Written by new-contact on Sep 30, 2011. Posted in General Interest

Editor's Weekly

It’s been a busy week for pre-production news in the features industry, with both the James Bond and Iron Man franchises altering their location filming plans. GM-owned vehicle manufacturer Opel has come out with an ambitious shoot in Spain, and we profiled Hamish Walker in Glasgow and Chiana Coronis on the Greek island of Mykonos.

So, India’s lost the Bond franchise. The producers were apparently on the verge of agreeing a deal involving the use of the Indian Railways network in the western state of Gujarat, but then South Africa suddenly seemed more appealing. A bunch of reasons have been given ranging from permitting delays and excessive costs to restrictions on the filming schedule.

The juggernaut Bond franchise has already had a rocky development process blighted by long delays as a result of MGM’s financial woes, and the new film could use a hassle-free shoot that comes out on-budget and on schedule.

It seems like in the end the producers have opted to play it safe in South Africa. India would no doubt have looked great on-screen and Bond hasn’t been there in nearly 30 years, but it was always a risky proposition. The juggernaut franchise has already had a rocky development process blighted by long delays as a result of MGM’s financial woes, and the new film could use a hassle-free shoot that comes out on-budget and on schedule.

Michigan’s threatened descent into filmmaking obscurity continues with the loss of Iron Man 3. The state lost The Avengers last year when lawmakers suggested they wanted to axe the generous filming incentive. The new USD25 million annual cap on the incentive scheme seems tailor-made to alienate Hollywood. It’s likely that Michigan will have to seriously consider the future of its filmmaking industry within the next few months once Sam Raimi’s Oz prequel leaves town.

Opel's new commercial, Going Further, has pace, great visuals and a pioneering spirit that translates well to the screen. It’s one of the more impressive pieces TLG has seen recently.

Staying in the US, feature production days in Los Angeles were nearly 50% higher this week than in the same period last year. The city’s been haemorrhaging TV productions to New York for several months, but with a few high-profile exceptions features seem to prefer a West Coast base. Having the California filming incentive extended for a year will have been a big help, but the state’s long-term filmmaking future is less certain despite the current figures.

In the commercials world Opel has shown real filmmaking ambition with its new ad, Going Further. There can’t be too many other commercials coming out anytime soon that needed and found a desert, a glacier and a relatively clear body of ocean within a few hours’ of each other in Spain. The spot has pace, great visuals and a pioneering spirit that translates well to the screen. It’s one of the more impressive pieces TLG has seen recently.

TLG has formed a media partnership with the Cíclope International Advertising Craft Festival, taking place in mid-November in Buenos Aires. The festival is in its second year and honours the work of commercial production companies rather than the agencies.

Further round the globe, Mitsubishi unleashed its Shopping commercial for one of its SUVs. Filmed in and around Kuala Lumpur it’s a fun spot framed initially as an action short before the driver’s more mundane shopping quest is revealed. Location-wise it’s less distinctive as it could have been filmed anywhere, but the focus is more on the action film genre parody than the shooting spots.

Staying in the commercials world, TLG has formed a media partnership with the Cíclope International Advertising Craft Festival, taking place in mid-November in Buenos Aires. The festival is in its second year and honours the work of commercial production companies rather than the agencies. We’re very excited to be involved with them.

At the time of writing the Governor of New Jersey was refusing to pay the state’s location filming tax credit to low-rent MTV show Jersey Shore, despite the programme being eligible for one.

Our first interviewee this week was Hamish Walker of the Glasgow Film Office, who gave us the lowdown on what’s basically been the city’s Hollywood summer, hosting both World War Z and Cloud Atlas. Chiana Coronis, meanwhile, works as a location fixer on the Greek island of Mykonos. The island offers a wealth of great beaches and amazing weather, and has already been used by films like The Bourne Identity and Shirley Valentine.

Last but not least, an interesting development this week relating to filming incentives. At the time of writing the Governor of New Jersey was refusing to pay the state’s location filming tax credit to low-rent MTV show Jersey Shore, despite the programme being eligible for one. On the face of it the law supports the show’s producers, but the issue raises questions about what control authorities should be allowed to have over content to which they lend financial support.

If you manage a building or a location that you think qualifies as film-friendly, or you’ve filmed somewhere recently that you think should be listed on our website, please contact Ewa.

If you’ve got some great location filming stories to share and you’d like to be part of our profile section (see here), or you have an idea for an article (see here) please contact Murray. We’d be happy to hear from you.

Homepage image courtesy of Stephan Brockmann.