Southeast Europe: The New H'wood of Movie Production

 

Spurred on by low production costs, cash rebates, and limited production capacity in Central European countries like Hungary and the Czech Republic, Hollywood producers are embracing, and flocking to, Greece, Croatia, Serbia, and Macedonia. These countries offer picture-postcard vistas of the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Black Seas, forests, and unaltered natural beauty. In addition to old-world cities, towns, and hamlets make fitting sets for many productions.

Croatia, for example, has seen a stream of major production, including: "Game of Thrones", "The Wheel of Time" and "Eagle Eye"  all of which were shot completely in Croatia. 

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Greece is one of the hottest locations, closely followed by Serbia - both of which have some of the best production crews in the business.  Bulgaria is another favored location where, for example, a lot of the footage of the "Expendables" franchise was, and is, being shot. These are all places where it is easy to make movies. They have the infrastructure, crews, studio space, and equipment ready for use. 

To avoid a natural rivalry, cross-border collaborations are being established. With Greece operating at capacity this summer, Serbian movie crews were hired. Also, a lot of production is being spread out among several countries which is possible due to their proximity to one another and their EU status which makes labor and travel rules non-issues.