United States of America

Going into 2017, the majority of US states offer filming incentives of some kind, but only a few have ever offered strong enough support to attract high-profile productions.

The balance of US filming is likely to continue shifting. California has boosted its filming incentive and more than tripled its annual film fund to USD330 million, but the allocation of money – certainly for 2016 – firmly favours TV production.

Georgia and New York are still the main competition as US production hubs. Studio expansion is underway in both states, with the backers of Moon River Studios near Savannah saying it’s the biggest development of its kind in the US.

New Mexico is the jewel of the south-west and the only feasible place outside rural California for cost-effective desert filming locations in the US.

Uncertainty hangs over Louisiana for 2017, with the state filming incentive fund capped at USD180 million annually and crippled from when the state Government ceased to buy back tax credits throughout the previous year.
In the north and on the eastern seaboard, many filming incentives that have not already been downgraded or removed are looking unstable, with the clear exception of New York. The intense debate continues over how state economies really benefit from filming incentive programmes.

Climate

Forum

[s]