France wants to be attractive to Hollywood movies – The Point

This is a seduction operation. A dredger that could pay off big. The French Minister of Culture, Fleur Pellerin, meeting this week the owners of Hollywood studios to try to convince them to turn their big productions in France, thanks to the increase of the tax credit on foreign films. Between the United States, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Eastern Europe and France and others, the battle rages to attract lucrative big-budget films.

“The financial stakes are high, because there is a direct and indirect impact. We consider that the leverage is one to three. Per euro spent on a film, there are three euros in social security contributions, VAT, etc. But beyond that, show images filmed in France will tempt people to come see these landscapes, and it has an impact on the local economy, “said the minister. The minister announced that France was within 20-30% international film tax credit and is now available for large productions, not only for the budgets of up to $ 4 million.

Exodus filming of major productions

“We had some interesting tax credits for medium production, I would now be able to attract filming with budgets of 80-100 million. I just met (the studio) Lionsgate who said that raising the tax credit was very interesting, “says the minister. “Today, it is extremely competitive. It is over in London, which is 25% (tax credit), although the level of eligible expenditure is not quite the same, and we are more competitive than Belgium, the Luxembourg … “she enumerates. Some Eastern European countries like Hungary are better posing no tax credit limit. One of France’s 30 million. Paris hopes to stem a disturbing paradox: if the production of French feature films reached a record last year (189), it is also accompanied by an exodus of 36% of shootings, especially blockbusters <. /> p>

“the tax credit came into effect on January 1, and the effect is already being felt. Some directors had to turn abroad and will do so in France, “said the minister to say that. Among American studios, there are “shootings of decisions that are going to take and that could now be done in France,” she continues. This year, the star director Christopher Nolan ( The Dark Knight , Interstellar , etc.) should film his epic WWII Dunkirk in party in northern France. According to magazine Variety, Neil Jordan will turn criminal series Riviera on the French Riviera. As for Luc Besson, who threatened to shoot his next blockbuster Valerian abroad, he has since backtracked.