California Film Commission Director Colleen Bell to Step Down in Early January

California’s top filming authority Colleen Bell, who has served as the director of the state’s film commission for the last six years, will be stepping down in early January.

The appointee of outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that she will be transitioning out of the role in tandem with Newsom on an episode of The Town, from former Hollywood Reporter editorial director Matt Belloni, which released on Friday night. “I will be transitioning out with Gov. Newsom,” Bell said when asked if she would stay on if California governor hopeful Xavier Becerra were elected in November.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Bell added that serving in the role was “one of the great privileges of my career.” She added that until the next governor takes office in January, “my focus remains firmly on the work ahead.”

Bell continued, “We have important initiatives underway, strong momentum behind California’s production growth, and I intend to finish strong — continuing to deliver results and strengthen California’s position as the global leader in film and television production. I also look forward to working closely with the incoming administration to ensure a smooth and thoughtful transition.”

She concluded, “It has been an honor to serve the people of of California, and I remain optimistic about the future of our film and television industry and the important work of the California Film Commission.”

Appointed in 2019 by Newsom, Bell oversaw the Commission during a period of ground-shaking change for Hollywood. Her organization, which administers the state’s film and TV tax credit program, sought to right the ship on production volume in the state through the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023’s double labor strikes and the contraction in the entertainment business and the exacerbation of runaway production to other jurisdictions that followed. Through that period, her organization supported productions including Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, Apple TV+’s The Studio, Fox’s Baywatch, ABC’s The Rookie and HBO Max’s The Pitt.

Amid outcry over the drop in production work in the state following the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, in 2025 Newsom and various stakeholders successfully pushed through a new cap for the state’s incentives program. The change more than doubled California’s previous allocation, from $330 to $750 million annually. For about a year now, Bell has been able to draw from these expanded coffers to offer tax incentives to more productions, even as California still lags behind other countries and states (such as the U.K., Georgia and Louisiana) in certain perks, like qualifying above-the-line expenditures.

Bell came to the role of film commissioner after previously serving as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary during former President Barack Obama’s second administration. Active in Democratic politics, she served as a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention and was pivotal in raising more than $2.1 million for Obama’s presidential campaign.

Bell is also an entertainment veteran, having worked for decades in various roles on the daytime soap The Bold and The Beautiful, including as a producer.