Steve Hilton Unveils Five-Point Plan to Revive Hollywood
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- Steve Hilton unveiled a five-point plan at the shuttered Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, declaring "the lights are literally going out in Hollywood" and pitching himself as the leadership California film has lacked.
- The plan's diagnosis singles out "rigid application windows, complex categories and limited access for smaller productions," contrasting California's approach with out-of-state rivals that "operate faster, simpler and more competitive systems — often without caps."
- Hilton's five planks: make California competitive again, give producers clarity and certainty, protect independent and mid-sized productions, make the incentives real, and protect California's creative future.
- Donald Trump has endorsed Hilton, and multiple polls this week have him as the GOP front-runner in the governor's race, a year after he launched his bid.
- Hilton appeared at a bipartisan Pomona College debate alongside one other Republican — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Blanco — and six Democrats: Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, Tony Thurmond and Antonio Villaraigosa.
- Eric Swalwell quit the governor's race and resigned from Congress this month amid multiple sexual abuse allegations, the article notes in a closing aside.
Why it matters: California's tax-credit program has been widely criticized as slow and capped while Georgia, New York and other states have aggressively poached productions; Hilton is making reform of that program a centerpiece of a governor's race where he leads the GOP field and carries Trump's endorsement, and a win would put his five-point framework in front of Sacramento voters as the alternative to 16 years of Democratic control of film policy.
