In another Film Tourism link – the producer of Paranormal Activity, Jason Blum, is moving on to actual haunted houses. Blum has announced plans for The Blumhouse of Horrors, a Halloween attraction in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Blum’s production company is currently at work turning the historic Variety Arts Theater in Downtown LA…
Read moreVirginia prepares for Lincoln-related tourism
PETERSBURG – The area will soon be promoting a new part of the region’s history that is tied to the upcoming release of the major motion picture “Lincoln,” which was filmed in Petersburg and the Richmond area. Recently, the state awarded a tourism grant that will help promote President Abraham Lincoln’s final days in the…
Read moreThe Golden Age of Film Tourism
TV and film tourism has come of age. Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and other worldwide blockbusters have taken the impact of films on tourism destinations to new levels, and for many destinations and attractions the broadcast media has become their single most effective marketing tool. Media coverage – sometimes worth many millions of…
Read moreBailout or Bust – Film Incentives under threat
There’s an interesting article on the new pressure on Film Incentives (or “Bail-outs for Hollywood,” if you’re on the other side of the aisle) in todays International Herald Tribune. Tax credits for Hollywood were recently expanded in Florida and North Carolina but are under fresh scrutiny in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Mexico, all…
Read moreForgetting Sarah Marshall
Doofus musician Peter (Jason Segel) has spent six years idolizing his girlfriend, television star Sarah Marshall. When she dumps him, he takes an impulsive trip to Oahu, Hawaii, where he is confronted by his worst nightmare: his ex and her hip new Rock Star boyfriend, Aldous, are staying at the same resort….. Forgetting Sarah Marshall…
Read moreTaos, Summer of Love
GQ magazine is running a feature on road trip essentials that directs you to Taos, New Mexico (a remarkable arts colony in the middle of nowhere that I was lucky enough to visit en route back from the Santa Fe Cineposium last year.) Legendary scary-person Dennis Hopper lived in Taos—physically, anyway—in the sixties and seventies,…
Read moreJurassic Park(s)
With a bored, rambunctious child to entertain, I thought I’d scare the wits out of her with a Jurassic Park marathon – 1 (awesome), 2 (ho-hum) and 3 (pretty good.) In brief, a mad scientist (transformed in the movie into a kindly old man) has found a way to clone dinosaurs using blood from 65…
Read moreAustralia
And so to the other big location pic of 2008/9: Australia. I finally caught it on the very small screen – on the way back from Locations Trade Show 09. And what can I tell you about it? Well, I can see why so many people hated it, why the critics whipped themselves into a…
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