Is Chicago Hollywood's newest trend? (theater, schools, move to)

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by rparz

Probably has a lot to do with the huge studio lots at the old Ryerson plant and the tax breaks.

Many places across the U.S. and internationally have been offering tax breaks to Hollywood to lure productions away from California. This is the reason Breaking Bad, which was originally supposed to done in Riverside, CA, ended up in New Mexico, for example. (There are countless others.)

Some locations are starting to discover with this, however, much like when they use tax money to subsidize professional sports arenas, that the payoff is not always worth the cost. I predict that this trend won't continue unbridled for too long.

[UrbanCheetah]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Yeah, things are shot in San Diego sometimes but labeled as LA type of thing..but I didn't mean that they have more filming than Chicago alone.

Oh ok. I thought you meant that there are a lot of movies and shows that take place in SD. The only thing I can remember is Anchorman, haha.

[UrbanCheetah]

Originally Posted by marothisu

A few new shows are set to come out, maybe they already have. One is Betrayal (New series 'Betrayal' filming in Chicago | abc7chicago.com) and another is Chicago PD which is a Dick Wolf show (Chicago PD (TV series) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Of course, Chicago Fire is getting good ratings still in the 7s or 8s. Sirens is also being done in Chicago (Chicago gets another rescue show as USA picks up Denis Leary comedy 'Sirens' - The Daily Sizzle).

Also, the shows Mind Games and Crisis were also shot in town this summer, though I'm not entirely sure if they take place in Chicago (I want to say that one of them doesn't).

I only watched Betrayal to see what they show of Chicago, and they actually show some really great shots! Best shooting I have ever seen that displays the city on a show. However, I think the show is en route to get cancelled.

[jonnynonos]

Actually the OP is correct. There are more here than in a long time this year.

From what I read it was basically just a coincidence.

Chicago offers a good tax credit; not the best, but it doesn't need to because it's a great place to shoot.

[Irishtom29]

M Squad.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

...
Some locations are starting to discover with this, however, much like when they use tax money to subsidize professional sports arenas, that the payoff is not always worth the cost. I predict that this trend won't continue unbridled for too long.

Arkansas or Kansas probably wouldn't see a return on big tax breaks for filming, because there isn't a lot in either state to lure people to visit. But Chicago is kind of a different matter, because Chicago can be a great place to visit, with a wide appeal and deep source of attractions. What it lacks is contemporary exposure - we have lots of general exposure, historical exposure, but what filming does is show people that, hey, Chicago is a pretty cool city *right now* so they should put it on their list of places to visit. Films and television provide a type of exposure you rarely get with other types of advertising, especially films that are actually set here.

So I'm all for Illinois giving tax breaks to filmmakers, because the exposure Chicago gets from mass media is extremely valuable and pays off for multiple years as any tourism it generates does create multiplier effects because most people who visit like Chicago and will give it word of mouth when they return home - a word of mouth that's valuable. And even some portion of visitors decide, "Hey, I never thought about it, but living in Chicago might be a pretty good deal for me." Film puts (or keeps) Chicago into the consciousness of a wide audience, and it has the bones to live up to the expectations that creates.

[jonnynonos]

Michigan had an absurd tax credit and dumped it when the new governor took office. People are still upset about it.

Chicago also has great infrastructure. The crews here are ready to rock n' roll.

I'm sure when producers are filming a show in a city on location it is in most instances likely a toss up between Chicago and New York.

I'm not sure about the tax credit situation but just from a standpoint of setting up shop here for six months (hotels, parking etc.) clearly Chicago is likely significantly cheaper.

[eevee]

Unfortunately, I just read an article where Dick Wolf was discussing his reason for not doing post-production in Chicago or hiring Chicago based writers. Basically his answer was "why fix what's not broken".

Having projects filmed here is, of course, great, but it's just one piece of the puzzle. There's a lot of Chicago-based talent not being utilized here. You have writers sitting in L.A. writing about things happening in Chicago, L.A. actors flying in to film, production being sent back to L.A. for edits and final cuts. Beyond the filming, not much is being done in Chicago. It's a tough pill to swallow when, according to this article, Chicago has 3 of the top 25 film schools in the country (2 in the top 15). Speaking as someone who went to Columbia College, Chicago has a bit of a "creative" drain in this aspect since so many graduates are practically forced to move to L.A. or NYC to get a real head-start in this business. IMHO, if they're going to set movies and TV shows in Chicago, they should use more Chicago-based talent and not just farm everything back to L.A. We can have other media creation hubs beyond L.A. and NYC and Chicago could be one of these easily if it wants (it already looks like Atlanta is stepping on Chicago's toes a bit and trying to become that third hub).

[jonnynonos]

^^^ Yeah, that is too bad. I doubt they would ever roll the dice on like a big writing position, but it's too bad they can't make the effort to throw the creatives here a few more bones with entry level positions etc.

Chicago is a great city but for many creative industries, it's only marginally better than being in Dubuque.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

Chicago is a great city but for many creative industries, it's only marginally better than being in Dubuque.

I'm not going to say Chicago is better than NYC or LA with creative stuff like this, but you honestly believe that someone in Dubuque that is an artist or an actor is just only slightly worse off than Chicago? Get real..Chicago still gives you a hell of a lot more exposure than a place like Dubuque.