Sacramento’s skyline and name has graced the big screen in recent years.
California’s capital city has been featured in films like 2017’s Lady Bird directed by Sacramento native Greta Gerwig, as well as the 2024 comedy Sacramento starring Michael Angarano, Michael Cera and Kristen Stewart.
Last year, Sacramento was also the backdrop for parts of the upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson action film One Battle After Another featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro and Regina Hall. The movie is set to debut in September.
The attention comes as the city, and California overall, aim to continue adapting to the shifting media environment.
Local and state officials are creating new incentives to keep their creative economies in the running.
Sacramento rolls out new rebate program
Sacramento Film Commissioner Jennifer West says her office works to support local filmmakers, and to entice bigger outside productions to the city. “It's about getting them successfully through production, and then getting to the big screen to be able to say yes, that filmed… or partially filmed in Sacramento," she recently told Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez.
West said recent films and TV shows have provided an economic boost to the city. Since she became film commissioner in 2020, West said media revenue brought in an average of $1.8 to $2.2 million per year. However, last year’s filming for One Battle After Another almost tripled that amount.
City officials say the production filmed in Sacramento for 16 days, and included over 3,700 hotel stays and more than $5.3 million in local spending. “It is considerable what one feature film can bring to a community,” she explained.
According to city officials, the filming of "Sacramento" contributed approximately $100,000 to the local economy through hotel stays, local hires, van rentals, and catering.Courtesy of City of Sacramento
Earlier this month the city’s Film and Media Office unveiled a new rebate program intended to make Sacramento more attractive to larger productions.
The program is supported by one-time funding from Measure U, a one-cent sales tax meant to improve the city’s quality of life. It offers up to $250,000 in total reimbursements for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Eligible productions must have a city budget of at least $1 million. They must also film at least five days, or 20 percent of their total production schedule, within Sacramento city limits.
West described some of the rebate’s specific incentives. “It’s a 100% rebate on city services so police, fire permitting, traffic engineering, all of that,” she explained. “And, it’s a 25% rebate on qualified expenditures… hotel nights, rental cars, location fees, catering, restaurants…all of those expenses.”
She said those expenditures could have ripple effects in Sacramento’s economy. “Having those dollars put back… I think, boosts any part of the city,” West said. “There is a tremendous amount of money that can go back into the economy.”
The city says eligible productions include feature films, TV pilots, scripted and unscripted series and documentaries. Other productions like commercials, student films or music videos do not qualify for the rebate.
While smaller productions are priced out of the current rebate program, West said her office does have resources available for these types of projects. These include six $10,000 production micro-grants and two $5,000 post-production micro grants each year.
Regarding the new rebate, which she calls a “pilot,” West said if the program is successful she wants to ask the Sacramento City Council to make it a recurring opportunity. She is also open to expanding it to include smaller productions as well.
“If city council approves permanent funding for the rebate, our office will reconsider all eligibility requirements including lowering the minimum required spend within the city,” West wrote in an email.
Expanded state film, TV tax credit aims to keep California competitive
In the recently-passed state budget, lawmakers approved an expansion of the state’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, increasing its annual funding from $330 million to $750 million.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office says the program is now one of the largest capped film incentives in the country, and expands the number of film jobs it supports by around 50%.
West said the state program provides added benefits for areas like Sacramento. She noted the original program provided a 25% incentive to productions that filmed outside of “the zone,” a 30-mile area around Los Angeles.
She said that uplift has been increased under the expansion. “With the new program it’s jumping up to 35% and then possibly 45% out of the zone,” she said.
West also said she and other film commissioners lobbied for the program to be more equitable for other parts of the state like Sacramento that cater to different types of films from Hollywood.
“We have a unique perspective,” she explained, “a lot of us in areas outside of Los Angeles see independent films [as] our main bread and butter… what can we do for independent films to make it easier, to make them more money?”
Production for “Sacramento” wrapped in May 2023 after filming in several notable locations, including Old Sacramento, Gunther’s Ice Cream, East Sacramento, the R Street Corridor, and downtown.Courtesy of City of Sacramento
ABC10 Entertainment Anchor Mark S. Allen is a filmmaker. He told Insight’s Vicki Gonzalez the tax credit’s expansion puts the Golden State on even footing with other high-profile production areas in the country.
“We couldn’t compete with New York City [with] an $800 million cap,” he explained. “We’ve doubled ours, we’re neck and neck with them now… I think our resources and our sunny days in California say a lot.”
Allen said some productions may also be looking for a change of scenery. “Frankly if you talk to filmmakers that are LA-based they’ll tell you that LA is overshot,” Allen said. “Films don’t look quite as interesting as they used to… so they’re looking for diverse areas of opportunity in size, scope and population.”
That opens up opportunities for Sacramento, which Allen said has historically had a lower profile than other parts of California, but still attracts its share of shows and homegrown talent.
“Specifically [here] you can set up in one intersection… point the camera this way, you get one era,” Allen said. “The architecture over here [is] mid-century? You get another era. It’s amazing what you can get done here.”
Regarding the city’s new rebate program, Allen said he is confident it will help Sacramento stay competitive, calling it a “great start.”
“Not only boost attracting them, but also increase the quality of films that are at [the] table,” he said. “I would just love to see Sacramento represented in a way that gives a cachet where people go, ‘that's a destination. I want to go there.’”
