News

Monday, 20 July 2009 00:00

The San Diego Film Commission, a government-funded nonprofit economic development program empowered to attract, facilitate, troubleshoot, and permit filming in the San Diego region, continues to be a strong advocate for filming in San Diego despite a troubled economic climate.

The Commission, recognizing that the downturn in the economy has had a negative effect on the industry, has created a commercial film incentive called “Invest San Diego” which will be funded by a grant from the San Diego Film Commission Foundation. It is comprised of a rebate to any commercial that has at least a $25,000 budget, shoots 75% locally in San Diego and hires 50% local hires. Up to a $2000 rebate will be offered to qualified applicants to reimburse police, fire, posting for no parking and ranger fees. This incentive also has a workforce training program built in to help give recent film school graduates their first job experience and a head start on a professional resume.

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News

Friday, 17 July 2009 11:36

While moviegoers rightfully gasp in awe of the latest Bond explosions, Bourne car chases and anything else that goes boom in theatres, they might also gasp at the environmental impact of these movies and non-CGI effects. The carbon footprint left behind after making a big-budget film is wider than one left by a Jurassic Park T-Rex, but the industry is making a concerted effort to change all that.

Every new blockbuster raises the bar for the next one that follows in its wake. According to businessweek.com, Warner Bros. "The Dark Knight" required jetting to shoots in Chicago, London, and Hong Kong. With 88 actors and about 900 crew members in Chicago in the spring and summer of 2007, the production consumed some $500,000 worth of gasoline and $1 million in building materials, including lots of lumber. Later, more than 50 people flew to Hong Kong for a scene that runs 15 minutes in the film. And because director Christopher Nolan wanted to make the most of Hong Kong's iconic skyline, the city's commercial property companies—and some of their tenants—left many of their lights burning into the night.

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News

Friday, 17 July 2009 12:04

When director Michael Bay comes into a town, things get blown up. Port of San Diego has a great article on Bay's usage of numerous San Diego venues and landmarks in filming several key scenes for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Using several San Diego military installations, including the giant, state-of-the-art USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier, Bay transformed (get it?) San Diego into the backdrop for several Transformers action scenes. On hand were all the major actors from the film: Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel and paparazzi favorite, Megan Fox.

An additional article is available here from Shootonline.