New York may be targeting NBC’s flagship Tonight Show with a new filming incentive designed to attract established TV programmes to the Empire State. The Tonight Show has been based in Los Angeles since the early 1970s but a major reformat could mean the show switches to New York.
A highly experienced line producer from a respected production service company recently said to me: “You know when the shoot is going well when the only complaint from the visiting foreign producer is some minor issue about the hotel, catering or craft services!”
Alien invasion movie The Host, based on a novel by Twilight author Stephanie Meyer, avoided the book’s California settings to keep production costs down. Filmmaker Andrew Niccol wrote the script and relocated early scenes from San Diego to Louisiana to use the latter’s filming incentives.
Ireland’s Prime Minister, known as the Taoiseach, has met with Steven Spielberg in Los Angeles to discuss Irish location filming opportunities. Enda Kenny confirmed that Ireland’s filming incentive programme will remain flexible.
[slideshow id=354]Frisca Carapelli co-founded Scoutit in 2003 with five other experienced Location Managers, all of whom have a deep knowledge of Italian filming locations. The team has a collective background in garden design, line producing and casting, as well as location work.
Surprise hit The Call, a small-scale thriller starring Halle Berry, made the unusual move of switching filming locations at the last minute from Ontario to California. An earlier rejection for filming incentive support in Los Angeles was overturned and prompted the change.
Ministers from Northern Ireland joined cable channel HBO in the US to celebrate the new series of Game of Thrones, which is based in Belfast’s Titanic Studios facility. First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness also pitched for more productions.
Action sequel Transformers 4 has secured a filming incentive payment to shoot on location in Detroit, Michigan. Filmmaker Michael Bay is returning to direct the movie, which will spend around USD80 million locally and get an incentive payment of USD20 million.