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In the last few years, we have experienced an exciting upward trend. In 1992, the impact of the film industry in Philadelphia was estimated to be approximately $22 million, whereas in 1991 it was only $2.1 million, representing an increase of ten times. In 1993, that figure grew to $28 million. Economic impact from film and TV production that we have attracted to the region since 1992 is approaching three billion dollars. Feature films, like the Academy Award winning “The Age of Innocence” and “Philadelphia“, as well as the Bruce Willis starred “12 Monkeys“, Al Pacino in “Two Bits,” the Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford romance, “Up Close and Personal”, and “Beloved“, starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover, increased our visibility and reputation in the industry. 1998 releases included “Wide Awake“ for Miramax, Turner Pictures’ “Fallen“.

Feature films with principal photography in 1998 included, among others, “Kimberly“, written and directed by Frederic Golchan, starring Gabrielle Anwar, “The Sterling Chase,” directed by Tanya Fenmore and, Touchstone Pictures’ “The Sixth Sense“ written and directed by Philadelphian M. Night Shyamalan and starring Bruce Willis.

Early 1999 brought production of the highly acclaimed “Jesus’ Son,” starring Billy Crudup and “The Doghouse,” a low budget independent directed by Steven Kane, a former area resident, to the Philadelphia area. “Diary of a City Priest“, starring David Morse and written and directed by Philadelphian Eugene Martin (”Two Plus One“, “Edge City” ) was shot in the summer months and “Animal Factory“, a gritty prison drama directed by Steve Buscemi and starring Willem Dafoe and Edward Furlong, was shot in several prisons in the Philadelphia area in the summer and fall. “Prison Song,” a musical written and directed by Darnell Martin (“Oz” ) and starring Q-Tip and Elvis Costello, was shot in the fall.

Also in 1999, we hosted the world premiere of Touchstone’s international blockbuster, “The Sixth Sense“ . The phenomenal success of this film has catapulted Philadelphia’s film community to its own superstardom. The film garnered six Academy Award nominations and and shortly after carried the distinction of being the 13th highest grossing film in history achieving a world-wide box office total of $672,800,000!

The year 2000 saw the production of M. Night Shyamalan’s “Unbreakable“, starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, and Robin Wright Penn. Three independent films, “Bottomfeeders“, “A Gentleman’s Game,” and “Snipes“, all directed by emerging Philadelphia filmmakers, also completed principal photography. Economic impact to the Philadelphia region from film, video, and television production in 2000 was nearly $50 million.

2001 brought more exciting projects to our area, including the independent films “Emmett’s Mark“ starring Scott Wolf, Gabriel Byrne, and Tim Roth and “The Good Thief,” directed by Philadelphian R.T. Herwig. Hometown favorite M. Night Shyamalan directed another feature here in 2001, “Signs“, starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix. “Signs“ has earned more than $425 million. The Steven Bochco television series “Philly” starring Philadelphia native Kim Delaney, also shot here in 2001.

In 2002, the Film Office was proud to host the filming of Kevin Smith’s “Jersey Girl“, starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, as well as George Carlin, Liv Tyler and Jason Biggs. The independent film “The 24th Day,” directed by Tony Piccirillo, featured Scott Speedman and James Marsden. Also, the CBS television series “Hack,” starring Philadelphia resident David Morse and Andre Braugher, filmed its first full season entirely in Philadelphia. It was the first television series to be shot entirely on location in Philadelphia.

In 2003, in addition to “Hack“ filming all year, another network series, Jerry Bruckheimer’s “Cold Case“, which stars Temple University graduate Kathryn Morris, was the undisputed hit of the season. Several weeks of principal photography were shot in Philadelphia. Lee Daniels, another native Philadelphian and producer of 2001’s surprise hit “Monster’s Ball,” which earned the Best Actress Oscar for Halle Berry, returned to his hometown to produce “The Woodsman“. The film stars Kevin Bacon and Eve, both also Philadelphians, and Kyra Sedgwick, Benjamin Bratt, Mos Def, and David Alan Grier, and was co-written and directed by another Philadelphian, Nicole Kassell. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2004 and opened nationally on January 21, 2005. Another Philadelphia filmmaker, Eugene Martin, returned to shoot “The Other America” with a young ensemble cast during the summer of 2003, and the film was selected as the opening night film at Slamdance in Park City on January 17, 2004, marking the festival’s tenth anniversary. “National Treasure“, starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Jon Turteltaub, was released on November 19, 2004 and was number one at the box office for several weeks. The film’s Philadelphia and Washington D.C. locations fueled a large joint tourism marketing campaign. And M. Night Shyamalan returned with “The Village“, another thriller shot entirely in the Greater Philadelphia region starring Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Howard, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Adrien Brody, and Judy Greer. “The Village“, released in July of 2004, was hugely successful, grossing close to $125 million in its opening week.

In 2004, “Hack“ was back in Philadelphia wrapping its second season of filming. Philadelphia also played host to a Sci-Fi channel special, “The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan,” which came out immediately before the release of “The Village“. The documentary was marketed as an unauthorized bio of the reclusive filmmaker. 2004 also saw a new slate of films arrive in town. Twentieth Century Fox’s project, “In Her Shoes“, starring Toni Collette, Cameron Diaz and Shirley Maclaine, directed by Curtis Hanson and based on the book written by long-time Philadelphia resident Jennifer Weiner, was filmed in Philadelphia in early 2004. Lee Daniels returned to Philadelphia in 2004 for his directorial debut with “Shadowboxer“ starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Helen Mirren, Stephen Dorff and Macy Gray. Also in 2004, MTV’s “The Real World,” one of the most popular and longest running reality shows, shot season fifteen in Philadelphia’s Old City. Philadelphia scored a major primetime success, as our young and vibrant nightlife has never looked better. Philadelphia was also the backdrop for “White Men Can’t Rap,” “Youth of a Nation,” and “Invisible Mountains.”

2005 has been a banner year for Philadelphia in ways we never imagined. Two important publications heralded Philadelphia’s rise in status. The New York Times called us the “Sixth Borough” and National Geographic Traveler named us as “The next great American City.” Credit must be given to the explosion in attention we are getting from films and TV shows, particularly by young people from shows such as “The Real World.” Curtis Hanson’s “In Her Shoes“ had it’s official world premier at the Toronto Film Festival, but premiered in Philadelphia a few days earlier to an adoring audience. Lee Daniels’ “Shadowboxer“ also premiered in Toronto in September. “Cold Case” continued to set the standard for TV shows, and continued to film in Philadelphia. A new comedy show by Philadelphian Rob McIlhenny called “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia“ was a surprise hit on the FX Channel, and was renewed for season two. Disney’s gridiron film “Invincible“, based on the true story of Vince Papale’s career with the Philadelphia Eagles, shot in Philadelphia this summer and starred Mark Wahlberg. Night Shyamalan was back with “Lady in the Water“ for Warner Brothers. The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard and Paul Giamatti. Philadelphia producer Max Raab premiered his documentary, “Rittenhouse Square,” directed by Robert Downey, Sr. Independent films that shot in 2005 included “Champions“, “Ungodly“, “Book of Caleb,” “Consequences“, “Head Space“, and “Never Say Goodbye,” the first Bollywood production to come to Philadelphia. The new television series for tweens, “The Block,” created by Philadelphian Sri Rao began production; and the newest version of “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke,” shot on a Philadelphia rooftop featuring Philadelphia’s own G Love.

2006 started strong with MGM’s “Rocky Balboa“ back for one more round. The film, written and directed by Sylvester Stallone, has Rocky coming out of retirement to go in the ring once again. On December 18, 2006, Philadelphia rolled out the red carpet and proudly hosted the east coast premiere of “Rocky Balboa“ Mark Wahlberg returned to Philadelphia with Paramount Pictures film “Shooter“. Kindred Media Group produced the horror film “Tooth and Nail“ this year and the film “My Dog Tulip“ had its original music and animation done in Philadelphia. The wildly popular CBS TV show “Cold Case“, continued to shoot in our area, as did the second season of FX’s new hit “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia“. Local filmmaker Sri Rao’s new TV show for tweens, “What Goes On“ (AKA “The Block”) continued shooting in 2006. We’ve had a busy year for independent films, such as the directorial debut of Curtis Nicholls “God’s Prayer“, A Chip and A Chair Films “If You Could Say it in Words“, and Robert Gaston’s “2 Minutes Later“.

In early 2007, actor/director Bill Duke arrived in Philadelphia to shoot his film “Cover” starring Vivica A. Fox and Louis Gossett Jr. In the spring, Quaker Media shot “Our Lady of Victory” a film starring Carla Gugino, David Boreanaz and Ellen Burstyn about Immaculata College’s women’s basketball team winning the national championship. Local filmmaker Nick Briscoe/Belvedere Entertainment shot an independent film “Close Quarters”. The CBS TV show “Cold Case” returned for season 5 and Banyan Productions’ “Trading Spaces” filmed its 7th season. Nancy Glass Productions/HGTV filmed season 5 of “Save My Bath” and “Spice Up My Kitchen” in our region. FX’s irreverent comedy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” retuned to Philadelphia to shoot their third season. 2007 also marked the return of M. Night Shyamalan, whose new film “The Happening” starring Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel shot in Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery and Chester counties. In September, Philadelphia native Mark Webber began production on “Explicit Ills” which he wrote, produced and directed, starring Paul Dano and Tariq Trotter. Beginning in October 2007, we had another dynamic duo of films shooting in our area. First, was an independent film called “Bottleworld” shot entirely in Bristol Township, Bucks County. Next, Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings” and “King Kong”) came to the suburbs of Philadelphia to film DreamWorks’ “The Lovely Bones” starring Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz. In November, Lionsgate arrived in Philadephia to shoot a TV pilot called Hindsight (The Verdict).

2008 kicked off with second unit shooting of Darren Aronofsky’s drama “The Wrestler,” centered on retired professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson, starring Mickey Rourke. In early spring of 2008, Philadelphia was bustling with several film productions. Messick Films and iDeal Partners Film Fund produced “Arlen Faber,” (originally titled “The Dream of the Romans,”) written and directed by John Hindman and starring Lauren Graham and Jeff Daniels in Center City Philadelphia. “Tenure,” a comedy about a college professor competing for tenure with a hot-shot female colleague used locations in both Philadelphia and Montgomery counties and starred Luke Wilson, Gretchen Mol and David Koechner. In April, Pierpoline Films filmed in Philadelphia  and Delaware  counties while producing “Happy Tears,” directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein and starring Demi Moore, Parker Posey, and Rip Torn, about two sisters, returning home to deal with their ailing father only to face some surprising situations. Also in April, Comedy Central’s Emmy winning “mock news” show “The Colbert Report,” came to Philadelphia  for a week before the Pennsylvania Presidential Primary. Guests included Mayor Michael Nutter, Governor Ed Rendell, Congressman Patrick Murphy, Philadelphia  natives the Roots and presidential hopefuls Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. In May, Gigantic Pictures and Next Wednesday Productions shot “Dare,” in both Philadelphia and Montgomery counties. Starring Emmy Rossum, Alan Cummings, and Sandra Bernhard, “Dare,” is about three privileged high school seniors that decide they can no longer ignore their deepest needs and take the biggest risk of their lives. Also in May, Fox 2000 Pictures came to Philadelphia and Chester County to shoot several weeks of “Marley and Me,” a film based on the memoir by Philadelphia’s own John Grogan, starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, about a family that learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog. The CBS TV show “Cold Case” returned for season 6 and FX’s irreverent comedy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” returned to Philadelphia  to shoot their fourth season. In June, 2nd Generation Films came to Philadelphia to shoot “The Nail: The Story of Joey Nardone,” a film directed and produced by James Quattrochi and written by and starring Philadelphia’s own Tony Luke, Jr.  Summer 2008 started in a big way in Philadelphia with DreamWorks arriving to shoot “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” directed by Michael  Bay and starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, and Josh Duhamel.  Beginning in the fall of 2008, we welcomed two Bollywood productions. Yash Raj Studios and Ring of Fire Productions filmed “New York,” starring John Abraham.  In November, one week after Yash Raj wrapped, Dharma Productions and Swish Films started production on their Untitled Bollywood film in Philadelphia.

2009 started in a very big way with Overture Films & The Film Department’s "Law Abiding Citizen," starring Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Bruce McGill, Leslie Bibb and Viola Davis. Directed by F. Gary Gray, this court room thriller was shot all over center city Philadelphia and throughout Bucks and Delaware counties. Up next was a small independent film called "Cost of a Soul," (previously known as "Redemption,") from Cast Shadow Productions that shot mostly in Philadelphia. In March 2009, the CBS TV show "Cold Case" returned for season 7. Another small independent film called "Café," starring Upper Darby native Jamie Kennedy and Jennifer Love Hewitt shot in both Philadelphia and in Montgomery counties. Philadelphia’s own M. Night Shyamalan was back in the spring of 2009 for Paramount Pictures with his next film, the first in a trilogy, called "The Last Airbender,"- the live action adaptation of the popular children’s animated series, Avatar. This epic tale starring Dev Patel & Noah Ringer shot throughout our region until July. In June, Big Indie Pictures shot their new hilarious comedy "The Best & The Brightest," starring Neil Patrick Harris, Bonnie Somerville & Amy Sedaris, in Philadelphia which doubled for the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Next, FX was back in June to shoot scenes from season 5 of the wildly popular "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia," starring Danny Devito, Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson & Philadelphia native and show creator Rob McElhenney. Also in June, SimonSays Entertainment & Gigantic Pictures came to Philadelphia to shoot "Night Catches Us," (previously known as "Stringbean & Marcus"), the story of a broken love affair between two former Black Panther members as told through the eyes of an adolescent girl. The all-star cast includes Oscar-nominated actress Sophie Okonedo, Anthony Mackie with music by UPenn graduate and R&B superstar John Legend. July brought us James L. Brooks’ next masterpiece for Columbia Pictures, tentatively called "How Do You Know," (also the Untitled James L. Brooks film), starring Reese Witherspoon, Jack Nicholson, Owen Wilson & Paul Rudd, which shot through November. In the fall of 2009, Bollywood returned to Philadelphia with another Yash Raj production called "Right Hand Man," the third Bollywood movie in two years to shoot in Philadelphia and the second for Yash Raj Films. Also in the fall, A&E began shooting a documentary TV show starring Tony Danza called "Teach," in which he teaches English at Philadelphia’s Northeast High School.