Production professionals in California are preparing legislation that they hope will lead to a boost in the state’s filming incentive programme. The aim is to increase the annual film fund well above the current USD100 million and expand support to big-budget feature productions.
Hit US sitcom Modern Family will film in Queensland and Sydney for a special holiday episode in Australia. The Los Angeles-based show is one of the top-rated comedies in the US and producers will film scenes at iconic spots like the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney Harbour Bridge.
A film version of video game franchise Angry Birds will follow British Columbia’s digital animation incentive to film in Vancouver with Sony Pictures Imageworks. The game was first launched as a smart-phone app in 2009 and has since been downloaded more than two billion times.
Romantic feature A New York Winter’s Tale – or simply Winter’s Tale in the US – filmed entirely on location in the Empire State. Figures from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) reveal that the movie spent more than USD15 million on local production services.
Pinewood Studios has announced it will open a new filming facility in the Welsh capital Cardiff. A studio will be built at the former Energy Centre building in Wentloog east of the city. Cardiff already hosts shows including the BBC’s Doctor Who.
Filmmaker Lee Daniels, best known for the Oscar-winning Precious and more recently White House drama The Butler, will be filming on location in Chicago for his TV pilot Empire. The drama will be set against the backdrop of a large hip-hop business.
New York’s generous post-production tax credit has boosted spending throughout the state and driven ten different companies to expand their operations, according to figures from the Post New York Alliance.
New miniseries The Kettering Incident will film on the Australian island state of Tasmania, south of the country’s mainland. The eight-part AUD15 million production will be written by Tasmanian writer Victoria Madden and will be the highest-profile shoot in the region since The Hunter.