Authorities in Louisiana have voted to keep the state’s filming incentive for another two to three years. The basic 30% transferable tax credit has been instrumental in turning the state into a production hub that dominates the industry not just in the South but throughout the continental US, helping attract major projects.
Bulgaria’s Nu Boyana Film Studios has announced that Sylvester Stallone will be heading to Bulgaria to film the sequel to The Expendables. It marks a change from the first film, which was shot largely in New Orleans and Brazil, with the latter doubling for an anonymous South American country.
The Association of Film Commissioners Cineposium 2011 is shaping up to be the event that will provide indispensible tools for film commissions to meet the needs of what promises to be a demanding future.
The Dark Knight Rises won’t be getting any cash back for its upcoming Pittsburgh shoot through the state incentive scheme. Pittsburgh will be doubling for Gotham City but productions must spend at least 60% of their total budget in the city to qualify for the incentive.
The long-term success of Massachusetts’ screen industry could get a boost from plans to develop a state-of-the-art studio facility in the north-east part of the state. MJM Development, based in Andover, plans to build over an area of nearly 30 acres, with a phased development period of ten years.
The Sunset Strip of the 1980s has been recreated in Miami for the filming of Tom Cruise’s Rock of Ages. It’s another snubbing for Los Angeles, with the city apparently unable to match Miami’s incentive scheme or flexibility when it came to street closures and set dressings.
[slideshow id=124]Period cars and decor came to Manchester and Liverpool for the filming of Marvel’s comic book adaptation Captain America: The First Avenger. Much of the film was shot in the UK, with Stanley Dock in Liverpool and Dale Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter doubling for 1940s New York City.
A big-budget version of Paradise Lost is coming to Fox Studios in Sydney and could rejuvenate Australia’s global appeal. Major international projects have been scarce in the country recently, with local producers largely blaming the Aussie dollar, so this is terrific news for the national industry.