How The Three Stooges played a part in a tense Hollywood-in-crisis hearing

In touting the importance of keeping Hollywood jobs in Hollywood, “The Pitt” star Noah Wyle brought up a bit of unknown industry history: The famed comedy troupe The Three Stooges had a special effects coordinator. 

During a Hollywood-in-crisis hearing in Burbank, Wyle name-dropped his Emmy-winning drama’s special effects coordinator, Rob Nary. “When you hire Rob Nary, you get three generations of special effects coordinating expertise,” Wyle said.

Nary, Wyle added, comes from a family of visual effects coordinators. His father and grandfather were veterans of the craft, with his granddad even helming the special f/x work for the famed comedy troupe.

Labor union leader Matthew Loeb, right, listens as actor Noah Wyle testifies during Friday’s hearing. AP

Sen. Adam Schiff, who set up the hearing, could only share his bemusement that Larry, Moe and Curly had special effects at all. “I’m still trying to figure out the special effects on the Three Stooges,” he mused. 

That lighthearted moment aside, the hearing came at a time when there has been an unprecedented level of political scrutiny on Hollywood, between the Warner Bros. saga and Donald Trump’s tariff threats against overseas filmmaking. Last year, Trump named Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson as special ambassadors to Hollywood, tapping the three with boosting production in the U.S. and Southern California. 

Voight, along with the unions and the MPA, has been vocal about a federal filmmaking tax incentive to add on to the various state programs. (We’ve heard there’s belief in some corners that Trump is supportive of the idea: His team even met with film and TV stakeholders late last year about the plan.)

The U.S. is the only country (out of more than 80) that doesn’t have a federal tax plan, nor a federal film office. But over the past few months, support has been building on both sides of the political aisle.

In talking with reporters after the hearing, Schiff said they’ve “largely fleshed out” the federal filmmaking tax credit bill he’s been working on. He touted Trump’s interest in bringing production jobs back to Hollywood, while also arguing against his tariff idea. “It makes sense to have, simply, a tax credit, the way other countries, the way the state of California does.”

Famed comedy troupe The Three Stooges had a special effects coordinator, according to Noah Wyle. Courtesy Everett Collection

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove added that there are Republican lawmakers with skin in the game. “We do actually know that there are Republican members that are interested in this, and there are many red states that have doubled down on investment.”

Page Six Hollywood asked Schiff how they planned to compete with overseas tax credits, some of which are very generous and cover as much as 45% of a film’s budget. “What we have in mind is something that would be cumulative with the state tax credit, so we hope that the cumulative effect will approximate what you can do overseas,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be exactly equivalent. People want to produce here, they want to stay in the United States. They want to spend time with their family.”