Filmmaker Kenneth Branagh has scouted locations on the island of Guernsey for his new feature project, an adaptation of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Guernsey is a British Crown dependency and is part of the Channel Islands off France’s Normandy coast.
Filmmaker Ron Howard may have to abandon plans to film on location near Reading in the UK. The director had wanted to build a set on Blackbushe Airfield to film his new Formula One feature Rush, but local conservation issues mean the project might have to go elsewhere.
England is busily organising its new filming support structure, while traditional global filming hub California has revealed a general production increase for 2011, despite a massive fourth-quarter dip. Elsewhere, Peter Jackson’s hobbit films completed their first stage of location filming and news broke that Kodak may soon file for bankruptcy.
Washington Filmworks is asking for USD3.5 million to help attract filming projects to Washington State during the next legislative term. The state ended its 30% cash rebate filming incentive last year and Washington Filmworks has since been operating unfunded.
Producers from nearly a dozen Ontario production companies have visited India to encourage more co-productions between the two regions. The Canadians visited Mumbai and Goa, and took part in a programme at the International Film Festival of India focussing on Canadian filming.
Creative England has unveiled its new Location and Production Services (LPS) team. The team has seven members with two more to be recruited in the coming months and has several offices across England. They offer a full filming liaison service as part of Creative England.
A new film shot at Baja Studios in Mexico could help put the facility back on the filmmaking map since it hosted James Cameron’s Titanic, as well as Master and Commander. Little Boy is set in California and is the first feature in several years to shoot on location at the 35-acre studio.
Peter Jackson has offered a video diary update on the Hobbit shoot in New Zealand. The initial stage of location filming lasted nearly eight weeks and wrapped in December with a main unit of around 500 crew members, plus around 200 people on the second unit with Andy Serkis as director.