While there are plenty of British films made each year, many of which are well worth a watch, our cinematic slate and feed through streaming platforms predominantly hail from Hollywood. The California-based near-city of studios has long been the beating heart of filmed entertainment in the US, which sells its creations around the world a combined billions each year.
Now, however, one superstar of Hollywood is seeing his efforts to move the centre of film production elsewhere. In 2022, Mark Wahlberg packed up and left California for pastures new, settling down in Nevada. Situated close – but not too close – to The Strip in Paradise and Las Vegas, he’s been trying to create “Hollywood 2.0” and looks to be gaining momentum.
Why shift from Hollywood to Las Vegas?
Already, Wahlberg’s filmed and starred in The Family Plan in Sin City, and earlier this year, news broke of him having a hand in a new movie studio coming to the nearby area of Summerlin. Powered by Sony Pictures and $1.8 billion in funding, movie production in Las Vegas will only ramp up from here. So, we look set to see more and more of our movies feature the infamous city, which certainly leans into some distinct themes and storylines.
After all, it’s not known as Sin City for nothing! Naturally, it’s most famed for its gambling. Even when you play blackjack online in this country, it’s the Vegas branding that works as a seal of quality. Vegas is the epitome of gambling, comprised of hundreds of mega-resort casinos and likely millions of games. In movies, gambling scenes can make for intense meetings, offer a chance to show savvy, and even complete underdog stories.
As well as gambling, Las Vegas has a deep history in boxing, having hosted many of the all-time greatest fights. Given how well boxing stories can work on the big screen, we might get some more based on the sport thanks to the Hollywood 2.0 project. More than anything else, though, it offers a different setting, a different set of creatives at hand, and a different mindset to that of metropolitan California, which in itself will be rather refreshing.
Productions already coming to Sin City
Most recently, two more major stars have rocked up in Las Vegas to film. For the upcoming movie Easy’s Waltz, both Vince Vaughn and Al Pacino were spotted in and around The Strip. Filming was taking place at Wynn Las Vegas as well as in the Downtown area at El Cortez. Given that the film’s about an out-of-luck singer being given a shot by a seasoned promoter, those two casinos would naturally be high on the list of ideal filming locations.
For film productions, one of the big draws of Las Vegas now is the tax breaks offered by the state of Nevada. According to reports that caught the application for tax incentives, Easy’s Waltz looks set to qualify for Nevada expenditures of around $8 million to earn an incentive total of over $1.4 million. That’s a hefty saving to be made, so it makes sense that Wahlberg himself already has another flick that was filmed in Las Vegas, Flight Risk.
With Mark Wahlberg spearheading the movement and producers clearly coming around to the idea, we look set to see much more of the famed Sin City in the movies that make it to British shores from the US in the years to come.
