Leonardo DiCaprio 'Akira' Tops List of California Tax Credit Recipients
Leonardo DiCaprio: Show me the money.
California: Here's lots of it!
DiCaprio's producing project "Akira" tops the list of recipients of the California Film Commission’s Film & TV Tax Credit Program 2.0.
"Akira," from director Taika Waititi ("Thor: Ragnarok"), is receiving $18.5 million in tax incentives.
The movie, produced by DiCaprio's Appian Way at Warner Bros., is scheduled to be filmed entirely in California over 71 days, even though the story is set in Tokyo in the year 2060.
The project is expected to generate $92 million in qualified spending, the Film Commission said, including $43 million in wages to 200 below-the-line crew members and more than 5,000 extras and stand-ins.
"Akira" is the 13th big-budget feature to film in the state under the program. Others have included "Captain Marvel," "Bumblebee," "A Wrinkle in Time" and Quentin Tarantino's upcoming "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (which stars DiCaprio).
The movies receiving tax incentives this year are 10 studio films and 8 indies. California will double for locales ranging from post-apocalyptic Tokyo to small-town Texas.