NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A batch of big-budget films is set to be shot in Louisiana over the summer as the state's investment in a tax credit program draws cost-conscious producers.
Among planned shoots are "Fantastic Four," ''Terminator 5," ''Pitch Perfect 2" and "Jurassic World," the fourth film in the "Jurassic Park" series. The television series "NCIS: New Orleans" and "American Horror Story: Freak Show" are also being shot this summer.
The flurry of activity is encouraging entrepreneurs who provide services for production companies, in turn creating jobs. Louisiana ranked ahead of California — and anywhere else — in the number of live-action movie shoots in a study of 2013 releases from Hollywood's largest studios.
Louisiana film office director Chris Stelly says officials certified nearly $810 million in production company spending on 123 projects in 2013.
