Written by Tom Deehan on May 5, 2016. Posted in On Location / Production News

Cannes: Woody Allen’s Café Society filmed in New York and Los Angeles

Woody Allen’s latest film Café Society, which is set to open this year’s Cannes Film Festival was shot on location in New York City, Pasadena and Los Feliz. The film will stand as Allen’s fourteenth entry into the ‘Out of Competition’ category and stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively and Steve Carell.

Café Society tells the story of a young actress (Stewart) and actor (Eisenberg) who form a romance whilst trying to navigate their way to stardom in 1930s Hollywood.

Allen’s previous film to be screened at the festival was the mystery/drama Irrational Man starring Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone.

Born in the Bronx and raised in Brooklyn, Allen’s familiarity with New York extends to his use of the city as a regular filming location. The city has featured in Allen’s most famous films including Manhattan and Annie Hall.

Both New York and Los Angeles have become staples of the US film industry, with both locations offering lucrative tax incentives to productions.

The state of New York offers up to 30% in tax credits and an additional uplift of 5% for productions that utilise local postproduction facilities. Productions with a minimum spend of USD500,000 can also receive an additional 10% if they film in any of a number of counties including Albany, Montgomery and Wyoming.

California operates a similarly appealing scheme, offering 20% in non-transferable tax credits to feature films, with an additional uplift of 5% for productions that meet a list of specific criteria. This incentive has proved popular due to its large overall fund sitting at USD33 million.