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On-location filming improves

On-location filming improved across the board in the Los Angeles County area during the third quarter, with feature films making a striking comeback, according to figures released Oct. 4 by FilmL.A. The nonprofit agency that coordinates on-location filming reported 11,210 permitted production days from July 1 to Sept. 30. For the same period in 2010, the agency reported 9,713 permitted production days. For the first nine months of the year, there were 34,074 permitted production days as compared to 31,394 permitted production days for the first nine months in 2010. FilmL.A. defines a permitted production day as a single crew’s permission to film a single project at a single defined location during any given 24-hour period. FilmL.A. coordinates on-location filming in the city and county of Los Angeles and other jurisdictions. The agency does not track filming on studio back lots or certified soundstages. The state’s filming incentive program was credited with the 50 percent boost in feature film production during the third quarter. FilmL.A. coordinated permits for 2,079 production days as compared to the 1,387 production days during the third quarter in 2010. “We are really pleased to see feature films moving up,” said FilmL.A. President Paul Audley. “But we still recognize we are half of the peak (filming) in 1996. There is still a long way to get it back to where it should be.” Films receiving tax credits that stayed in the city or county during the third quarter include “Gangster Squad,” “My Mother’s Curse,” “Argo,” and “Breaking the Girl.” Also helping during the quarter was filming of “Dark Knight Rises,” the third Batman film from director Christopher Nolan. FilmL.A. has the film permitted under the working title “Magnus Rex.” During pre-production, Nolan had expressed doubts Los Angeles would accommodate his needs. That is, until Nolan was reminded that FilmL.A. assisted in “Inception,” which required spilling thousands of gallons of water and putting a train in downtown , Audley said. “We are pleased he is here and recognizes we can make it happen for him here in L.A.,” Audley said.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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