I believe in America.

Without movies, America is lost.

California has the tastiest food, the finest equipment, the greatest spirit, and the best people in the world. Together, we can liberate cinema.

The tax incentive structure in California is fundamentally flawed. The only thing more flawed is the conversation surrounding it. 

Below the line costs? Above the line costs? Raising the cap? The real question we should be asking as Californians is what the hell are we paying for?

California represents a dream to filmmakers. A land of magic and wonder that could just as soon play as the backdrop for a screwball comedy like “What’s up Doc?” as it could play the backdrop for Captain Kirk’s fight against the Gorn.

California is a place where titans like Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino could make their movies their way.

Those are the types of films California should be funding: Movies that come from filmmakers with original ideas.

Just this week, California announced “The Simpsons Movie 2” will be getting $22 million in tax incentives, while another $11 million will be given to a  “13 Going on 30” reboot at Netflix.

That sum of $33 million isn’t creating jobs. The success and viability of those IPs created those jobs.

California does not need to subsidize The Simpsons 2.

California taxpayer money needs to create new films, with new ideas; jobs that would not exist if not for the tax incentives.

And that is money that will flow directly into local businesses, restaurants and bars, serving as a boon to every Californian.

From where I stand, the only thing that money is being used for now is to subsidize Netflix’s air conditioning bill.

To create jobs, to bring filmmakers back to California, we need to be incentivizing films based on new criteria.

Because no one dreams of growing up to one day work on a sequel the way so many of us dreamed of making films the way Coppola, Lucas, Lynch and Tarantino did.

Let them make their shitty sequels and reboots in Georgia.

In California, we make movies.

Paid for by Sandak for Governor 2026