The New Zealand Film Commission has promised that the country’s production industry will continue to grow in 2015. James Cameron will soon start work on his Avatar sequels and Disney fantasy remake Pete’s Dragon will be based in Wellington. More large-scale shoots are promised.
Pinewood Studios has revealed a 15% increase in profits from film production in the UK in the six months to the end of September. Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the biggest shoot at Pinewood and The Avengers: Age of Ultron was the largest at Shepperton.
Cable channel Syfy has committed to an extended slate of location filming in Australia. Television dramas Hunters and Childhood’s End are both scheduled to shoot in Melbourne, using Docklands Studios as a base.
Carnival Films has started filming new historical drama The Last Kingdom for BBC America, with production scheduled for Hungary and the UK. Based on novels by Bernard Cornwell, the drama series will be looking to emulate the success of Game of Thrones and Vikings.
A new TV drama version of the classic Jekyll and Hyde story is set to film in India and London from early next year. The series is from UK network ITV, which recently commissioned The Chronicles of Frankenstein, featuring former Game of Thrones star Sean Bean.
Ardmore Studios near Dublin is set to help establish a new film facility in the city of Limerick in western Ireland. The plan is to adapt existing industrial spaces in the city to emulate the success of Northern Ireland’s production industry, which has grown around Game of Thrones.
Disney will film a remake of its 1977 fantasy Pete’s Dragon on location in New Zealand. Production will be based at Stone Street Studios in Wellington – home to the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies – and the project will also shoot on location across the country.
New Zealand and China have signed a TV co-production filming agreement, the first of its kind for China. The deal will enable co-productions to benefit from New Zealand’s national TV incentives while giving New Zealand producers better access to China’s tightly regulated market.