The New Mexico Film Office has confirmed that Better Call Saul, a spinoff series from the crime drama Breaking Bad, will film in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Better Call Saul will follow the exploits of criminal lawyer Saul Goodman before he met crystal meth dealer Walter White.
The Israeli co-creator of hit US terrorism drama Homeland has called for more US productions to film in international locations including Israel. Gideon Raff is currently working on new US dramas Tyrant and The Dig, both of which are shooting in Israel.
A new studio facility in development in central Illinois in the northern US could help boost the state’s production industry by complementing Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. Heroic Age Studios will be based in Mount Zion, a three-hour drive from Chicago.
The mayors of ten separate California cities have signed a letter calling for a boost to the state’s filming incentive programme. In the letter, the mayors lament the massive decline in big-budget feature and TV drama production in California and say the incentive has generated USD4.5 billion for the state since 2009.
Ohio’s filming incentive programme has helped attract a biopic of the jazz innovator Miles Davis to Cincinnati. Iron Man franchise co-star Don Cheadle – also a talented saxophonist – will direct and produce Miles Ahead, and will also star as the famous musician.
The BBC is filming on location on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands for the new series of Doctor Who. Peter Capaldi takes over from Matt Smith in the iconic sci-fi show, which has broadened its international scope in recent years with shoots in the US, Dubai and mainland Spain.
A second series of ITV’s murder drama Broadchurch will once again film on location in Dorset on the south coast of England. Broadchurch was a big hit and followed the impact of a child murder investigation in a small seaside community.
Oxford Scientific Films shot in the Sichuan province of central China for new 3D documentary film Pandas: The Journey Home, a production looking at giant panda conservation. The team spent two years arranging access to the animals.