Battleship, a big-budget studio production loosely based on the popular board game, will begin filming in Hawaii at the end of August. Universal is spending around USD200 million on the film, which stars actors Taylor Kitsch and Alexander Skarsgard, as well as singer Rihanna.
Electronics giant Samsung has shot a new commercial for its Galaxy S phone in several quarries in the Czech Republic. Epic shows two armies battling each other in a rugged landscape, with a reveal showing the footage is being watched on a Galaxy S.
Director Adam Wimpenny has joined Moon Films in London. He has carved out a reputation in comedy with sketch shows such as Strutter and This is Wondervision. In addition, his short film Roar was awarded at the Rhode Island Film Festival in 2009.
New feature film Africa United is set across southern Africa and has been filmed in South Africa, Burundi and Rwanda. Directed by Debs Gardner-Paterson, the film tells the story of three young Rwandan street kids who decide to head to South Africa for the World Cup when they get lost in the Congo.
A new TV series produced by Steven Spielberg will be filmed mostly in Queensland, Australia, at the Warner Roadshow Studios. The 13-part time-travel disaster drama Terra Nova will inject a significant proportion of its USD150 million budget into the local economy. In addition, the vast majority of the cast and crew will be locally hired.
British satellite broadcasting company BSkyB has filmed a new spot in Barbados to promote the World Twenty20 West Indies 2010 cricket competition. The spot shows ordinary Barbadians running to a bar to watch the games on TV as cricket balls rain down around them.
New incentives recently introduced in Florida have already impacted on the state’s audiovisual production. While Florida has attracted theatrical feature productions like Marley & Me and Confessions of a Shopaholic in recent years, the state is an especially popular location for television projects.
Jerome Jourlait, of French production company Ze Monkiz Tribe, recently filmed a new project in Vietnam. Lotus Flower was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Ze Monkiz Tribe.