Variety.com

Euro Commisssion OKs French rebate

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 12:01:56 EST

Runaway Production: Hollywood tax incentives to commence in fall -- The European Commission signed off Thursday on France's tax rebates for foreign shoots -- meaning the rebates will likely be available in the fall.

Quebec ups film, TV tax credit

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:55:59 EST

Runaway Production: Increase puts pressure on other provinces -- The Quebec government has increased its film and TV tax credit from 25% of labor expenses to 25% of the overall budget of films and TV shows shot in the Canadian province, it was announced Friday.

Hawaii incentives supplement nature

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:38:57 EST

Runaway Production: Tax credits help draw productions to paradise -- In order to stay competitive, Hawaii has had to join the parade of states offering tax incentives.

Santa Clarita beefs up incentives

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:06:47 EST

Runaway Production: City council launches Film Incentive Program -- Effective July 1, the City Council in Santa Clarita, Calif., will put into action a Film Incentive Program (FIP),taking the business of pic support into its own legislative hands -- with the location becoming the first city in the Los Angeles area to do so.

Pilots flying from L.A.

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST

Runaway Production: N.Y., Canada landing more productions -- Hollywood has lost its grip on pilot season.

Legislation jeopardizes N.Y. tax breaks

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 15:08:42 EST

Runaway Production: Film, TV productions could take serious hit -- The Gotham film community is up in arms over legislation backed by the Mayor's Office of Film and Television that would shrink the city's contribution to tax breaks for film productions and TV series.

Grace grants pics access

Sun, 10 May 2009 12:29:22 EST

Runaway Production: Nonprofit org offers ranch to filmmakers -- Some locations have as much heart as they do cinematic appeal. The Grace Foundation's ranch facility in El Dorado Hills, about 30 miles east of Sacramento, Calif., is one of those.

Michigan nabs $146M movie studio

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:34:36 EST

Runaway Production: Unity Studios to build complex in Detroit suburb -- Union members reveal a $146 million movie and television studio complex just outside Detroit.

L.A. production takes downturn

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:08:28 EST

Runaway Production: Off-lot film shooting slows, but TV rises -- Off-lot feature production in Los Angeles posted its weakest quarter ever during the opening three months of this year amid the threat of an actors strike and the ongoing trend of features shooting outside Hollywood.

Foreign filmmakers push DI shops

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 20:07:57 EST

Runaway Production: Demand for high-end tools takes off abroad -- Over the last few years, costs for high-end post facilities have come down. With Hollywood making fewer movies, domestic demand has been depressed. So today, foreign filmmakers are keeping DI facilities humming in their home markets.

Film production competition heats up in Eastern Europe

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 20:06:25 EST

Runaway Production: Czech Republic suffers from lack of tax incentives -- Competition for shoots in Eastern Europe has gotten fierce, with incentive plans in many U.S. states, not to mention bottom-line-loving deals in New Zealand and Australia, and Western European countries offering more attractive packages for producers.

China

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 20:05:27 EST

Runaway Production: Huairou hosts booming local business -- For Huairou's state-of-the-art production facility, landing the all-star "The Great Cause of China's Foundation" is a potent sign of the emerging power of the enormous film base, which opened last August in a suburb north of Beijing.

United Kingdom

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 19:46:57 EST

Runaway Production: London's top post shops lure offshore jobs -- Despite last year's fears that the good times might end, the U.K.'s vfx sector is set to boom again in 2009. The collapsing value of the pound against the dollar has combined with the soaring reputation of London's post houses to draw a slew of Hollywood blockbusters to town.

Italy

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 19:32:34 EST

Runaway Production: Fresh funds draw movies to Piedmont hills -- Boosted by a bold new film fund launched in tandem with Los Angeles-based Endgame as well as a new services facility in Turin, Italy's Piedmont region is working hard to consolidate its status as Italy's fastest-rising film production hub.

Germany

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 19:15:20 EST

Runaway Production: MMC offers Hollywood financial aid -- While Berlin has seduced a number of high-profile international filmmakers in recent years, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is becoming an increasingly attractive location for foreign producers thanks in large part to its state-of-the-art studio complex and one of the country's biggest regional film funders.

Global Film Solutions insures safety

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 19:06:34 EST

Runaway Production: New Zealand co manages risk for film shoots -- Need to film in Liberia? Or on the ocean around Antarctica? And want to assure the network execs that the crew will return physically intact with usable footage? While webs and insurers have inhouse risk-assessment teams, New Zealand-based Global Film Solutions takes it one step further.

CA incentives hope to slow exodus

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 18:52:04 EST

Runaway Production: Competition in U.S., abroad shifts film policy -- After refusing for years to get on the incentives bandwagon, California recently decided to jump onboard. A five-year, $500 million tax-break plan for California's entertainment industry, with an annual $100 million limit, was slipped into the new state budget.

North American production locales

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 18:45:26 EST

Runaway Production: US states, Canadian provinces lure film crews -- A breakdown of North American film production locations with contact information and a rundown on incentive structures and tax rebates.

L.A. finds competition for film shoots

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 18:35:50 EST

Runaway Production: Filmmakers weigh options outside Hollywood -- The City of Angels, where the American film industry grew and prospered, is bedeviled by rivals trying to steal it away. "Los Angeles is finding itself in a position of having to compete globally for a business that the region has always had," says location manager and production services vet Richard McMillan.

N.Y. tax program gets one more year

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:20:05 EST

Runaway Production: Extension good for film, but leaves TV in lurch -- Final score on the future of New York's production tax credit program: film 1, TV 0.