José Padilha’s big-budget remake of sci-fi classic RoboCop will be getting an incentive payment for filming partly on location in Detroit. Like the original 1987 movie the film is set in a future Detroit, although this time most of the shoot actually took place in Ontario.
Tax experts in the US have criticised the value of filming incentives and say that state authorities are increasingly disillusioned. They argue that local economic benefits are short-term and that US communities are tired of being used as doubles for elsewhere in the country.
Accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has urged Northern Ireland to chase better regional filming incentives. The firm argues that Northern Ireland should push for targeted tax incentives to help compete with the Irish Film Board’s popular Section 481 programme.
New TV series Do No Harm has decided to film on location in Philadelphia. Network NBC made the decision based on the city’s competitive filming incentive programme and distinct architecture. It also helped that Philadelphia isn’t seen so much on TV.
Glasgow has doubled for both San Francisco and London in an epic shoot for sci-fi drama Cloud Atlas. Co-directed by Tom Tykwer and sibling filmmakers Andy and Lana Wachowski, the film's multiple stories span millennia.
The Alaska Film Office has been urged to prioritise productions that work “in the state’s best interests” following an audit of its filming incentive programme. Alaska’s filming tax credit was recently confirmed for ten years with a USD200 million film fund, although it remains controversial.
The BBC’s epic historical miniseries The White Queen has begun filming in the Belgian city of Bruges. Based on a series of novels by Philippa Gregory, the production is set in 15th Century England during the Wars of the Roses.
Titanic Studios in Belfast have officially opened two new sound stages. Fantasy TV series Game of Thrones is based at the facility – which encompasses Paint Hall Studio - and the GBP8.3 million extension makes it one of the larger studios in Europe.