Written by on Apr 27, 2012. Posted in Incentive News

Washington DC considers ways to boost location filming

Authorities in Washington, DC, want to attract more filming productions to the US capital, but are keen to crunch the numbers before committing to any kind of incentive. The first step in the process will be to authorise a feasibility study looking at the benefits of an incentive programme.

The District of Columbia (DC) doesn’t have a particularly film-friendly reputation, with no incentives on offer and heavy restrictions in place for filming of landmarks like the Capitol. Baltimore in neighbouring Maryland is often used as a DC double and secured most of the location filming for current TV political satire Veep.

Unfortunately, in this business today, it seems to be about incentives as opposed to being location-driven.

Crystal Palmer, DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development

Crystal Palmer is Director of the District's Office of Motion Picture and Television Development and spoke to the Washington Examiner: “Mayor [Vincent] Gray and Councilmember [Vincent] Orange and I had a pretty in-depth conversation with HBO [about Veep]. Unfortunately, in this business today, it seems to be about incentives as opposed to being location-driven.”

With security understandably a big issue in DC, it seems likely that the local filming industries face an uphill struggle to make the capital more appealing to producers.