Hollywood has called on South Africa to expand the filming infrastructure in cities like Cape Town as interest grows in the country. Pirate drama Black Sails is among the high-profile productions currently filming in South Africa, from a base at Cape Town Film Studios.
Legal drama Reckless has become the first major network TV series to film on location in Charleston, South Carolina. The CBS drama spent six months shooting in the city, paying USD6.5 million in local wages alone.
American drama co-production Dig has started shooting in Jerusalem and could help boost Israel’s profile as an international filming location. The series tells the story of an FBI agent uncovering a conspiracy while investigating the murder of an archaeologist in Jerusalem.
Cape Town filming for the fourth season of US terrorism drama Homeland has been rescheduled because of delays caused by new work visa regulations. Foreign talent and crew coming into South Africa must now make visa applications in person in their home country.
Proposed changes for North Carolina’s filming incentive programme could undermine the state’s filmmaking appeal, production professionals have warned. Governor Pat McCrory has set out plans that could hinder the state’s ability to attract features on the scale of Iron Man 3.
The Israeli co-creator of hit US terrorism drama Homeland has called for more US productions to film in international locations including Israel. Gideon Raff is currently working on new US dramas Tyrant and The Dig, both of which are shooting in Israel.
Company Pictures has returned to The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol, western England, to film new six-part period drama Wolf Hall for the BBC. The production company previously based its period drama New Worlds at the studios.
Production professionals in North Carolina will rally this weekend in support of the state’s filming incentive. The 25% filming incentive is set to expire at the end of this year and the production industry is concerned shoots like Stephen King’s Under the Dome will film elsewhere.