FROM THE WHITE LOTUS TO MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, ITALY IS HOSTING A VARIETY OF PROJECTS DRAWN TO ITS ATMOSPHERIC LOCATIONS, EXPERT CREW AND ENTICING 40% INCENTIVE.
“MOST WERE NOT JUST POPPING IN FOR A FEW SECOND UNIT SHOTS EITHER, BUT REALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE VARIETY OF LOCATIONS ON OFFER.”
| When asked to list some international projects that have shot in Italy in the last couple of years, Tina Bianchi, secretary general of the Italian Film Commissions, sent two pages of titles. To name but a few, there’s Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, House of Gucci, Ferrari, Lift, The Old Guard 2, The Witcher, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Equalizer 3, Empire, The White Lotus and Mr & Mrs Smith. Exteriors for Kenneth Branagh’s murder mystery for Disney A Haunting in Venice were shot in the eponymous city. Most were not just popping in for a few second unit shots either, but really taking advantage of the variety of locations on offer. The Amazon Prime series, Mr & Mrs Smith, starring Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane as spies who pretend to be married, is a perfect case in point. “We filmed at the end of 2022 a load of action sequences for an episode on and around Lake Como involving speed boats, car chases, planes and an explosion at a safe house,” says Marco Valerio Pugini, series EP and CEO of production service company Panorama Films. “Then we headed north to the snowy peaks of the Dolomites in the village of San Cassiano [for scenes in another episode where the spy couple are tracking a married couple].” Pugini continues, “The locations and local crew were great. Aside from the stunt coordinator and doubles for the actors, the rest of the team were Italians. I’ve worked on big projects in the country many times before, so getting permission to shoot was pretty straightforward. It just might take a little more time and effort for special permits. For the car chase sequences running through villages we had to close roads, and a sea plane landing on Lake Como meant closing down that section of the lake for a few hours, so that required good communication with the local authorities.” HBO’s second season of The White Lotus was filmed extensively in Italy across Sicily, including in Palermo and Noto, the Castello degli Schiavi in the coastal town of Fiumefreddo as well as the beachside La Cambusa restaurant in Giardini Naxos. Paramount’s M:I – Dead Reckoning Part One filmed across Rome, including the Spanish Steps where “we turned this wonderful square into an open-air set and it was fantastic,” according to the film’s star Tom Cruise. Netflix series Ripley filmed in Rome, as well as Venice, where the original Patricia Highsmith novel, The Talented Mr Ripley, was set. While 20th Century Studios’ The King’s Man shot around Turin doubling for Sarajevo. “All of these titles prove that from big cities to the countryside you can find the right location to tell your stories and any permits needed are easy to obtain without hassle,” says Bianchi. The twenty members of the Italian Film Commissions can assist productions with the logistics of finding and shooting at various locations, obtaining the permits and any qualified crews and service providers required, as well access to regional funding options worth about EUR70 million this year. These can be combined with the impressive 40% national tax credit, which has no ceilings for a single project, although an individual company can only receive up to EUR20 million annually (provided it does not exceed 80% of the total budget).
STUDIOS AND CREW Many projects come to Italy for the stunning locations, but an increasing number also choose to use the studios. The most notable being the historic Cinecitta Studios, which has been undergoing a EUR300 million revamp (expanding to 24 stages by 2026 and eventually 32), recently hosting Netflix’s Old Guard 2, Joe Wright’s television series M, and Angelina Jolie’s Without Blood, which also used the studios’ new T18 virtual production stage with a giant LED wall. There’s also Lumina Studios near Rome where part of the The White Lotus was filmed. The studio, which has four sound stages, recently signed a six-year strategic pact with Cinecitta. Italy boasts an abundance of production service companies and crew, although they were stretched in 2022 when several of the projects mentioned above, and more, were shooting in the country. “We had so many projects shooting here a couple of years ago,” says Pugini, wearing his other hat as president of the Association of Production Service Companies (APE). “Things then quietened down with the strike, but we’re getting back on track again and there are plenty of films, television series and commercials starting up. We have enough crew to accommodate between three and five major productions at the same time.” Main Image: | Q&A MARCO VALERIO PUGINI PRESIDENT APE
Q: How do you collaborate with film commissions across Italy? A: We have to be across what the 20 film commissions are doing in each area, so we have a representative here who deals with them. Every territory has a film commission and lots have small funds to support local and international projects with scouting and during the production period. You can always get some help, sometimes material and other times with contacts and connections, which are both vital. Q: Which are the stand-out filming locations? A: Naturally, Rome is a focal point, but also because most of the key studios are here too, including Cinecitta. There are plenty of other places proving popular like Sardinia, Tuscany, the Dolomites, Piedmont, Turin and Milan. It’s difficult to find regions where somebody has not been filming recently. Q: What impact has the government’s decision to cut EUR933 million of funding for film production per year had on the industry? A: In regards to the tax credit for international productions not much. Up to now we’ve never had a problem with it. It will remain at 40% for eligible expenses but might reduce to 30% on above the line costs for non-Italian talent. Q: Are there sufficient studio facilities to accommodate incoming productions? A: There are facilities around Rome and elsewhere (like Turin and Milan), although not many. But it is important to point out that Cinecitta is expanding and will receive funding to build new stages. That will be huge. But in order to really become a cluster in the worldwide map we need a few more soundstages here. Between the tax credit and the crew, we have a great Ferrari and driver. What we need is to improve the structural work to run it and that is the facilities.
|
SOMETHING ELSE