September 24, 2024
Fort Lauderdale and Broward County are on their way to becoming a major destination for film and television production once again. The future of the industry is set to be built in our community.
Construction of a new $164 million movie studio complex is underway with Infinite Reality as an anchor tenant. A new partnership between tech leaders Infinite Reality and Google will accelerate Fort Lauderdale's emergence as a creative hub.
South Florida, during the 1990s and early 2000s, was once a top destination for film productions. It would not have been a surprise during this era to spot stars like Al Pacino, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, and Owen Wilson on the job in Broward. Movies that filmed in Broward County included There’s Something About Mary, Marley & Me, Happy Gilmore, Out of Sight, Any Given Sunday, and many more.
With the state incentive program ending in 2016, many shoots that otherwise would have been in South Florida went to other destinations like Georgia and North Carolina.
“But amid struggles to lure big-budget projects is a persistent marketing push from local film commissions, independent and major filmmakers to move forward with motion pictures across South Florida,” according to a recent report from WLRN.
Rebuilding Broward’s Film Industry
Fort Lauderdale is back in the spotlight for filmmakers thanks to the launch of Film Lauderdale and Broward County introducing its film incentive program in 2022. The success of this program demonstrates that Broward County is serious about supporting filmmakers and rebuilding this dynamic industry into the economic engine it once was.
According to a recent report from South Florida Business Journal, “the entertainment industry has accounted for $170 million in direct spending in Broward this year, up from about $67 million in 2022” when Broward’s incentive program launched.
More than $80 million of production value from film permits has been issued in Fort Lauderdale over the past year. These productions range from big budget shoots like Bad Boys: Ride or Die to commercial shoots for brands like Volkswagen, PUMA, Hyundai, and Home Depot- and everything in between.
Fort Lauderdale: Soon to be Home to the Intersection of Film and AI
A $164 million public-private partnership to build a movie studio on a 60-acre former incinerator dump is underway. This project will accelerate the growth of Broward’s film industry by bringing full-service movie, television, and streaming production studios to Fort Lauderdale.
The possibilities for this project are limitless with Infinite Reality, a leader in 3D and virtual reality technology, spearheading this initiative. At the heart of this state-of-the art movie studio will be Infinite Reality’s partnership with Google Cloud to leverage its cutting-edge artificial intelligence to create immersive digital worlds in AI-powered 3D environments.
This partnership will create more than 1,000 high-paying jobs, will set the stage for Fort Lauderdale to become an emerging hub for AI, and will strengthen the City’s growing tech and creative ecosystems. This game-changing project broke ground this year and is slated to be completed in 2026.
A Transformative Impact
The framework for growing Fort Lauderdale’s film industry is in place. Productions are returning to Broward County and the future of the industry at intersection of film and AI is coming to our community. A major employment engine is set to emerge that will have an economic impact in the hundreds of millions, demonstrate that Fort Lauderdale is an incredible place for creatives, and showcase our city to the world.
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