Through an investment supplied by UKTI’s Northern Powerhouse Fund, the British Film Commission have launched an initiative to highlight locations and facilities in Northern England to the American film industry. As part of this initiative, six key executives from American Production Companies made the journey to Northern England last week to explore what the area has to offer.
The Netflix exclusive revival of the comedy-drama series, Gilmore Girls is being filmed on location in Los Angeles, with the production currently taking up residency at Warner Brothers Studios. The revival, entitled Gilmore Girls: Seasons was announced in January 2016 and will consist of four 90 minute episodes, a departure from the show’s usual 45-minute run time.
Tom Hanks’ latest film, A Hologram for the King was shot on location in Morocco to recreate Saudi Arabia. Based on David Eggers’ novel of the same name, the film depicts unsuccessful businessman Alan Clay who travels to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to sell holographic conference technology to the King.
The upcoming fantasy film by Polish Director Lech Majewski, Valley of the Gods will be shot on location in Poland, Italy and Utah. Principal photography will begin mid-May 2016 and will travel to multiple locations within the Polish region of Silesia, including the city of Katowice, the Dietel Palace in Sosnowiec and Czocha Castle to name a few.
20th Century Fox’s horror-comedy series Scream Queens will relocate production from New Orleans to California, in a bid to obtain the specialised filming incentives that the West Coast state offers for relocating television shows. Scream Queens will now receive up to 25% in transferable tax credits, changing to 20% for any future seasons that continue to film on location in California.
A Game of Thrones app has been released on the Google Play store to highlight the filming locations used for the show, with an iOS release expected soon.
The long awaited film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series will be shot in South Africa. Having been in development since 2007 with J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) initially slated to produce and direct the film, The Dark Tower will now be directed by Nikolaj Arcel and star Idris Elba and Matthew McConnaughey.
The state of Massachusetts’ tax incentive programme could be scaled back under a new proposal by Governor Charlie Baker. As part of his budget proposal for 2017, Baker has called for a USD7 million cap to be implemented per production after his previous efforts to scrap the programme entirely were thrown out.