Hot cities for moviemakers!!!

[Modern Design]

I found this article and decided to share with you guys:
http://www.moviemaker.com/magazine/editorial.php?id=85

[BTinSF]

This is one category where I am very glad my city didn't make the list (although I'm not so sure it shouldn't have--at least 2 recent flicks, and numerous older ones, that come to mind were filmed here: Pursuit of Happyness and Zodiac). Nothing pisses me off more than the way a film location crew can take over part of a city and completely disrupt the lives of taxpaying residents. Personally I've had klieg lights shined in my bedroom window after midnight and been blocked from access to my own garage because the street was blocked off. Austin, enjoy!

[alex1]

it's old info but interesting. not exactly in any order that makes sense but whatever.

[Strayone]

I'm surprised Austin tops the list but I expected a top 5 listing. There doesn't seem to be many projects going on now since I haven't seen the usual crews set up in places around town recently. When Sin City and Grindhouse were being filmed the activity was obvious.

I have heard that the new Rolling Stones DVD got help from the people at ACL to film the show here. It ended up being released entirely as the first disc of a 4 disc package, and it was a worthy recording. If you get the chance to see it you will agree.

[headcase]

There doesn't seem to be many projects going on now since I haven't seen the usual crews set up in places around town recently.


Well if you look at the title to the article you will see it dates back to 2004, so there very well may not be alot of projects going on now.

SSDD

[ctman987]

Intresting article....that list could be changing though as filmakers this year are taking advantage of huge tax credits offered by the state of Connecticut. Numerous articles have come out in local papers and magazines as the nice weather has brought dozens of crews to film everything from movies to TV shows to commercials on the streets of downtown New Haven to the rolling hills of Litchfield County.

These credits (for better of for worse) have brought big names to the state. The ESPN series the Bronx is Burning was actually filmed at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT (southeastern CT near the casinos) and big names walked the streets of New Haven to film Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods.

Below is a recent article from the Hartford Courant (July 10, 2007 by Mark Peters & Matt Eagan) which questions the advantages of these tax credits which are said to be some of the best in North America.
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-filmbiz.artjul10,0,151913.story

[PhillyRising]

The ariticle is at least 4 years old, however it was not surprising to see Philly in the top 5. It seems like they are shooting a movie here all the time. What is funny is the mentioning of the use of the Civic Center as a free soundstage. It would be free alright considering it was torn down!!!!

[Jularc]

I see NYC is #2. Well no surprice there. I have notice so much filming in the city. Sometimes I find filming crews closer to where I live. Early this year, they were in and outside my building. I think it was for an independent film but sadly I can't remember the name.

[Modern Design]

I was surprised with Portland beeing on that list. I´ve never heard of any movies shot in Portland.
I would also espect Chicago higher on that list....
Congrats to Austin.The first time i visited Austin , i was suprised to find myself in the middle of the action .I don´t remember which movie they were shoting , but it sure was something big.
here is the list of 2006( couldn´t find 2007)
http://press.arrivenet.com/entertainment/article.php/762868.html

[Marcu]

The list doesn't seem to be scientific in its approach (to say the least). Chicago is down from #6 to #9 because of increasing cost of living and high taxes. I'm not sure cost of living (especially residential real estate) is any higher than last year. Tax rates are the same. Not to take anything away from indie film makers, but the list also doesn't seem to get that it's really not about how many youtube uploaders film in a city. That doesn't contribute anything to a local economy and doesn't showcase the city. If we are to really measure money pumped into a city's economy LA would certainly be #1.

[Mr Roboto]

^this link has the description for that 2006 list

http://www.moviemaker.com/magazine/editorial.php?id=515

Very interesting stuff. Seems the lists dont change all that much year to year. I never expected chicago to be very high, but it looks like the tax break Gov Blago wanted is making it more popular to make movies. Austin and Portland at 2 and 3 are a little surprising to me, but I dont know jack about making movies.

[alex1]

2006 list:
ny
austin
portland
chicago
philly
la
miami
baltimore
wilmington, nc
memphis

honorable mentions:
atlanta
phoenix
las vegas

"cities on the rise"
charlottesville, VA
san antonio

[Modern Design]

We all need to remember that this ranking refers to individual filmmakers.Portland , baltimore, migh be a good places for an independent filmmakers, but they are not not a cinema mecca like NYC or LA.
What is really interesting is Austin...I think austin has become the third location for movies in america( LA 1, and NYC2) .
here is a little comparasion:
Austin;http://www.austinlinks.com/movies_filmed_in_austin.html
NYC;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_set_in_New_York_City
LA:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_set_in_Los_Angeles

[Eventually...Chicago]

Just looking at it from a chicago perspective and the fact that i don't know anything about filmmaking, i don't see how any credible publication can list film education in chicago and leave out northwestern.

They are kind of a big deal...
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=679016

Also, fyi, the new batman is being filmed in chicago right now.

[rockyi]

Last year an Italian film company (the Avati Brothers) filmed a movie here, as they have several other times before, and actually used my building for a day of filming. I snapped this shot from my roof. It's not showing much, just some guy bringing in a boom mic and some of the film crew clustered around a table. These white panel trucks lined the street for a couple blocks.
Too bad the movie was for Italian release only. I'll probably never see it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/rockyi/008_18-2.jpg

A film company from Hollywood is making a movie here with a minor league baseball theme. Filming starts next month. Damn, I missed the casting call for extras.

[Chase Unperson]

Nothing pisses me off more than the way a film location crew can take over part of a city and completely disrupt the lives of taxpaying residents. Personally I've had klieg lights shined in my bedroom window after midnight and been blocked from access to my own garage because the street was blocked off. Austin, enjoy!

In my city of Venice, CA there is shitloads of filming going on and I think it is totally fun. I don't mind the temp "no parking" signs at all. While out for a run or walk I'll stop and talk to the crew and cast. Plus there are tons of videos/tv show/commercials/movie scenes filmed on the beach between here and venice. I love seeing it all buzzing around. It's so fun. Fuck the taxpaying residents (which includes me)

[b-s]

We all need to remember that this ranking refers to individual filmmakers.Portland , baltimore, migh be a good places for an independent filmmakers, but they are not not a cinema mecca like NYC or LA.
What is really interesting is Austin...I think austin has become the third location for movies in america( LA 1, and NYC2) .
here is a little comparasion:
Austin;http://www.austinlinks.com/movies_filmed_in_austin.html
NYC;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_set_in_New_York_City
LA:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_set_in_Los_Angeles

"Thinking" doesn't make it so, but stay positive! :)

---

I looked up some cities at http://us.imdb.com/List, which is the only source of numbers I trust.

I only searched for the cities as listed below and the years. Everything else, including the TV stuff, was left alone.

2000-present
Los Angeles: 7782
New York City: 4134
Toronto: 1437
Chicago: 697
Las Vegas: 650
Miami: 520
Austin: 425
Boston: 410
Atlanta: 363
San Diego: 347
Philadelphia: 329
Seattle: 313
Dallas: 293
Detroit: 290
Phoenix: 213
Portland: 196
Houston: 180
Minneapolis: 174
Salt Lake City: 154 (I once knew a Utard (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=utard) who said that the movie industry was moving from L.A. to Salt Lake City. No joke, he was really emotional about it.)

[dktshb]

:previous: Well at least that list isn't as nonsensical as the other lists but where's Vancouver?

[DecoJim]

Detroit is 14th on the IMDB stats for 2000 to present?
Not bad.

By the way, the recent Transformers movie featured several scenes filmed in Detroit including one in the old Michigan Central Station and one at the Fort and Griswold intersection during the big battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron. The strange thing is that they used the Detroit locations to masquerade as part of downtown Los Angeles in addition to the scenes actually filmed in LA.

[Modern Design]

Vancouver should be near if not above toronto...

" "Thinking" doesn't make it so, but stay positive!"
I could careless about who is first or second or third...i was just saying i was amazed by Austin beiing so active on the movie scene..:tup:

[BTinSF]

Fuck the taxpaying residents (which includes me)

A common attitude among politicians who love schmoozing with Hollywood names. I guess Agonist is equally in awe of such people. I'm not.

[ATXboom]

This development should help solidify or grow Austin's film and entertainment economy. The project broke ground last month.





$1.5B Mixed-Use Entertainment Development Planned in Austin
April 16, 2007
By Tonie Auer, Southwest Correspondent






In Austin, a city known for its music and film industry, a $1.5 billion mixed-use development with a definite entertainment flair featuring residential, retail and commercial spaces was announced today. The first phase of the 681-acre Villa Muse project is slated for a late 2008 opening.

The development, led by founder and CEO Jay Aaron Podolnick, a producer/engineer who founded Texas' first 24-track recording facility in 1972, will be anchored by a $125-million, 200-acre Villa Muse Studios, developed for the film, television, advertising, music and videogame industries.


Located just off of the State Highway 130 corridor, 15 minutes east of downtown Austin, Villa Muse (pictured) will be an innovative 681-acre development anchored by the 200-acre Villa Muse Studios, which is a professional campus for the creative industries offering high-end production and post-production facilities including soundstages, recording studios, an amphitheater, areas for backlots and the largest outdoor water tank for film production in the nation.

"Right now, we're having a market and feasability study
conducted because there is not a data source that exists that can give us the information we need regarding just what we need to have in place," Jim Carpenter, president and owner of Austin-based Carpenter and Associates Inc., and a development partner and investor in the project, told CPN. "No one has done this before with all these industries sharing the same facilities. It creates a one-of-a-kind economic model and we need to determine how many apartments, condos, what the retail demand will be and what we need in restaurants and
more. That will dictate our timing."

"This is one of the greatest economic boons for Texas,"
Carpenter said. "This will be the only place in the world with one-stop shopping to make a film from a single location with the dubbing, the soundstages, etc. Plus, Austin is a very affordable place to live and
a very attractive place to live."

The first phase of the project will include an ampitheater
that seats 70,000 backed up to one of four soundstages, Carpenter said. It is due to open by the end of 2008. The Villa Muse team estimates that the overall project will generate roughly 8,000 new jobs upon completion and will create capacity for 8,500 residents.

For the past seven years, MovieMaker magazine has named Austin among the top moviemaking cities in the country, according to the Austin Film Commission. In 2004, Austin topped the list of "Top 10 Cities for Moviemakers" and took the No. 3 spot this year, just behind New York City and Philadelphia. More than 350 major features and made-for-television movies have been filmed in Austin over the past 20 years, not including hundreds of commercials and independent projects. The city is also host to a number of music festivals including the enormously popular South by Southwest Music Festival.

A master-planned residential community will surround the studio campus. Designed to serve as a living, breathing backlot, neighborhoods will be built in an array of styles to meet a variety of filming needs. Ranging from New York brownstones to Craftsman bungalows to manors and estates, these residences will be open for sale to the public.

The entrance to Villa Muse Studios will be located at the end of a broad boulevard lined with retail, office, residential and hospitality spaces. Situated at the other end of the boulevard will be a large public park and five to six mixed-use buildings, with retail on the ground floor and office spaces above.

To date, the team has finalized an initial project plan, utilizing a number of cities, streets and places around the world for inspiration. Villa Muse has secured Phase I funding, and, in partnership with Carpenter & Associates--a leading real estate development, brokerage and investment firm--has secured the land for the project.

Austin’s real estate market took a giant hit with the technology bust in 2001, but has been recovering steadily since about 2003, when the rebound began, according to CPN reports earlier this month. During the last six months of 2006, office rental rates increased 5.1 percent, while occupancy rose 3 percent to almost 89 percent, according to Capitol Market Research. Ford Alexander, partner & co-founder of Oxford Commercial/ Cushman & Wakefield Inc., said the market is indeed in good shape, enjoying strong job and population growth.

[Jularc]

NYC '$HOW' BIZ


By ADAM BUCKMAN
July 19, 2007

Be careful where you walk this summer - you might just trip over a TV star.

New York is preparing to star as never before on prime-time TV this fall, thanks to a record number of new and returning shows being filmed on the city's soundstages and streets.

Producers and city officials agree that 2007 is the most robust year ever for TV production in New York.

Six new network TV series have either started filming, or are preparing to start within the next two weeks.

"It's really been incredible," said Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. "We had a record number of pilots shooting in New York last winter and six of the pilots were picked up [for fall]."

Seven other series, on both broadcast and cable TV, are also in production here, creating a high demand for studio space at facilities in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.

"There's an energy with shooting in New York," said David Manson, executive producer of one of the shows, "New Amsterdam" on Fox.

"It's not only the city itself, but it's the people you hire. There's this terrific talent pool - actors, technicians, craftsmen, designers - and to have access to those people on a daily basis is a boon."

Also being produced here: CW's "Gossip Girl," a drama about a group of filthy-rich teens; NBC's "Lipstick Jungle," based on the best seller by Candace Bushnell ("Sex and the City") and starring Brooke Shields and Kim Raver ("24"); and ABC's "Cashmere Mafia," with Lucy Liu and Bonnie Somerville ("NYPD Blue") as part of a group of ambitious New York women.

Shows already in production here include the FDNY drama "Rescue Me" and the new Glenn Close legal drama "Damage$" - both on FX; HBO's "Flight of the Conchords NBC's "30 Rock "Law & Order "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," now moving to cable on NBC-owned USA Network.

What's driving the boom in New York TV production? Industry insiders credit the city's "Made in NY" tax-incentive program, plus other city-provided perks such as free permits for on-location shooting and free police assistance.

"The tax credits have really had the biggest impact on television production, and you can see that in every facility in New York," said Alan Suna, CEO of Silvercup Studios, which is home to four prime-time shows.


Copyright 2007 NYP Holdings, Inc. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/07192007/news/regionalnews/nyc_how_biz_regionalnews_adam_buckman.htm)

[WonderlandPark]

A common attitude among politicians who love schmoozing with Hollywood names. I guess Agonist is equally in awe of such people. I'm not.

Just one day of shooting generates far more than you pay in taxes in a year. So the cities bending over backwards to get production are doing it not for star power, but for basic economics.

[KevinFromTexas]

I know a girl who played in Grindhouse. She actually had a scene with Kurt Russell.

They also filmed Dazed and Confused at my middle school the summer of my freshman year there just 1 1/2 from my house.

My mom also works with a woman who trains animals for movies and rents them out.

[rockyi]

My mom also works with a woman who trains animals for movies and rents them out.

What a great job.

[KevinFromTexas]

What a great job.

Yep. It's funny, when she calls sometimes and leaves a message, you can hear her chimpanzee in the background making noise. :ack:

[Modern Design]

This development should help solidify or grow Austin's film and entertainment economy. The project broke ground last month.





$1.5B Mixed-Use Entertainment Development Planned in Austin
April 16, 2007
By Tonie Auer, Southwest Correspondent






In Austin, a city known for its music and film industry, a $1.5 billion mixed-use development with a definite entertainment flair featuring residential, retail and commercial spaces was announced today. The first phase of the 681-acre Villa Muse project is slated for a late 2008 opening.

The development, led by founder and CEO Jay Aaron Podolnick, a producer/engineer who founded Texas' first 24-track recording facility in 1972, will be anchored by a $125-million, 200-acre Villa Muse Studios, developed for the film, television, advertising, music and videogame industries.


Located just off of the State Highway 130 corridor, 15 minutes east of downtown Austin, Villa Muse (pictured) will be an innovative 681-acre development anchored by the 200-acre Villa Muse Studios, which is a professional campus for the creative industries offering high-end production and post-production facilities including soundstages, recording studios, an amphitheater, areas for backlots and the largest outdoor water tank for film production in the nation.

"Right now, we're having a market and feasability study
conducted because there is not a data source that exists that can give us the information we need regarding just what we need to have in place," Jim Carpenter, president and owner of Austin-based Carpenter and Associates Inc., and a development partner and investor in the project, told CPN. "No one has done this before with all these industries sharing the same facilities. It creates a one-of-a-kind economic model and we need to determine how many apartments, condos, what the retail demand will be and what we need in restaurants and
more. That will dictate our timing."

"This is one of the greatest economic boons for Texas,"
Carpenter said. "This will be the only place in the world with one-stop shopping to make a film from a single location with the dubbing, the soundstages, etc. Plus, Austin is a very affordable place to live and
a very attractive place to live."

The first phase of the project will include an ampitheater
that seats 70,000 backed up to one of four soundstages, Carpenter said. It is due to open by the end of 2008. The Villa Muse team estimates that the overall project will generate roughly 8,000 new jobs upon completion and will create capacity for 8,500 residents.

For the past seven years, MovieMaker magazine has named Austin among the top moviemaking cities in the country, according to the Austin Film Commission. In 2004, Austin topped the list of "Top 10 Cities for Moviemakers" and took the No. 3 spot this year, just behind New York City and Philadelphia. More than 350 major features and made-for-television movies have been filmed in Austin over the past 20 years, not including hundreds of commercials and independent projects. The city is also host to a number of music festivals including the enormously popular South by Southwest Music Festival.

A master-planned residential community will surround the studio campus. Designed to serve as a living, breathing backlot, neighborhoods will be built in an array of styles to meet a variety of filming needs. Ranging from New York brownstones to Craftsman bungalows to manors and estates, these residences will be open for sale to the public.

The entrance to Villa Muse Studios will be located at the end of a broad boulevard lined with retail, office, residential and hospitality spaces. Situated at the other end of the boulevard will be a large public park and five to six mixed-use buildings, with retail on the ground floor and office spaces above.

To date, the team has finalized an initial project plan, utilizing a number of cities, streets and places around the world for inspiration. Villa Muse has secured Phase I funding, and, in partnership with Carpenter & Associates--a leading real estate development, brokerage and investment firm--has secured the land for the project.

Austin’s real estate market took a giant hit with the technology bust in 2001, but has been recovering steadily since about 2003, when the rebound began, according to CPN reports earlier this month. During the last six months of 2006, office rental rates increased 5.1 percent, while occupancy rose 3 percent to almost 89 percent, according to Capitol Market Research. Ford Alexander, partner & co-founder of Oxford Commercial/ Cushman & Wakefield Inc., said the market is indeed in good shape, enjoying strong job and population growth.

Yeah i heard about that too. I was going to mention that but forgot about it.
Texas is a very cheap place to shoot a movie compared to toronto , NYC and chigaco, plus tgey are overcrowded cities that don´t offer a lot of space for building studios and film lot.Texas also have an ideal weather year round and four major cities (S antonio, Dallas , houston and austin) wich offers different kinds of architecture..
I saw once at the tv show actors studio, a director( i forgot his name, but i think he was the director for home alone) saying how complex is, shotting at big dense cities(Chicago, NYC, Toronto,).You can´t just close main streets and av .Plus according to him shotting needs to be very quickly in order to frre the transit.

[rockyi]

@ Kevin.
Does she rescue animals from the animal shelter to train for movies. She's my hero if she does. :tup:

[b13]

Well right now Toronto is building massive film studios near the waterfront in the cities undeveloped portlands. The project will include the WORLD'S LARGEST Film Studio in the world! The project will also include other sutdios, office space, residential , and shops and restaurants. The massive studio will be able to operate 2 big budget films at a time an example would be the Hulk and Harry Potter. Also another Film studios is in the works in the city but not alot of imformation has been released. Toronto is really making it's self known around the world that Toronto's the place to be to shoot films!

[lawsond]

In my city of Venice, CA there is shitloads of filming going on and I think it is totally fun. I don't mind the temp "no parking" signs at all.

it's all good fun until you have to drive across town and some bunch of knuckle draggers have equipment all over everything.
i once had "location rage" and had to be helped back to my car by some nice gentleman with short shorts and bulbous armpits.
it was on richmond st. and i neeeeded to get where i was going.
toronto has more than its share of films so if venice would like some, we got 'em.

[arbeiter]

They also filmed Dazed and Confused at my middle school the summer of my freshman year there just 1 1/2 from my house.


Some really low-budget kids movies were filmed here, like the Big Green and Blank Check - the former was filmed near my old house at Murchison Middle School.

[Drew-Ski]

For those who don't regcognize the local landmarks and geography around Portland and rural Oregon will immediately see that many, car commercials are filmed here.

[Modern Design]

Well right now Toronto is building massive film studios near the waterfront in the cities undeveloped portlands. The project will include the WORLD'S LARGEST Film Studio in the world! The project will also include other sutdios, office space, residential , and shops and restaurants. The massive studio will be able to operate 2 big budget films at a time an example would be the Hulk and Harry Potter. Also another Film studios is in the works in the city but not alot of imformation has been released. Toronto is really making it's self known around the world that Toronto's the place to be to shoot films!
Where did you get this information from??

[bnk]

^this link has the description for that 2006 list

http://www.moviemaker.com/magazine/editorial.php?id=515

Very interesting stuff. Seems the lists dont change all that much year to year. I never expected chicago to be very high, but it looks like the tax break Gov Blago wanted is making it more popular to make movies. Austin and Portland at 2 and 3 are a little surprising to me, but I dont know jack about making movies.

This is a better link than the 2004 post.

Chicago rates higher now mostly because of the Illinois Film Production Tax Credit Act 2006. This was to put in place to try to offset the Toronto tax haven effect.

[WonderlandPark]

The Dollar is weak these days, and production is returning to the US to some extent. Canada keeps having to up the tax rebates & credits. This is hurting the UK even more.