Film New Zealand Chief Executive Gisella Carr has reiterated the importance of attracting high-end TV productions. Under new rules, TV series on the scale of Game of Thrones will be able to access New Zealand’s filming incentives with much lower production budgets.
The BBC has started filming the new series of sci-fi hit Doctor Who on location in Cardiff with new star Peter Capaldi. More than ten million UK viewers watched Matt Smith’s popular three-year tenure end as he regenerated into Capaldi in the show’s Christmas Day episode.
Tobey Maguire is a producer on new post-apocalyptic feature Z for Zachariah, which will start filming on location in New Zealand in the next few weeks. Based on a 1974 children’s novel by Robert O’Brien, the story takes place in a remote valley in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.
Nevada in the western US has launched a new filming incentive designed to boost the state’s production industry. The new programme is worth up to 19% of local production spending and has an annual film fund of USD20 million.
A series of major TV dramas – including the Stephen King miniseries Under the Dome – filmed in North Carolina in 2013 and helped deliver production spending of USD254 million. This could bolster calls to renew the state’s 25% filming incentive, which is set to expire at the end of 2014.
An American remake of the acclaimed British miniseries Broadchurch is scheduled to start filming this month in the Greater Victoria region of British Columbia. Like the original UK series, Gracepoint will tell the story of the impact of a child murder investigation on a seaside community.
Cate Blanchett’s new relationship drama Carol will film on location in Ohio, recreating 1950s New York in Cincinnati. The production team has previous experience of filming in the city and the film will get local incentive support.
The continuing success of the BBC’s modern-day detective series Sherlock could help boost film tourism in London. Nearly ten million UK viewers watched the opening third-series episode broadcast on 1 January 2014 and the series starts in the US later this month.