Cinespace Chicago Film Studios in Illinois has revealed details of its expansion plan. Having opened in 2011 the studio currently offers 18 sound stages but wants to build an additional 12, while also negotiating with local authorities to set up a back lot and a water tank.
Expansion plans at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios in Illinois are set to benefit from a new property tax reduction being planned by the city’s Mayor. The studios were officially opened in mid-2011 and the facility is set to develop more stages in the coming years.
Illinois in the northern US may amend its filming incentive to offer a rebate on star salaries. The state offers a base 30% filming tax credit, but the amendment would mean that star actors shooting in Illinois could get a tax credit on a salary of up to a million dollars.
Chicago is hosting a summer of location filming spearheaded by the latest Transformers movie and the Wachowski siblings’ new sci-fi feature Jupiter Ascending. The city will also be hosting six ongoing television series.
Warner Bros will invest in the UK’s next generation of skilled film crew by recruiting trainees. The company, which owns Leavesden Studios outside London, will recruit two trainees through Creative Skillset on each film it shoots in the UK.
Australia has delayed a rise in its Location Offset and has instead launched a new filming incentive worth AUD20 million. Specific details are scarce but the new fund is designed to boost international interest in Australia as a filming location.
Chicago’s two separate studio facilities could help deliver a strong TV pilot season and commercial filming for 2013. Last year was the Windy City’s busiest-ever production period and it now offers both Cinespace Chicago Film Studios and Chicago Studio City.
Australia has lost out on the Wachowski siblings' new feature partly due to its less competitive filming incentives. Andy and Lana Wachowski, responsible for the Matrix trilogy and Cloud Atlas, will be filming their new sci-fi film Jupiter Ascending in the UK.