Council plans to cash in on blockbusters
Jurassic World’s filming on Loch Long has inspired Argyll and Bute Council to try to make mega money from production teams. The council will cash in on the area’s popularity as a filming hotspot by charging film and TV crews more to shoot on council property. Proposals for a film location charging schedule were approved by the authority’s policy and resources committee after several blockbusters were shot in the area. These included Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Craig Ferguson’s screenplay Love Me To Death. A report recommended that film makers should be charged up to £1,260 plus VAT per day to film on council property, depending on their budget. Makers of TV shows and adverts should pay up to £660 and £600 plus VAT per day respectively. The report also estimates that had the charge schedule been put in place last year, the authority would have made thousands of pounds. Councillor Aileen Morton said: ‘We frequently receive requests for filming on council land, usually smallscale productions undertaking filming on footways. ‘However, there has been a recent increase in demand for council-owned property/land for filming purposes or to facilitate filming. ‘We compared the value we quoted previously of £15,000 with the value which could potentially be generated with the implementation of the proposed charging schedule, which totalled approximately £39,900.’ The report also says that other elements may incur additional charges from film and TV production companies, including the removal of street furniture. The report’s recommended charging schedule was approved by the committee.