Being mostly broke, San Francisco can't afford to cut the same tax breaks for film crews working in our city limits as towns like Vancouver, British Columbia that often get to play our stunt double on-screen. So instead of tax breaks, the city is offering perks at local businesses. We've mentioned the "Scene in San Francisco" program before, but today the Examiner details even more deals film industry folks can enjoy while on the set in our fair city. The perks range from the cheesy: "a free cup of crab-and-corn chowder or glass of house wine with purchase of an entree" at the Blue Mermaid Chowder House; to the useful - discounts at hotels like the Clift and the Four Seasons; to the cultural - free admission to Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Action movie stars and adrenaline junkies can even enjoy 25% off a Rocketboat high-speed adventure on the Bay.
Currently, the only upcoming productions set in the city include Philip Kaufman's "Hemingway & Gellhorn", a Steven Soderbergh flick with Jude Law and Matt Damon, as well as a pilot for "Alcatraz" and 13-episodes of an American take on the BBC's "Chinese Food Made Easy" for the Cooking Channel. In recent memory, the film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road was mostly filmed in Canada's substitute for San Francisco and even a recently-aired lawyer show set in the Bay Area has a few too many evergreens in the background, so here's to more locally-sourced entertainment.
· City officials revamp perks for filming in San Francisco [SFEx]
· SF Film Officer Would Like Film Crews to Enjoy Our City Cheaply [CurbedSF]
· SFist Watches: Fairly Legal [SFist]