USA Today Highlights D.C.-Set TV Shows Not Shot in D.C.

USA Today has become the latest publication to point out the many Washington, D.C.-set television and film productions that shoot in other states because of better incentives and easier permitting. Examples include Showtime's "Homeland" (North Carolina), USA's "Political Animals" (Pennsylvania) and HBO's "Veep" (Maryland). All three of those states offer 25% tax rebates.

Click here for the link to the story and click here for the accompanying photo gallery with more D.C.-set TV shows that don't shoot in The District.

Movie Marketing 'Campaign' in NYC

Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakas starrer "The Campaign" opened this weekend nationwide. The Jay Roach-directed political comedy is performing well at the box office, with an expected haul of up to $30 million by the end of the weekend.

I recently moved from my hometown of Washington, D.C. to New York City and decided to snap some photos of the D.C.-themed film about two rival North Carolina congressional candidates. Warner Bros. plastered New York City with billboards and posters promoting the film. Seeing the ads across Gotham with the Capitol dome in the background has been fun for this native Washingtonian.

Here are the photos:

D.C.-set 'Political Animals' filmed in Philadelphia

This is becoming routine. A Washington, D.C.-set movie or TV show is lensed in another city because of better production incentives. I'm living in New York City at the moment and have seen promotional posters everywhere for the upcoming USA Network miniseries "Political Animals" and became curious as to where it was filmed.

Despite the storyline revolving around Sigourney Weaver's character Elaine Barrish, who is a former First Lady and current Secretary of State, "Political Animals" was filmed not in the nation's capital but in the city of brotherly love. 

And what does the state of Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia offer to film crews? 

PA offers a 25 percent tax credit, plus a hotel tax exemption and allowing free use of state-owned property. For more info, visit the Film in PA Web site. Philadelphia offers free police assistance under certain conditions and free security site assessment. Click here for the link to the Greater Philadelphia Film Office. 

Philadelphia. Baltimore. New York City. Everyone it seems lately is stealing away D.C.-set films and TV shows from the nation's capital. It's time for Washington to get its act together and put together a serious incentives package to lure productions to The District where they belong.

'Avengers' Delivers Powerful Clean Energy Message

The Tesseract. Image credit: Marvel

Unemployment. Austerity. War. Terrorism. Climate Change. The world needs superheroes now more than ever. Along comes Marvel's "The Avengers" to rave reviews and boffo box office. In tough times, movie audiences crave escapist entertainment and larger than life superheroes, which could help explain why "The Avengers" set a box office record for the biggest opening weekend ever in North America, tied for the fastest film to reach $1 billion and is currently the third highest grossing film of all time with a worldwide haul of nearly $1.4 billion.

That's a lot of people that are absorbing the film's clean energy message -- the sustainable energy source called the Tesseract. There have been different reactions to the film's renewable energy message -- some positive, some critical.

Evangelical environmentalist Rev. Jim Ball, author of "Global Warming and the risen LORD," believes the movie missed a chance to educate audiences about climate change. He doesn't think the film answers the question as to why we need clean energy. Ball postulates that climate change denying conservatives could be influencing Hollywood to tone down the global warming message.

And actor Mark Ruffalo, who plays Dr. Banner-The Incredible Hulk in the movie, wrote a piece yesterday in The Huffington Post making the connection between the Tesseract and renewable energy sources wind, water and sunlight (WWS). Ruffalo calls for a clean energy revolution to create jobs and revitalize the economy.

Even U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu promoted the film's clean energy message on his Facebook page by posting this message:

I can rarely find the time to make it to the movies, but my staff is buzzing about The Avengers, which focuses on a new, limitless clean energy source called “The Tesseract.” In the film, there is evidently an intergalactic struggle to claim this new resource – one we can only win by relying on heroes like Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, and the Incredible Hulk. Naturally, the group includes a couple scientists!

While the “Tesseract” may be fictional, the real-life global competition over clean energy is growing increasingly intense, as countries around the world sense a huge economic opportunity AND the opportunity for cleaner air, water, and a healthier planet. This is now a $260 billion global market, a sum that would impress even Tony Stark. According to the International Energy Agency, last year — for the first time — more money was invested worldwide in clean, renewable power plants than in fossil fuel power plants.

Given how big the opportunity is, and how fast it is growing, it is no surprise that 80 countries have adopted policies or incentives to capture a share of the clean energy market. The good news is that we have an advantage every bit as powerful as the Incredible Hulk: Americans’ talent for entrepreneurship and innovation is unrivalled by any other country in the world. We have world-leading scientific facilities that would make Bruce Banner green with envy, and the investments we’re making today in groundbreaking new technologies can help American businesses stay ahead of the curve.

Ultimately, however, the clean energy prize is still up for grabs and countries like China are competing aggressively. It’s not enough for us to simply invent the technologies of the future, we need to actually build and deploy them here as well. As President Obama noted recently, one step Congress should take immediately is to renew the expiring tax credits for clean energy – a step that will create jobs and help American companies compete. When it comes to clean energy, our motto should be: “Invented in America, Made in America, Sold Around the World.”

What do you think about the clean energy message of "The Avengers"? Can we make the Tesseract a reality right now to save the planet with wind turbines, hydroelectricity and solar panels? What will it take for the renewable energy revolution to move full speed ahead?

Hollywood Liberalizes Washington at White House Correspondents' Dinner

Tom Brokaw is wrong. It's not time to "rethink" the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The WHCD is the one night of the year when staid, conservative D.C. is shaken up by Tinseltown progressives. Hollywood is full of unabashed liberals who want things like universal health care and world-class public education. And that's a good thing. And Washington conservatives need to hear from the artistic establishment on the Left Coast.

Even President Obama's reelection campaign is getting the message. There was a time when Obama tried to distance himself from politically active celebrities. Not anymore. Obama recently held a fundraiser at actor George Clooney's Studio City, California home and even played basketball with the Hollywood star and supporter of the president. Next Obama will be visiting the New York City home of actress Sarah Jessica Parker and husband actor Matthew Broderick for another fundraiser. 

Hollywood can play a powerful role in helping reelect President Obama and it is encouraging to see the campaign embrace the showbiz community. Obama has many allies in Los Angeles, and that is good for the country. Right-wing Republicans will predictably and cynically say the president is too close to Hollywood. Let them. Those socialists in Hollywood create jobs and contribute to the economy. The entertainment industry supports more than 2.4 million jobs nationwide and is one of the few American industries with a positive trade surplus of $11.7 billion, not to mention the billions of dollars generated to local and state governments in the form of income and sales taxes.

The entertainment industry and the hard working people in Hollywood are as American as truck drivers and apple pie. And the more influence Hollywood has on Washington the better the country will be.

Click here for Politico's feature report on last month's White House Correspondents' Dinner.

D.C.-Based 'Double' Shot in Michigan

Credit: Image Entertainment

Tonight on Netflix I watched the Washington, D.C.-based spy film "The Double," starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace. The 2011 Michael Brandt-directed movie, about a retired CIA operative (Gere) and a young FBI agent (Grace) on the hunt for a Russian assassin who murdered a U.S. senator, is awful and entertaining at the same time. "The Double" is 98 minutes of mindless entertainment, a vintage Hollywood cliche flick -- so bad it is good.

And it was shot in The Great Lakes State.

That's right. Those gritty urban chase scenes are straight out of Detroit, not D.C. While watching the film, I was sure it was shot in Baltimore, Maryland because that state usually steals film shoots from the nation's capital because of its generous film incentives and close proximity to Washington. That's why it was a surprise to see Detroit, Michigan as the film location in the closing credits.

But should it come as a surprise? While Washington, D.C. doesn't provide tax incentives to lure Hollywood filmmakers, lacks quality production facilities and makes location scouts navigate a difficult maze of federal and local agencies to get permission to shoot, the state of Michigan features a 40 percent refundable tax credit and an additional two percent tax rebate for filming in core cities like Detroit. 

"The Double" is the quintessential Washington, D.C. film. It's just a shame that the filmmakers chose to shoot in Michigan because of the better production incentives.

D.C. can do better.

'Game Change' Shoots in Baltimore, Premieres in D.C.

The new HBO political drama "Game Change," about the 2008 John McCain-Sarah Palin presidential ticket, exemplifies everything that is wrong about Washington, D.C. as Hollywood's favorite storytelling subject but least favorite filming location. This blog and other news sites have documented the stunning lack of film incentives and massive amounts of red tape that leave location scouts with a sour taste for shooting in The District.

"Game Change" was primarily shot in Baltimore, Maryland along with Wilmington, Delaware and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The only time the film's stars set foot in the Nation's Capital was for the premiere at the Newseum. It is bizarre that a political film had its red carpet premiere in Washington but decided not to shoot there.

But can you blame Playtone producers Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman for saving on production costs by shooting in Maryland, a state that offers generous tax credits and rebates?

It's just a shame that Charm City has to stand in for the Nation's Capital time and again because The District is so unfriendly to film shoots. It would have been a big economic boost having Julianne Moore, Ed Harris and Woody Harrelson here in Washington for the "Game Change" film shoot.

Perhaps one day change will come to Washington in the form of more aggressive film incentives and a streamlined permitting process.

Here is the trailer for "Game Change."

Oscar-Nominated 'Transformers 3' Shot Scenes in D.C.

'Transformers 3' shooting a scene on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: Screen Junkies

Recently the press has been hounding the nation's capital for making it hard on Hollywood film shoots. First it was the Washington Post writing about the lack of tax incentives to lure big productions and too much red tape for location scouts to deal with, now it is Southern California public radio station 89.3 KPCC with a story about the few Oscar-nominated films that have been lensed in The District over the years.

But there is a ray of sunshine when it comes to filming in Washington, D.C. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" filmed scenes in Washington in October 2010 and now has a chance at winning multiple Oscars tomorrow evening in the visual effects, sound editing and sound mixing categories. Even though there was an on-set accident between a yellow Chevy Camaro—known in the film as the character Bumblebee—and a D.C. police SUV, the production was still a positive for D.C. with great publicity and money spent in the city.

So at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony tomorrow evening at Hollywood and Highland Center (formerly Kodak Theatre), there is a chance that "Transformers 3" will win as many as three Oscars and thus connect Washington, D.C. to showbiz's biggest night. Perhaps that will motivate city leaders to more aggressively pursue Hollywood productions so filmmakers are not forced to shoot in Baltimore or a studio backlot instead of the most powerful city in the world.

Washington Post Examines Why Films Don't Shoot in D.C.

Today's Washington Post takes a look at why the Nation's Capital misses out on many Hollywood film and television productions. The two biggest reasons are the lack of aggressive tax incentives and the bureaucratic maze location scouts and filmmakers must navigate to get permission to shoot in the shadow of the Capitol dome or other monumental locations.

The most disturbing part in the decline of TV and film shoots in The District is that storylines involving political intrigue and scandal are in demand. But Baltimore—Washington's blue-collar neighbor to the north—is increasingly used as a stand-in for D.C. because Maryland's film incentives are so much more competitive.  The Old Line State offers a rebate of up to 25% in the form of a grant for productions spending a minimum of $500,000 in-state and shooting at least 50% in the state. And last year Maryland increased their film incentive budget from $1 million annually to $7.5 million.

The D.C. Film Office has recently lost out on two Washington-set HBO series because of a lack of film incentives. "All Talk" is a comedy pilot written by acclaimed novelist Jonathan Safran Foer and starring Ben Stiller, who will also direct and executive produce. "VEEP" is a political satire starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whose local ties include a move to D.C. when she was eight-years-old and graduating from Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland.

Washington, D.C. is losing out big time on job creation and economic impact, and Baltimore and other areas of Maryland are happily reaping the rewards of offering better incentives. It really shouldn't be this way. You cannot replace the majestic Lincoln Memorial or Washington Monument on a sound stage in Burbank. But you can shoot almost every other scene somewhere else. By not offering more aggressive incentives and not streamlining the permitting process, the Nation's Capital is missing out on a monumental chance to lure Hollywood productions at a time when Tinseltown is more interested than ever in what is happening in Washington.