This is the best quote I have seen from a producer in recent weeks…”We would never misrepresent California cows by shooting them elsewhere.”
Perhaps California’s new incentive should have covered commercials?
Hats off to Richard Verrier of the Los Angeles Times for reporting this story, which represents much of what is wrong with production decisions. That said, I must admit that this story made me laugh out loud.
The California Milk Advisory Board may have shot itself in the hoof.
The board, which promotes the state’s dairy farmers and is overseen by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is again preparing to film commercials touting California milk from California cows — in New Zealand.
In January, it plans to shoot part of its new series of 10 California “Happy Cows” TV commercials in Auckland, taking advantage of that country’s low production costs.
Under the state’s first film tax credit program, which took effect in July, California is offering $100 million in credits for about 50 film and TV projects. Commercials, however, were excluded from the program.
“It’s totally out of line,” said Ed Duffy, business agent for Teamsters Local 399, which represents location managers, studio drivers and casting directors. “If they’re promoting California products, they should be shooting in California.” Milk board officials said the New Zealand shoot represented a “minor portion of production” and was a matter of simple economics.
The board solicited bids from around the world, and the New Zealand site was the lowest, said Michael Freeman, the board’s vice president of advertising. “It was a no-brainer,” he said. “The dairy industry is facing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. We have a fiduciary responsibility to spend their hard-earned dollars as efficiently as we can. In this particular case, we found significant cost savings by shooting a portion of this product overseas.”
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