of-zone” filmmakers to push for those changes, and said “we think this bill is an amazing start.” 

The bill eliminates some restrictions on soundstages, which could benefit the Chula Vista studio. It expands a career pathway program to train people for jobs in motion pictures and television and offers studios and production companies an extra 2 percent tax credit for employing people from those programs. 

“So that’s right in line with the work that Chula Vista Entertainment Complex wants to do with high school students,” Alvarez said. 

What’s the downside? Some lawmakers questioned whether the film tax credit is the best use of state money in a tight budget year, CalMatters’ Stella Yue reported. Others said it would encourage other states to boost incentives, creating even more competition. 

State Sen. Brian Jones told me earlier this year that he was skeptical about expanding tax credits, in light of potential cuts to higher education. Newsom eventually restored some funding to universities. Jones said this week that tax credits are worthwhile but should be offered to more than just the entertainment industry. 

“Saving entertainment production means protecting middle-class jobs and preserving the California Dream,” he said. “We should extend tax credits not just to film but to every struggling business.” 

Other parts of the San Diego County have tried to attract entertainment industry businesses. In 2019, I covered a proposed film studio at a former recycling plant in the San Elijo Hills neighborhood of San Marcos. 

I couldn’t find any updates on that project and didn’t hear back from the city or the consulting firm that proposed it. It’s not clear if that plan ever panned out, which illustrates the challenges of trying to create an entertainment hub outside of Hollywood. 

Roberts said he thinks he has the right combination of experienced advisors, a strong partnership with Chula Vista and financial backing to make his project work. He hopes to negotiate other incentives with the city and county. 

“If we get that triple-stacked (incentive,) we will be easily the most competitive place in California and will be able to compete on a national level as well,” he said. 

The studio is hosting an open house on Aug. 2, and invites the public to RSVP. 

California Scales Back Environmental Law to Boost Housing Construction 

One of the biggest California stories this week was the decision to scale back the California Environmental Quality Act to spur more housing development. 

The Act, known as CEQA, offers some of the strongest environmental protections in the country. But state leaders have questioned its use in urban settings, complaining that some people use it to stall projects they don’t like. I wrote about how local lawmakers see the issue in April and discussed environmentalists’ objections to CEQA reform last week.  

Marines on the Border 

Dozens of Marines are now stationed at a Border Patrol station in eastern San Diego County, CalMatters Wendy Fry reported, marking an escalation of the Trump administration’s use of military in immigration enforcement.  

Marines there told CalMatters that they are patrolling the border at Campo twice a day. Last month, Trump ordered the National Guard and Marine units to quell immigration protests in Los Angeles. Newsom protested, and a court battle over authority to deploy those forces is underway. 

The Sacramento Report runs every Friday. Do you have tips, ideas or questions? Send them to me at deborah@voiceofsandiego.org. 

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