We know the guests of The White Lotus don’t shy away from splashing the cash and a Motion Picture Association study has now revealed inward investment on the HBO show’s second season in Italy neared $40M.
A cool €32M ($35.8M) was made on direct production costs, delegates at the Audio-Visual Producers Summit in Trieste, Italy heard this morning. Of that, 75% (about $26.7M) went on local goods and services, with the other 25% ($8.9M) spent on wages and salaries. In total, about 1,500 full or part-time jobs were created through HBO’s investment.
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The MPA said that if indirect costs are included, the figure rises to €38M ($42.2M) and 1,900 full or part-time jobs.
The figures were laid out by MPA President and Managing Director for EMEA Stan McCoy during a panel titled ‘The Value of Producing in Italy,’ which outlined how and why major U.S. networks and studios were looking beyond borders to unlock value in their production processes.
The MPA had commissioned the study in association with HBO, which provided what McCoy called a “trove” of data to the body’s economists to explore. Italy has become an increasingly popular place to film thanks to its 40% tax credit system for foreign companies, skilled crews and various stunning locations.
McCoy said the spend on The White Lotus season 2, which was set in Sicily and stars the likes of Jennifer Coolidge and Aubrey Plaza, was “typical of the kinds of spending habits of lots of types of inward investment” for films and TV shows. He added it provided a good case study to explain the benefits of overseas investment to Italy’s politicians, who would otherwise be more focused on supporting local productions.
Further the argument, McCoy said the spend went on everything from hotels and catering, services spanning accountancy to hairdressing, transportation, health and audiovisual services. White Lotus creator Mike White’s Rip Cord Productions made the show in the San Domenico Palace Taormina and on location with Italian firm Panomar Films, whose CEO Marco Valerio Pugini was also on the panel. Additional shooting took place at Lumina Studios and Cinecittá.
Jay Roewe, HBO’s SVP, praised “the incentive, the infrastructure and the experience we’ve had here over the past 20 years.”
“Because of the way it’s set out, Italy is not always easy logistically to shoot in but people came together to made it work and it was fantastic,” he said, adding that while HBO does not dictate to creatives where they have to shoot their shows, its experiences with local production services and indie producers meant it was a strong option for The White Lotus season 2.
The series’ executive producer David Bernad is due to speak tomorrow on the final day of the AVP Summit, during a panel also including The Queen’s Gambit producer William Horberg.
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