Written by on Jul 1, 2013. Posted in Incentive News

San Francisco suggests filming rebate change to tackle lack of studio space

The San Francisco Film Commission is pushing for an addition to the city’s filming incentive programme to help productions with the cost of shooting in privately-owned commercial spaces. A lack of stage facilities in the city is proving a problem in attracting major projects.

Susannah Robbins, head of the San Francisco Film Commission, wants to address the problem by covering the cost of commercial space rental in the city’s filming incentive programme.

San Francisco's main filming incentive currently offers up to USD600,000 per production to cover payroll taxes and city fees. Expanding this to cover commercial space rental could help attract more productions like HBO drama Hemingway & Gellhorn (above), which filmed entirely on location in San Francisco, despite its global settings.

The lack of studio space recently lost the city a major feature and two television series now appear uncertain, the San Francisco Examiner reports.

Without a stage space to build cover sets, we are going to lose productions which would otherwise base here.

Susannah Robbins, San Francisco Film Commission

“Without a stage space to build cover sets, we are going to lose productions which would otherwise base here rather than just shooting a few days with beauty shots to make it look like the whole production was shot here, which is done so often,” Robbins told the outlet.

San Francisco faces intense competition from generous filming incentives in places like Louisiana and Vancouver, and as a state California continues to battle a long-term runaway production problem.

To find out more about the Hemingway & Gellhorn shoot click here.

(Hemingway & Gellhorn photo: HBO)