Written by David Lewis on Mar 16, 2009. Posted in On Location

US feature confirmed for Ireland

The US feature film Leap Year has been green lit to go into production in Ireland at the end of this month. The project was confirmed for Ireland after improvements to the Irish tax incentive for film and television, Section 481, were introduced late last year by Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen and production has been green lit after the legislation was ratified by the European Commission this week.

Martin Cullen said: "The film and TV production industry is a fast moving and competitive global one. Ireland has now done what is essential to remain competitive in this crucial high-end inward investment industry."

Scripted by Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan and Simon Beaufoy, who won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Slumdog Millionaire, Leap Year has an Irish budget of USD16.5 million which will be spent directly on Irish crew and services. The film is directed by Anand Tucker and will prep and shoot in various locations throughout the country over a four to five month period creating 150 jobs for local crew and hiring approximately 1500 extras during this time.