MAYOR EMANUEL ANNOUNCES GROUNDBREAKING YEAR FOR CHICAGO FILM, TELEVISION AND MEDIA PRODUCTION IN 2017
Eight full-season television series were among
the many film and media projects produced in Chicago last year,
resulting in an estimated $423 million economic impact
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Film Office at the Department of
Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) today announced that local
film and media production have yet again reached record levels in 2017.
Last year, 580 individual film and media projects recorded an all-time
high combined total of 2,404 production days, resulting in an estimated
$423 million in job creation and expenditures. The Film Office issued a
total of 2,127 permits in support of these projects, a 10 percent
increase from 2016. Chicago has seen steady year over year increases in
media production since 2011.
“With our talented residents, state-of-the-art facilities, and
affordable services—not to mention our iconic skyline and the rich
character and diversity of Chicago’s neighborhoods, the city continues
to serve as the destination for film, television and media production
year after year,” said Mayor Emanuel. “It is a testament to the depth
and talent associated with Chicago’s local film industry that everything
from large studio productions, to small independent films to
commercials find a home in Chicago.”
The rise in Chicago filming and commercial production has boosted
local spending and job creation, while increasing traffic for a wide
range of local businesses, hotel rooms, office and warehouse leasing,
vehicle and equipment leasing, construction supplies, and local tax
revenues. According to the Illinois Film Office--which awards a 30
percent tax credit to film--television and advertising productions for
qualified expenditures of Illinois crew, goods and services, projects in
2017 generated an estimated $423 million in Illinois spending and
employed 13,797 non-extra job hires along with $251 million in wages.
Additionally, women and minority hires made up 53% of reported crew
employees.
Film, television and media production continued with record level
activity in 2017 with eight full-season series, plus portions of two
others, filming throughout the year. NBC’s Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and Chicago Med, FOX’s Empire, and Netflix’s Easy all renewed for additional seasons. Showtime launched two new series, Electric Dreams and The Chi, in addition to Shameless returning for several weeks of filming the seventh consecutive season. Two new comedy shows, Pop TV’s Hot Date and the Comedy Central pilot South Side both filmed here in 2017 and are expected to go to series in 2018.
Studio features Widows (New Regency) and Captive State (Amblin), and portions of the action blockbuster Rampage
(Warner Bros) showed a strong return in major motion picture
production, and independent features – most locally produced –
including The Pages, Hala, What They Had, Soul Sessions and Book of Leah
all filmed here in their entirety and continued a five-year growing
trend in the creation of home grown content for national distribution.
The locally produced independent feature The Pages
featured Chicago actors in 80% of speaking roles. It was produced by
Colleen Griffen and written and directed by Joe Chappelle, both
Northwestern University alums currently live in Evanston. "I love
Chicago. Even though I have shot all over Chicago the last 6 years, I
continue to find fresh, visually stunning locations to film,” said Chappelle. “The
crews are world class, none better. When we held our local casting
session, we could have cast every role with multiple Chicago actors. The
city is rich in talent."
For a list of production projects in 2017 compared with 2016 by genre, see below:
PRODUCTION TOTALS
|
2017 Project Starts
|
2017 Production Days
|
2016 Project Starts
|
2016 Production Days
|
Studio Feature
|
3
|
111
|
3
|
18
|
Indie Feature
|
30
|
198
|
18
|
120
|
Television
|
56
|
1252
|
66
|
1382
|
Commercials
|
165
|
306
|
141
|
257
|
Stills
|
199
|
277
|
94
|
240
|
Other Productions
|
127
|
260
|
105
|
311
|
TOTAL:
|
580
|
2404
|
428
|
2339
|
The Chicago Film Office’s Independent Film Initiative (IFI) – an
industry development program designed to retain and grow the local
filmmaker community and increase the number of locally produced
independent features, documentaries, shorts and web series – awarded the
2018 Filmmaker-in-Residence grant to the producing team of Bea Cordelia
and Daniel Kyri. As part of the year-long residency, Cordelia and Kyri
will be producing The T, a web-series dramedy that explores
LGBTQ relationships. The residency is part of a first-of-its-kind
program that provides a $10,000 cash grant and other support and
resources toward the completion of a locally produced film or series.
The Film Office also launched the Independent Producers
Apprenticeship – a professional development and mentorship program for
emerging Chicago area independent film and media entrepreneurs. The
apprenticeship program, administered by Cinema/Chicago, cultivates the
next generation of independent film and media makers through hands-on
experience while working on an independent production in Chicago.
The 2017 Millennium Park Film Series screened 15 movies June-September for a total audience of approximately 103,000 attendees in the Pritzker Pavilion. New this year was a daytime family screening of Snow White and Seven Dwarfs
co-presented with the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.
The ChicagoMade Shorts Showcase screened films by local filmmakers prior
to each feature presentation.
Chicago Film Office
The Chicago Film Office, part of the Department of Cultural Affairs
and Special Events, leads the City’s efforts to attract and enhance the
production of feature films, television series, commercials,
documentaries and all forms of local screen entertainment. For
filmmakers, it is a one-stop liaison for all City of Chicago production
needs, including permits, City services and logistical support.
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is
dedicated to enriching Chicago’s artistic vitality and cultural
vibrancy. This includes fostering the development of Chicago’s
non-profit arts sector, independent working artists and for-profit arts
businesses; providing a framework to guide the City’s future cultural
and economic growth, via the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan; marketing the
City’s cultural assets to a worldwide audience; and presenting
high-quality, free and affordable cultural programs for residents and
visitors. For more information, visit
cityofchicago.org/dcase