Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey has started filming new Civil War drama The Free State of Jones on location in New Orleans, doubling the state for Mississippi. Louisiana is no stranger to historical features, having recently hosted Django Unchained and 12 Years A Slave.
The UK’s new TV tax credit drove a huge increase in television location filming in its first full year, according to figures published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Designed to bring more high-end TV shoots to the UK, the tax credit attracted Veep, Elementary and 24: Live Another Day.
Productions filming in British Columbia can now get a tax credit on their post-production spending as part of an expansion of the Digital Animation or Visual Effects programme. Vancouver got a boost last year doubling for Seattle in Fifty Shades of Grey, which is now an international hit.
Filming for the movie version of the wildly popular erotic novel Fifty Shades Of Grey helped boost production on Vancouver’s North Shore last year. The shoot included stage work at North Shore Studios, as well as location filming across the city.
Planned spending figures from the California Film Commission reveal that TV production will be prioritised under the state’s boosted filming incentive. State authorities are more than tripling the annual film fund and expanding support to big-budget movies and TV shoots.
Lawmakers in Washington, DC, are pushing to introduce local filming incentives. The city is a popular setting for TV productions like House of Cards, Veep and Scandal, but high-profile shows typically only spend a couple of days in the actual city to film establishing shots.
Veteran actor Patrick Stewart has started filming new comedy series Blunt Talk on location in Los Angeles. Executive produced by Family Guy guru Seth MacFarlane, the story will follow Stewart’s British broadcaster Walter Blunt as he transfers to a new job in US cable news.
The Location Managers Guild of America has announced the nominations for its second annual awards show. Location professionals will spend the next few weeks voting and the winners will be announced at a ceremony in Beverly Hills on 7 March.