Planned spending figures from the California Film Commission reveal that TV production will be prioritised under the state’s boosted filming incentive. State authorities are more than tripling the annual film fund and expanding support to big-budget movies and TV shoots.
Romania will launch its first regional Transilvania Film Fund in April in the city of Cluj-Napoca, and will also develop a new studio facility. The city has been hosting the Transilvania International Film Festival for 15 years and the new fund could help attract more foreign producers.
A state lawmaker is pushing to cancel Michigan’s filming incentive by the end of 2015. Detroit recently hosted the upcoming superhero movie Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice but a state Representative wants to redirect the film fund elsewhere in the regional economy.
Jordan has had a renewed call for filming incentive support as Ridley Scott prepares to shoot locally for part of his new film The Martian. In recent years the country has hosted shoots such as Zero Dark Thirty but faces a major challenge in boosting its international appeal.
The future of Alaska’s production industry is looking uncertain. Lawmakers in the energy-rich state are reportedly responding to falling oil prices by winding down the filming incentive. Alaska’s film tax credits have attracted movies including whale rescue drama Big Miracle.
The Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) and BAFTA have co-hosted a panel discussion in London on how UK producers can get the most out of Ireland’s boosted filming incentives. Major productions filmed in the Dublin area have included Ripper Street and Vikings.
Lawmakers in Washington, DC, are pushing to introduce local filming incentives. The city is a popular setting for TV productions like House of Cards, Veep and Scandal, but high-profile shows typically only spend a couple of days in the actual city to film establishing shots.
Australian capital Canberra is considering new funding support for a second series of acclaimed political drama The Code. The first series followed a journalist and his computer expert brother investigating a conspiracy in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) district of Canberra.