And Action: Prague looking to become movie mecca again

Creating movie magic used to be the norm in the Czech Republic. In the early 2000s Hollywood producers flocked here thanks to the low cost, skilled workers and beautiful existing scenery – from period architecture to rolling countryside. Prague has stood in for a number of European cities from Amsterdam to Vienna to Rome.

Other central and eastern European countries wanted in on the action (and money) that came from housing movie crews for months at a time. Hungary and Romania were just two countries that started offering attractive financial incentives to film crews who worked in their countries. The Czech Republic neglected to go this route, and film production has dropped dramatically here.

Good news out of Brussels this week though – the European Commission has approved a system of incentives for the film industry requested by the Czech government. Under the plan, film producers will be able to get up to 20% of their costs back. Czech filmmakers have been asking for such a plan for years.

Interested in taking a peak at where some Hollywood blockbusters were filmed? Remember in The Bourne Identity the park in Zurich where Matt Damon’s character attempted to spend his first night in the city? That scene came courtesy of Kampa Island in Prague 1. Kampa’s a hot filming spot: It’s also the location where a car explodes outside a US Embassy in Mission: Impossible. Remember the Venice hotel where James Bond stayed in Casino Royale? That lobby is actually the National Museum.

Photo courtesy of Vin Crosbie