When Hunting for Filmable Locations
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THE TOP By Dyana Carmella, Joseph Chianese and Brendon Tom locations worldwide When hunting for filmable locations, producers are focused on several key elements, such as landscape, infrastructure, crew and travel/lodging logistics, but the biggest factor always revolves around the bottom line. Just as producers are keenly aware of the budget for their film, TV, animation and new media projects, film commissions around the world are striving to offer high incentive packages to keep filmmakers happy. There are currently 42 U.S. jurisdictions and 31 foreign jurisdictions offering strong film/TV incentives, but the most attractive perks involve consistent laws, processing, funding, infrastructure and favorable exchange rates. To explore the best offerings worldwide, P3 Update aliened with the Entertainment Partners divi- sion EP Financial Solutions, which provides production finance/incentive advice and services to film, TV, commercial and new media producers around the world. The alphabetical lists below explores the U.S. and international jurisdictions offer- ing the most lucrative and reliable incentives along with a jaw-dropping buffet of cinematic scenery. 16 FALL 2014 WWW.P3UPDATE.COM 17 “The Big Bang Theory” shot in Los Angeles, Calif. U.S. LOCATIONS CALIFORNIA FLORIDA First, the big news: California is back. Skeptics From the big cities of Miami and Orlando to small were taken aback by the recent signing of legislation AB beach towns and suburbs, Florida offers quite a range 1839 by California Governor Jerry Brown, which assured of spectacular locations to meet the needs of upcoming that the California Film and Television Incentive will re- film and TV projects. The state also offers an impressive ceive an additional $230 million to its existing $100 mil- list of film commissions that all work together to ensure lion. The new program will also receive $330 million in that each production runs smoothly, such as Dolphin Tale funding each following financial year, which is easing the 2. Florida’s 20-to-30-percent transferable tax-credit pro- worries of the studios currently sending one-hour dra- gram was so successful that the $296 million allocation is mas and TV movies out of state. Eligibility of the credit already gone. An economic study released by the MPAA has also been expanded by removing budget caps for indicates a 4.7 ROI for the program, with the expectation studio and independent feature films, while TV series are of more money being added to the Florida program in eligible regardless of distribution medium. This last point 2015. www.filminflorida.com opens the door for online series, such as those offered by Netflix, to take advantage of the credit. And that’s not all: GEORGIA the program offers an additional 5-percent break for vis- ual-effects and music scoring work incurred in the state. Without a doubt, one of the standout states of Meanwhile, California still retains an impressive lineup of 2014 has been the Peach State. Georgia’s booming film top productions, including the TV series “Extant,” “The Big economy is growing at a rapid speed, hosting a steady Bang Theory” and “Modern Family,” and feature films like stream of film productions like Dumb and Dumber To, Need for Speed and Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I, The Good Lie and Interstellar. www.film.ca.gov No Good Deed and TV shows like “The Walking Dead” and “Tyler Perry’s Single Mom’s Club.” And it was recently an- 18 FALL 2014 film in the world all in one The Florida Office of Film & Entertainment Florida Office of Film and Entertainment | www.filminflorida.com | Follow us: www.facebook.com/filminflorida Contact the Florida Office of Film and Entertainment: (877) FLA-FILM or 310-241-0116 30% Film Tax Credit www.film.illinois.gov State of Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity nounced that Chris Evans will head south to shoot the Marvel sequel Captain America 3 in the state. Georgia currently offers producers a 20-percent (and added 10-percent logo uplift) transferable tax credit as well as a strong crew base. And Pinewood Studios is build- ing state-of-the-art soundstages to take advantage of the influx of productions. www.georgia.org HAWAII Hawaii is the leading tropical filming destina- tion in the U.S. Featuring a diverse natural environ- Actress Shailene Woodley in Divergent, shot on location in Illinois ment, the state is made up of eight main islands with © 2013 - Summit Entertainment each offering uniquely mind-blowing characteristics. Hawaii is also home to a slew of reefs, shoals, moun- to come out,” adds Matsuoka. “[Just look at] the endless tains, volcanos, rainforests, small towns, beach commu- stream of guest talent that has appeared on the new it- nities and cities, some of which served as hosts for the eration of ‘Hawaii Five-0.’” www.filmoffice.hawaii.gov popular TV series “Hawaii Five-0” and the blockbuster film Godzilla. “Hawaii has long been a favorite location for Hol- ILLINOIS lywood due to its distinctly ‘not in America’ looks while still being part of the U.S., with all of the benefits and se- When you’ve got the city of Chicago at bat on curity that offers,” says Location Manager Kent Matsuoka. your team, it can be pretty easy to entice producers to “[Benefits include] the U.S. dollar, English language, no suit up and join the game. The city and the entire state of passport/customs requirements, and first world infra- Illinois boast some of the most breathtaking modern and structure. [And] the best reason for shooting in Hawaii is historical locations. Recent productions shot in Illinois in- that it’s close enough to fly an actor out for a couple of clude the films Divergent, Transformers: Age of Extinction days, with many flights and carriers making the run every and Jupiter Ascending and the hit TV shows “Shameless” day out of LAX and most major west coast cities.” and “Chicago Fire.” The state’s 30-percent transferable tax Hawaii currently has a 20- or 25-percent refund- credit has once again been renewed, pushing the sunset able tax credit as well as a 5-percent increase in an ef- date all the way to May 2021. There’s an additional bo- fort to compete with other state offerings. There are also nus of up to 15 percent on labor expenditures for the plenty of first-class accommodations easily accessible employment of residents from geographic areas of high to Hawaii’s popular locations. “Just the excuse of going poverty or unemployment, so the credit can actually to Hawaii can be reason [enough] to convince someone reach a whopping total of 45 percent. Illinois is also the only state with a production in- centive program that includes a diver- sity provision. www.film.illinois.gov LOUISIANA Louisiana has been a production giant for much of 2014 with a stream of star-powered blockbusters lining up to take advantage of the state’s incentives. Louisiana’s up-to-35-percent transfer- able tax credit consistently attracts L-R: Actors Robert Downey Jr., Vera Farmiga and Director David Dobkin on TV shows like “American Horror Story: the set of the Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ drama Freak Show” and slew of studio fea- The Judge, shot on location in Massachusetts tures, such as Dawn of the Planet of the Photo Credit: Claire Folger ©2014 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WWW.P3UPDATE.COM 21 Apes, 22 Jump Street, The Fantastic Four, Pirates of the Car- NEW MEXICO ibbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and the recently released Left Behind, starring Nicolas Cage and Lea Thompson. It New Mexico remains a film hotspot, thanks to its was also just announced that Sylvester Stallone will shoot 25- or 30-percent film production tax credit (the 5-percent some intense action sequences in Louisiana for the fifth bump is for TV series and resident labor) and a standalone installment of his Rambo film franchise. For a complete 25-percent postproduction tax credit, both of which are list of film commissions visit: refundable. Big budget features, like Transcendence and http://www.louisianaentertainment.gov The Lone Ranger, and TV projects alike have utilized New Mexico’s cinematic locales as a backdrop. AMC’s “Break- ing Bad” just ended its six-year run of filming five seasons MASSACHUSETTS in the state just in time to start shooting its spinoff show “Better Call Saul” in New Mexico. In a recent conversation, Massachusetts currently still offers its reliable Albuquerque’s Director of Communications in the Office 25-percent transferable tax credit, which has attracted of the Mayor Dayna Gardner spoke about the financial the film productions for the sequel Ted 2 (directed by Seth impact high-profile productions have had on the city. MacFarlane and starring Mark Wahlberg), R.I.P.D. (starring “The industry provides jobs for our citizens that are high- Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges) and the Oscar contender paying and creative,” she states. “Local companies also The Judge (starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall). benefit from having a production here, like lumber com- The state is not only known for featuring a wide array of panies, hotels and restaurants, travel agencies [and] sign period locations that range as far back as the 1600s. With companies.… In fact, almost all local businesses profit in its vast architectural options and a supportive incentive, some way. When ‘Breaking Bad’ was filming, the direct- it’s no surprise why Massachusetts continues to make the spend-per-episode shot over eight days was approxi- cut year after year. www.mafilm.org mately a million dollars to the city.” www.nmfilm.com Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould and Bob Odenkirk in NEW YORK “Better Call Saul,” shot on location in New Mexico © 2014 AMC The Big Apple takes enticing productions to a whole new level, as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has just extended the state’s incentive pro- gram to 2019 along with an additional $2.1 billion in film funding.