Written by on Aug 28, 2013. Posted in On Location

Disney wins latest approval for major California film studio expansion

Disney’s plan for major film studio expansion in southern California has won the crucial approval of Los Angeles County Supervisors. The Golden Oak Movie Ranch in Santa Clarita will have more than 500,000 square feet of new facilities, including sound stages.

California officials are hoping that the expansion plan will help boost the regional film industry when the remaining authorisations are granted. The state has a major long-term problem with runaway production and has suffered a dramatic decline in feature filming and drama TV shooting.

Eric Garcetti, the recently-elected Mayor of Los Angeles, has pledged to urgently address the issue of California’s filming tax credit programme, which offers less than 25% of the annual funds available in New York.

Disney's Golden Oak Movie Ranch in Santa Clarita will have more than 500,000 square feet of new facilities, including sound stages.

“We’ve lost the blockbuster films - they don’t film here anymore. Tax credits around the world and around the country have taken them away,” Garcetti told NBC’s Today show.

While runaway production continues in California as a whole, Santa Clarita is in fact a local success story, having seen an 18% boost in location filming days in the 2012-13 fiscal year. The city offers its own filming incentives in the form of subsidised permit fees and rewards for repeat visitors.