Connecticut in the north-east US has removed its filming incentive support for feature productions for the next two years. The state will instead focus its limited resources on television, which it considers more central to its production industry.
Montana has launched an extra location filming incentive in the form of its Big Sky Film Grant. Qualifying productions can get up to 20% of their local expenditure back in cash within as little as 30 days after principal photography wraps.
Nevada has announced a location filming incentive worth up to 19% of local expenditure and the programme will become available in January 2014. Productions will need to film at least 60% of their project in-state and spend a minimum of USD500,000 locally.
Hawaii is hoping to broaden its appeal to films like the delayed Jurassic Park 4 by boosting its filming incentive programme. Places like Honolulu with larger populations will now offer filming tax credits of up to 20% (up from 15%), while the smaller islands will offer 25% (up from 20%).
A senator in Pennsylvania has pledged to introduce legislation to remove the annual cap on the US state’s location filming incentive programme. The move could help Pennsylvania attract more features on the scale of Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.
Reliable and generous location filming incentives in the UK helped secure some of this summer’s biggest movies over California and the wider US. Brad Pitt’s zombie drama World War Z and action sequel Fast & Furious 6 are among this year’s big UK-filmed summer movies.
California saw a surge of nearly 20% in the number of productions applying for its location filming incentive for the 2013/14 fiscal year. A record 380 separate projects applied for support and 28 have been approved for the state’s 20% filming tax credit.
Minnesota in the northern US has boosted its location filming incentive fund to USD10 million for the next two years. The state will also increase its filming rebate to a maximum of 25% through its so-called Snowbate Production Incentive, all in a bid to target midsize feature films.