The Government of Ohio has approved a new proposal entitled House Bill 475 which will increase the amount of money allocated to the state’s film incentive programme from USD20 million to USD40 million. Alongside this change the bill will remove caps on the amount of money that can be claimed and require that all productions spend at least 5% of their budget on small local businesses.
The fifth instalment of Michael Bay’s film series based on Hasbro’s range of Transformers toys, has begun filming on location in Cuba. Following on from Transformers: Age of Extinction, The Last Knight will be the second film in a new trilogy established within the Transformers universe. Mark Wahlberg will reprise his role as Cade Yeager, starring alongside Josh Duhamel and newcomer Isabela Moner.
Plans have been unveiled to install an official film incentive programme in Romania before the end of the year, with talks currently being held between the Romanian National Film Centre and Romania’s Ministry of Culture. While the details of the incentive have yet to be finalised, in its current state it will offers tax relief of up to 30% to productions that spend a minimum amount of EUR30 million in the country.
The Bristol Film Office has released statistics regarding the amount of film and television productions shot within Bristol over the 2015-16 period. The report shows a 65% increase in location filming over the previous year, a staggering figure that aligns with the incredible success that the UK film industry as a whole has had in recent years.
As part of a press conference held at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, several Thai officials unveiled a brand new incentive programme to attract foreign productions and boost the country’s film industry. At its core, the programme will offer a cash rebate of 15% to any production that incurs a minimum local spend of THB50 million (USD1.5 million) but can be increased to 20% if additional criteria are met.
Olivier Assayas’ film Personal Shopper, which is currently competing for the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2016 was filmed on location in Paris, Prague and Muscat. While being submitted as a French production, the film stars American Actress Kristen Stewart who was also cast in Assayas’ last film to be submitted to Cannes, Clouds of Sils Maria.
Under the administration of ScreenWest, Western Australia will be getting its own regional film fund in the form of AUD15 million (USD12 million). The Western Australian Regional Film Fund will be available from July 1st 2016 and will only be distributed to productions that incur a yet to be specified minimum spend.
The latest film directed by Sean Penn, The Last Face will compete at the Cannes Film Festival 2016 for the Palme d’Or award. Starring Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem and Jean Reno, this will be Penn’s first directorial effort since 2007s Into the Wild which was nominated for two Academy Awards.