A casting call for the new Star Wars film has stated that while Pinewood Studios in London will be the main filming location, shooting is also scheduled for New Mexico and Los Angeles. The movie is reportedly set for a 21 January 2014 start date.
Two Los Angeles politicians have pledged to push for better California filming incentives with a new bill in 2014. Assemblyman Mike Gatto and Senator Kevin de León, both Democrats, say they will introduce a bill that will aim to curb California’s runaway production problem.
Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of Los Angeles, is under continuing pressure to appoint a so-called ‘film czar’, whose job it will be to boost the city’s production industry. Los Angeles has a problem with runaway productions and the film czar will have the unenviable task of reversing the trend.
Filmmaker JJ Abrams has revealed he would have preferred to film the new Star Wars movie on location in California, rather than in the UK. Speaking at the Produced By Conference in Los Angeles, Abrams spoke of the inconvenience of moving his family to the UK for the shoot.
California lost most of this summer’s biggest movies to locations with better filming incentives. While Iron Man 3 filmed mostly in North Carolina and White House Down shot in Montreal, Star Trek Into Darkness was the only major summer feature to shoot extensively in California.
Becky Brake first worked with filmmaker JJ Abrams on his action TV drama Alias. She's since become a regular locations collaborator and talks to The Location Guide about big-budget location filming, the Mission: Impossible franchise and working on Star Trek Into Darkness.
One of the great privileges of working at The Location Guide is the amazing people we all get to meet. A truly mixed international group of production professionals all with interesting backgrounds and great location stories to share.
[slideshow id=325]An Iceland native, Einar has been the Icelandic Film Commissioner since 2004. The Film in Iceland project was started in 2002 when Iceland decided to launch its filming incentive programme to help stimulate its vibrant film industry.