March 11, 2021

The Bay Area Movie and TV Production Scene is Heating Back Up

(sfist.com)

The TV version of Blindspotting just wrapped shooting in Oakland, and a slew of new Hollywood productions are slated to shoot in SF and the greater Bay Area.

Before the pandemic hit, San Francisco movie fans were getting their popcorn hot-buttered over the Matrix 4 (or whatever they will call it) shooting in the Financial District, and to a lesser degree, Venom 2 (which is probably what they will call it) in production in the Tenderloin and elsewhere. Much of that came to a halt when, well, you know.

But the lights, camera, and action are getting set to resume at a pace near their pre-COVID capacities as we see encouraging signs in infection rates, and the Chronicle reports that at least four films and/or prestige TV shows are expected to shoot in San Francisco by this summer, with a large smattering of others elsewhere in the Bay Area.

By: Joe Kukura

Continue Reading at sfist.com

California Officials Want Films to Be More Diverse. Their Plan Would Help a Studio Developer in Banning

(variety.com)

A bill in the California Legislature to promote diversity in TV and film would also help a housing developer who wants to build a $200 million film studio in Banning.

The bill would add Banning — a small city 90 miles east of Los Angeles — to the so-called “30-mile zone,” which is the area where producers pay lower mileage rates and per diems. If adopted in the collective bargaining process, that change would provide studios and production companies with a financial incentive to use the proposed facility.

The bill would also create a new $200 million annual tax credit for “minority films” — independent productions that are minority-owned and employ a majority non-white cast and crew.

The developer behind the studio project, Ruben Islas, told Variety in an interview this week that his aim is to produce films with uplifting and inclusive messages. He said he wanted to see more positive depictions of Latinos, which would reflect his own experience growing up in a low-income neighborhood in San Diego.

By: Gene Maddaus

Continue Reading at variety.com