MOVIE giants Warner Bros. want to make an entire major feature film in Glasgow, a production that would be “by some way the largest of its kind in the city’s history”.
The project –which is outlined in a Glasgow City Council report — would take the city’s efforts to be a major film and TV hub to “the next level”, according to officials.
No details about the film are revealed. The production would have a daily crew of between 250 and 350, rising to 1,000 on some days.
The report states: “A funding application has been received by the global filming production company, Warner Bros. to support the costs of filming activity in Glasgow and establishing an office base in the city for the duration. This production would be by some way the largest of its kind in the city’s history.
“This presents a market-capture moment for the city following significant success over the last ten months with The Flash, Indiana Jones and Batman all filming in the city.
“While these projects only filmed limited scenes, the experience of Warner Bros. on The Flash and Batman has been so positive that they have now brought a new project to the city, which would see almost the entire film produced in Glasgow.
It continues: “[Councillors] will be aware…of the council’s ambition to continue growing its reputation as a major film and TV hub in the UK, one that creates the conditions and works collaboratively with national agencies and the sector to provide future sustainable economic growth and job creation.
“The opportunity presented in this paper offers Glasgow the chance to take this ambition to the next level, further strengthening the global reputation the city is building as a location and centre of excellence in film and TV production.”
Officials state: “Both the recent productions in the city were London-based projects that chose Glasgow for its locations and its ease of securing on-street filming. Despite this, filming has never taken place for more than two consecutive weeks, and the city has yet to secure a production of scale wholly based in the city.
“Given the estimated spend for companies who choose Glasgow for its locations, the regional spend from a wholly based project would be substantial.
“Basing the production in the city will not only create hundreds of jobs, but significantly increase the possibility of future projects of a similar scale being commissioned in the city.
“The Warner Bros. portfolio includes the DC Universe catalogue, with the city already providing the ideal location for producing these types of movies. There is, therefore, a reasonable expectation that Glasgow can benefit further through the city’s relationship with the company.”
Councillors are being asked to approve a £150,000 Filming Incentive Grant. Officials add: “In return, there will be a major economic impact on the city both in terms of the actual spend the production will make locally while based here, as well as through publicity and tourism generated. The project will be employing local crew and talent where possible.
“Beyond the physical production crew employed, outside contractors such as security, construction and hospitality staff will also be recruited and options to develop traineeships and work placements explored.”
“To give a sense of the potential longer-term value, the British Film Institute estimates that feature film projects in the £60m to £100m budget level have an average daily spend in excess of £750,000. For projects with a £100million-plus budget, this increases to £1million-plus per day.
“At a time when the city centre, in particular, is going through a period of economic recovery, a production of this size and scale would be a welcome boost to the local hotel, hospitality and retail industries, who have felt the impact of national and regional lockdowns more acutely, with disproportionately higher overhead cost and lack of footfall as well as low occupancy rates and number of tourists and conferences/events visiting the city, all contributing factors.”
