[slideshow id=383]Business is booming for television production and countries around the world are clamouring for a piece of the action. High-end television shows with movie-scale production values are commanding large audiences, but what impact does this have on local industries and is it a long-term trend?
Georgia is planning ways to boost regional film tourism and capitalise on the success of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which shot locally. The state is promoting tours of the filming locations and the movie itself contributed to regional spending of nearly USD935 million in 2012/13.
[slideshow id=382]Irene Paris filmed on location in Iceland for a Christmas-themed spot for French supermarket chain E.Leclerc. The commercial showcases the ease of price comparison technology against the backdrop of a frozen Alps landscape.
A Nigerian version of the long-running US suburban satire Desperate Housewives is to film on location in Lagos. African broadcaster EbonyLife TV is co-producing with Disney Media Distribution EMEA and is searching across Africa for writers familiar with the original show.
Angelina Jolie has shifted location filming of her World War II feature Unbroken to Sydney in New South Wales (NSW), having completed scenes in Queensland. The film tells the story of US airman Louis Zamperini who survived weeks adrift at sea before being captured by the Japanese.
Sony Pictures is to scale back feature film production in order to focus on more high-end TV content like Breaking Bad. Several of the studio’s recent big-budget movies have under-performed at the global box-office, while revenue from TV productions has unexpectedly soared.
Dystopian sequel The Hunger Games: Catching Fire filmed scenes on location in Hawaii, using the tropical setting for the story’s jungle and forest scenes. The film follows two young heroes competing in a life-or-death competition in a future North America ruled by a tyrannous wealthy class.
Film London has made 1.25 million square feet of additional filming space available in the English capital. The move is a response to heightened demand since the launch of the UK’s TV tax credit earlier this year, a move that has attracted big-budget productions including 24: Live Another Day.