How Oscar Hopefuls Like ‘Elvis’ and ‘Aftersun’ Took Advantage of Creative, Cost-Effective Locations
variety.comMarta Balaga The producers of Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films alike are on the lookout for the most cost-efficient locations.
Recent examples include several of the year’s Oscar nominees, from “Aftersun,” which shot in Turkey; “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” which went to Budapest; to “Elvis,” in Australia. “Budapest offered an affordable alternative to both London and Paris,” says Jonathan Halperyn, managing director at Budapest-based Hero Squared and a co-producer on the film. “Hungary often comes up as a shooting destination when there is a budget crunch.” He adds: “We applied for co-production status and support from the National Film Institute of Hungary during the COVID hiatus, and by the end of 2020, we were up and running.
This is the kind of flexibility we have become known for.” Oscar-nominated costume designer Jenny Beavan praises her Hungarian team: “It was my first experience working in Hungary, and with [wardrobe supervisor] Zsoka Hoka.
I think the resulting costumes speak for themselves.” The Czech Republic is also “financially reasonable” in comparison to other filmmaking hubs in Europe, says Pavlína Žipková of the Czech Film Commission, mentioning the “the big three”: creativity, infrastructure and production incentives.
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