TV, Movie Productions Brought $170M To Chicago In 2012
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Officials said Wednesday that Chicago has enjoyed a record year of film and TV production in the city.
WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports the city saw more than 1,800 days of production on films and television shows last year, making it the best ever.
Filming Boon For Chicago In 2012
Chicago Film Office director Rich Moskal said that was a 45 percent increase over 2011, and also resulted in the best ever total in local economic spending from TV and movie productions.
"Our estimates range somewhere in the neighborhood of $170 million in terms of local spending, and that's based on hiring of local crew people, local actors, goods and services from local businesses," he said. "Those are direct dollars straight into Chicago's local economy."
Moskal said some TV pilots were being filmed in Chicago in April or recently completed filming, including an ABC show called "Doubt."
"Two others that are currently shooting are 'Betrayal' and 'Influence,' and we also just finished production on 'Sirens,' that Denis Leary is an executive producer on," he said.
The ongoing NBC show "Chicago Fire" is still shooting its first season in Chicago, and will be back for next season.
Even though a number of Chicago-based shows have been cancelled – including Fox's "The Mob Doctor," Starz network's "Boss," and MTV's "Underemployed" – Moskal said Chicago continues to be a popular location for filming.
"It's a gamble in terms of what's gonna stick as a full-time series, and what's gonna get pulled off the air," he said. "The fact that we get repeat business from all these various networks – Fox, NBC, ABC – all of them keep bringing other projects back, which is a good indication for us."
