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Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal and Johnny Knoxville star in summer movies and TV filmed in LA
Summer feels inextricably linked with the movies, with bigger budget movies in theaters — many of them aiming to reach “blockbuster” status — and likely some more trips to the cinema to beat the heat on hot days.
But how many of the movies coming out this summer were filmed in Los Angeles?
It’s a question we’re asking because the decline in local film and TV production is an ongoing issue that matters a lot — because of the impact on jobs, the broader economy, and the culture of the Los Angeles area — and there’s been some encouraging news of late.
The latest quarterly report from FilmLA, the official film office for the L.A. region, showed some signs that the expansion of California’s Film & TV Tax Credit Program last year may be beginning to have some positive effects, particularly for feature films, TV dramas and comedies.
There’s also a pilot program that the city of Los Angeles and FilmLA launched last month that reduces costs and streamlines the process for getting permits for productions that meet certain criteria to be considered “low impact.”
While the effects of that are still to be determined, if you want to support movies (and TV shows!) that have filmed locally in the meantime, we put together this non-exhaustive list of upcoming shows and movies:
Summer TV filmed in LA
Spider-Noir (May 27, MGM+ and Prime Video)
A live-action series based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Noir is about a private investigator in 1930s New York City, played by Nicolas Cage, grappling with his superhero past.
While set in New York, the series was filmed in Los Angeles — in various locations downtown (including The Orpheum Theatre) and at several studio lots. In a recent interview, Cage’s co-star, Lamorne Morris, told LAist that ”Downtown L.A. looks probably more like 1930s New York than New York does,” and also confirmed that one of the Spider-Noir filming locations — the bar called The Prince in Koreatown — is one that many may recognize from another series that Morris starred in, the L.A.-set show New Girl.
Sugar (June 19, Apple TV)
This neo-noir Apple TV series starring Colin Farrell is set in modern-day Los Angeles and filmed here too. Season two premieres on June 19.
Elle (July 1, Prime Video)
Elle, the prequel series about the Legally Blonde character Elle Woods’ early life filmed primarily in Vancouver, but we’ll give it a pass since it’s largely set in Seattle and because we know that the series did include at least some filming in the Los Angeles area (specifically on Rodeo Drive).
Lucky (July 15, Apple TV)
According to Deadline, this Apple TV limited series, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Benning and Timothy Olyphant was a recipient of a $10.682 million state tax credit and filmed mostly in the Los Angeles area, with some shooting in Las Vegas as well. The local filming locations also included some spots in downtown Long Beach. Taylor-Joy plays a con artist in the action/thriller.
The Hawk (July 16, Netflix)
This comedy series starring Will Ferrell as a golf legend named Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins who’s looking to make a comeback — alongside Molly Shannon, Fortune Feimster and Luke Wilson — was reportedly awarded a $17.2 million state tax credit. It filmed in Newport Beach and Los Angeles, in addition to some locations in Florida.
Lanterns (August 16, HBO Max)
The DC Studios series Lanterns — created by Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, Lost), Tom King (Supergirl) and Chris Mundy (Ozark, True Detective) — stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as “intergalactic cops” drawn into an “earth-based mystery.”
While it was initially set to film in Atlanta, DC Studios’ Peter Safran said tax credits made it possible to film in Los Angeles instead, largely on the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank.
Summer movies filmed in LA
The Mandalorian and Grogu (May 22)
The film’s director and co-writer Jon Favreau has said that The Mandalorian and Grogu is the first Star Wars movie to be shot entirely in Los Angeles. Ahead of the movie’s premiere at the TCL Chinese theater, he credited the California Film Commission for making that possible.
Maddie's Secret (June 19)
Filmed and set in Los Angeles, Maddie’s Secret, is the directorial debut of actor and comedian John Early. Early also stars in the film as Maddie, a food influencer with bulimia. Early described the film to The Los Angeles Times as a “very Echo Park, Silver Lake, Eagle Rock, Frogtown, Glassell Park, Highland Park, Los Feliz movie.” Filming locations included Early’s own L.A. home.
The Invite (June 26)
Set in San Francisco, and starring Olivia Wilde (who also directed the film), Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton, The Invite actually filmed primarily on a Los Angeles soundstage, according to The San Francisco Examiner, with two days of on-location shooting in San Francisco.
Jackass: Best and Last (June 26)
The final installment in the Jackass movie franchise filmed in Los Angeles and Simi Valley. It’s helmed by Johnny Knoxville, who co-created and starred in every film and TV iteration of the series, which began as an MTV reality TV show in 2000.
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (July 10)
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is set in Los Angeles and was filmed entirely on location here. The film is directed by David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models), written by Wain and Ken Marino (Party Down, Wet Hot American Summer), and stars Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm (playing himself), and John Slattery.
The Odyssey (July 17)
Director Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey filmed in Italy, Greece, Morocco, Scotland and Iceland — but some key scenes were also shot in Los Angeles.