Whalefall Producers Chose California Over Cheaper Louisiana — SkimNews
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- 20th Century Studios shot 'Whalefall' entirely in California (Monterey, San Pedro, Radford Studios) despite Louisiana being roughly six figures cheaper, because executive producer Doug Merrifield argued 'the best creative teams are here' for a film requiring heavy specialty work.
- 'Whalefall' received nearly $11 million in California tax credits on $50M in qualified expenditures, with 62 filming days, a cast of 11, a crew of 180, and 409 background players.
- Wētā Workshop in New Zealand built the whale stomach models, but StudioArt & Technology in California manufactured the 12-foot-tall, 18-foot-long whale head along with the throat, esophagus, and larynx because they were too large to ship in time.
- California's Film & TV Tax Credit program was expanded to $750 million, and 'Whalefall' benefited from the preceding $330 million funding round alongside other fall releases like Ben Affleck's 'Gingerbread Men' and Disney's 'Hexed'.
- Merrifield flagged a structural gap: California offers no above-the-line incentive, so productions with heavy-hitting stars can't easily justify the state — a smaller-cast feature like 'Whalefall' can make it work, but a 'big above the line' project still won't.
- Producers noted Radford Studios offered a good deal because business is 'so slow right now,' with stacked stages on levels 12, 16, and 17 allowing easy transitions between the ocean tank and whale-stomach sets.
- President Trump has voiced 'vague intentions' to back a federal film and TV tax credit, while California separately rolled out a 35% postproduction incentive to lure work back to the state.
Why it matters: California just expanded its tax credit program to $750M and added a 35% postproduction incentive, yet producers say the absence of an above-the-line credit still pushes star-driven features to other states — meaning the state's bigger comeback projects (like the $161.5M 'Jumanji' sequel and Paul Thomas Anderson's $140M film) are anomalies, not yet a trend.
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