Actor and producer Kevin Spacey has met with lawmakers in Maryland in a bid to extend the state’s filming incentive programme. Spacey stars in the Netflix political drama House of Cards, which is asking for greater financial support to film a third season in Baltimore.
The European Commission has approved the UK government’s plan to boost its filming incentive programme, Chancellor George Osborne revealed in his 2014 Budget. From 1 April this year the tax credit will be easier to use and more accessible, while the cultural test will be modernised.
The sequel to sci-fi drama Divergent will shift from Chicago to film mainly on location in Atlanta, as the production team looks to Georgia’s more generous filming incentive programme. Similar to The Hunger Games, Divergent tells a Young Adult drama set in a dystopian city.
Sony Pictures’ comedy sequel Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 has become the first movie to win approval for Nevada’s new filming incentive. The original Paul Blart: Mall Cop filmed in Massachusetts and was a huge hit so the sequel could help boost Nevada’s film-friendly credentials.
Producers in the United Arab Emirates have renewed calls to have formal filming incentives launched in Dubai. Shane Martin of Boomtown Productions in Dubai and Ian Ross of Central Films Dubai were speaking at the Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity.
Producers of the TV drama Nashville are asking for continued filming incentive support to enable the show to remain in its namesake city in Tennessee, should the show get a third series. Nashville follows the dramas of an ageing country music star and her clashes with a rising starlet.
Iconic entertainment programme The Tonight Show has been given a 30% filming incentive relocating to New York, a report suggests. The show has switched filming locations from Los Angeles where it had been based since the early 70s.
India and Canada have signed a co-production filming treaty that will enable qualifying projects to benefit from filming incentives available in both countries. Toronto is one of the top production hubs in North America and as a country Canada is keen to tap into the Bollywood industry.