New Zealand filmmaker Andrew Adamson has joined the call for more generous filming incentives in the country. The filmmaker directed both of Disney’s big-budget Narnia films and has also steered the Shrek movies.
A new study for the Dubai Film and TV Commission has advised the emirate city to consider formal filming incentives as part of a wider strategy to boost its production industry. Offering longer-term residency to production crew is also suggested.
Filmmaker Alexander Payne boosted the local economy in Nebraska in the central US by filming his namesake movie locally. Nebraska tells the story of a father and son travelling from Montana to Nebraska to claim an apparent lottery win.
Mumbai-based production house BWP Totem used a remote-controlled Octocopter filming on location on a mountain road in Austria for a new commercial for MRF Tyres. The spot shows a driver keeping his wife waiting at a romantic dinner date as he takes his Jaguar for a spin.
Bond actor Ben Whishaw has officially opened the new ‘Q’ Stage at Pinewood Studios near London. The new stage offers 30,000 square feet of floor space and 15,000 square feet of additional production facilities.
Major London-based advertising company WPP has cautiously predicted a growth rate of between four and 4.5% for 2014. Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, said that sporting events like the Sochi Winter Olympics and the football World Cup in Brazil should help advertising spending.
Extreme cold in the Canadian city of Calgary has prompted filming on the new Fargo miniseries to break early for Christmas. The ten-part series is based on the Coen Brothers’ Oscar-winning 1996 film and was hit by temperatures lower than -30 Degrees Celsius when shooting was cancelled.
Hit fantasy drama Game of Thrones will remain a key part of Northern Ireland’s film tourism plans for at least the next two years. Tourism Ireland will promote the show’s regional filming locations as a way to boost the number of visitors to Northern Ireland to two million a year.