The filming incentives shake-up in Michigan has resulted in big-budget feature Robopocalypse going elsewhere. Steven Spielberg’s upcoming directing project was asking for incentive payments that would have accounted for most of Michigan’s annual film fund.
After tentative announcement last November, New Mexico has officially confirmed that it’s hosting big-budget adaptation The Lone Ranger, which will feature Johnny Depp as Tonto. The project will film in locations including Santa Fe and Albuquerque from February to August this year.
A TV miniseries exploring the life of Nelson Mandela will be filmed in South Africa later this year. Dramatising 60 years of the former President’s life up to his release from prison in 1990, the series will be six hours long and will have a production budget of around USD20 million.
This week we covered a creative new online advertising campaign from Honda. The UK is in the spotlight again with the release of Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, while the British Prime Minister has called for the UK film industry to back more commercial projects. Elsewhere, US filmmaker Nicole Ballivian is planning a shoot on the West Bank.
[slideshow id=223]Gabrielle Lindemann set up the Kent Film Office for Kent County Council in 2006. Prior to that, she worked for the BBC as a as an Assistant Director and Location Manager before becoming a freelance Location Manager.
David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, has called on the UK filming industry to focus its attention on attracting bigger films that target broader audiences. The announcement has proven controversial with filmmaker Ken Loach who is concerned Cameron hasn’t grasped the reality of the industry.
Steven Spielberg recreated early 20th Century England on location in the southern UK for his period epic War Horse. Filming focussed on the hills of Dartmoor and the village of Castle Combe in south-west England, while the trenches of the First World War were recreated in Surrey.
Louisiana has reaffirmed its position as one of the central filming production hubs in the US – and indeed the world - by making some USD1.3 billion during 2011. The figures from film office Louisiana Entertainment are not quite official yet, but it’s clear the state had a hugely successful year.