Brad Pitt & David Fincher Rule CA Tax Credit
I’ve broken down the CA Film Commission’s newest allocation of tax credits for 48 projects. I detail the major studio films and high-profile indies that received the funds.
What I found most interesting is the amount of money for indies with a sub $10M budget dropped signifcantly since the last funding cycle in March.
Read more below.
CA Film Commission gave less money to indie films with a sub $10M budget during this funding cycle in June than it’s previous funding cycle in March.
March → June drop:
43→38 films
↓11.6%
$43.03M → $31.5M credit allocation
↓26.8%
Below is a detailed breakdown of these films/credits + the Fincher/Tarantino/Pitt film.
Netflix got the biggest award from the CA Film Comission for an untitled feature film shooting for 110 days in CA with a spend of $106M.
That project is said to be:
Director: David Fincher
Star: Brad Pitt
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Lead Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Carla Gugino, Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan
Studio: Netflix
110 days filming in LA
$20M CA tax credits
The film, a sequel of sorts to Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (trailer) is said to go into production at the end of July.
The California tax incentive continues its strong support of indie films. Less support than in March, but still amazing to see:
<$10M budget
38 films supported - Jun 2025
43 films supported - Mar 2025
15 films supported - Oct 2024
Across all 48 supported projects, the California Film Commission projects will generate nearly $302M in wages and $664M in economic activity and employ over 6,500 cast and crew.
Some of the supported projects are quite interesting:
The sequel to the hit horror film It Follows, They Follow, has received a tax credit of $2.5M. The original team, director/writer David Robert Mitchell and star Maika Monroe, are all said to return.
Ang Lee-directed Gold Mountain, a film adaptation of C. Pam Zhang’s novel How Much of These Hills Is Gold. Scripted by Hansol Jung (Pachinko), it follows two orphaned immigrant siblings navigating the unforgiving wild west. We can see a mixture of Lee's expertise, the rugged West, and the Asian American experience threaded together. The film will receive $2.9M from the CA tax credits and will spend $27.3M in CA. The prod co is 5th Season (Severance).
3x Catch Light Studios (prod co: Heretic) projects:
Source Code writer Ben Ripley makes his feature directorial debut from his Blacklist script The Teller. No cast yet, but it centers on a timid, overlooked bank teller with incredible sleight-of-hand dexterity who teams up with a rogue FBI agent to rob her own bank. They got $2.5M from CA Film Comission.
Superbloom: no details on film but they received $583K with a $2.3M CA spend.
Make A Wish: no details on film but they received $1.7M with a $6.6M CA spend.
Studio Projects:
Dir: Lawrence Lamont
Cast: Keke Palmer, SZA
40 days filming in LA
$8M CA tax credits
$39.2M qualified CA spend
Distributor: Sony’s TriStar
Dir: Jeff Schaffer - writer/director: Curb Your Enthusiasm, The League
34 days filming in LA
$4.5M CA tax credits
$21.9M qualified CA spend
Prod Co: Temple Hill (Smile 2)
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Synopsis:
A group of friends whose private and inappropriate year-long group chat gets hacked, threatening their lives and friendships.
No casting just yet, but as we know, Curb is a masterclass in milking the awkward moments, so this is definitely a cringe to look forward to.
Some great indies:
Cast: Alan Ruck, Rosanna Arquette, Simona Tabasco (White Lotus), Sasha Lane (American Honey)
Prod: Uri Singer (White Noise)
28 days filming in LA
$2.3M CA tax credits
$9.1M qualified CA spend
Synopsis:
Corporate executives on a team-building retreat face a deadly struggle when their leader turns violently against them.
Seems like an alternate universe episode of Succession for Alan Ruck.
The Heidi Fleiss Story
Prod Co: Pinky Promise Films (The Last Showgirl)
28 days filming in LA
$2.3M CA tax credits
$9.1M qualified CA spend
Here’s the top of the Wikipedia bio for Fleiss:
She ran an upscale prostitution ring based in Los Angeles and is often referred to as the "Hollywood Madam". Fleiss also formerly worked as a columnist and was a television personality regularly featured in the 1990s American media.
Pinky Promise is coming hot off a Cannes debut for Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, Eleanor the Great.
Dir/co-writer: James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now, The End of the Tour)
Cast/co-writer: Jason Segel
Prod Co: Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes
29 days filming in LA
$2.5M CA tax credits
$10M qualified CA spend
Synopsis:
After a DUI, Peter must choose jail or recovery. He meets Jerry, a sponsor at meetings he reluctantly attends. Jerry's unusual approach transforms support into a troubling situation Peter struggles to leave.
Mini Tidbits:
Fifth Season (Prod Company: Severance) has a new $22.7M indie called Our Kind Of Cruelty.
Utopia (prod co/distro: The Last Showgirl, Distributor: The Red Rooms) has a film, possibly sci-fi, called Invasive Species. Receiving $589K.
Black Magic, the prod co behind Bleeding Love which starred Ewan McGregor and his daughter Clara has a new film called The Musical. $404K in credits.
Fallout Entertainment (Billy Zane’s Waltzing with Brando) has a new project, Nixon Hunter. Sounds wild. $1.5M CA spend, $386K credit allocation. Let the games begin!
Jalapeno Goat (prod co: Elizabeth Banks’ Skincare) has a new film, Doll. $1.3M credit, $5.1M spend.
Allocating the money to these indie projects is a great step to driving business back to the state. Although it has recently stalled, California recently proposed to more than double its tax incentives to $750 M.
This increase from the current $330M/year would help bring production back to the state after COVID, labor strikes, an M&A hellscape, and the wildfires.
This is much needed, as the film industry's dire contraction has driven production jobs out of California. Film shoot days in LA are down 28.9%, from 634 days to 451.
And while there’s been crickets from Trump’s tariffs, his attempt to bring back production to America, many producers and directors feel it is no longer viable to make a film in the US when international shooting costs are cheaper and many countries have high tax incentives (30% Hungary, 25% Bulgaria).
Writer/Editor: Gabriel Miller.