Ken Ziffren has been appointed the new ‘film czar’ for Los Angeles, faced with the task of boosting location filming in the city. Ziffren is an experienced entertainment attorney and succeeds Tom Sherak, who tragically died of cancer in January after only a few months in the role.
British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) and HBO have announced an expanded partnership that will see the two companies work together on original TV productions. Through their existing deal, Sky broadcasts HBO shows like Boardwalk Empire in the UK and Ireland on its Sky Atlantic channel.
Two new studios will be built in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast in Northern Ireland in a GBP14 million development project. Titanic Studios currently includes the city’s Paint Hall studio and is home to HBO’s fantasy drama Game of Thrones.
Chicago had a 20% year-on-year location filming increase in 2013, mainly due to a rise in television production. The Illinois city hosted six TV series at the same time and three studio features also filmed locally one after the other.
A pilot for new FX comedy How & Why will film on location in Wilmington, North Carolina, with US comedy star Michael Cera. The state’s generous 25% filming incentive was a crucial factor in securing the production, which will double the region for upstate New York.
Internet TV network Netflix will build on the success of House of Cards with a miniseries based on the life of 13th Century traveller and writer Marco Polo. The Weinstein Company will produce the production that will film at Pinewood Studios’ Malaysia facility.
Film New Zealand Chief Executive Gisella Carr has reiterated the importance of attracting high-end TV productions. Under new rules, TV series on the scale of Game of Thrones will be able to access New Zealand’s filming incentives with much lower production budgets.
New World War II feature The Book Thief filmed on location at Studio Babelsberg near Berlin. Based on a novel by Markus Zusak, the film tells the story of a young girl who steals books to find solace from the horrors of Nazi Germany.