The 6.4 million liter water tank and wave machines that created the stormy effects in director Ang Lee’s (李安) Oscar-winnning 3D movie Life of Pi will become the focus of the production facilities of a studio to be set up in Taichung, a Taichung City Government spokesman said yesterday.
With many cities around the world have offered incentives to film producers to shoot scenes or work on post-production, the Taichung City Government plans to provide assistance to film producers at home and abroad who are interested in using the city as a production base, Cho Kuan-ting (卓冠廷) said.
Cho said that the Taichung City Government plans to set aside a total budget of NT$780 million (US$24 million) from this year to 2017 for the development of a film production center in suburban Taichung’s Wufeng District (霧峰).
The planned center will feature the water tank and wave machines that Lee’s production crew built at the former Taichung Shuinan Airport in 2012 especially for Life of Pi.
In addition to a film studio, the center will also have facilities for liaison offices and workshops.
The city government is hoping that the center will also help cultivate potential film industry personnel by cooperating with related departments of universities in the region.
Since 2009, the Taichung City Government has provided subsidies to films and TV series that have shot footage in the city.
Statistics released by the city government show that last year, a total of 41 local and international films were shot in the city, while in the first half of this year alone, the number had reached 50.
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