EP7 SHOOTING LOCATIONS?

MOVIE GIANT JJ Abrams is in top-level talks to shoot scenes from some of his biggest new movies in Ireland – including Star Wars and Mission: Impossible, the Sunday World can reveal.

Insiders say that Abrams, currently the most successful director in Hollywood, is “extremely keen” to film here, so we might just see some Jedi roaming the streets of Ennis in the near future. 
The movie mogul has already met with leading Irish film executives to discuss his plans – and has even begun to informally scout potential locations. 
And with cameras set to roll on a new Star Wars movie in London next year, Abrams is considering shooting some key scenes for the blockbuster here.
The news follows Tom Cruise’s recent visit to Dublin, where he met with film bosses to discuss working here again. Cruise is a good friend of Abrams, who will be producing Mission: Impossible 5.

“I’d love to come back and shoot here. Far and Away was such a great experience, this country has very talented film crews,” the actor told me during his trip.
Last night the Irish Film Board (IFB) confirmed they had already had several meetings with Abrams about his interest in working here.
“The Irish Film Board, working with Trina Vargo of the US-Ireland Alliance, has been in discussions with JJ Abrams and his team at Bad Robot about filming a number of projects on their slate in the Republic of Ireland,” chief executive James Hickey told the Sunday World.
“We have provided them with briefings about Ireland’s tax incentive Section 481, our accessible locations, world-class crew and production companies.”
Hickey added that as well as attracting TV series like Vikings and Ripper Street, “we also want to attract large-scale US feature films”.
He added: “International competition for major Hollywood feature films is intense and we are working with Government to maximise Ireland’s potential in this area.”
While the IFB would not be drawn on which projects are involved, one US producer confirmed they included the forthcoming new Star Wars movie and the fifth instalment of Mission: Impossible.
And in a recent interview, Abrams confirmed that he’d looked at potential beauty spots including Sligo, the Burren and Donegal during a recent holiday. His wife, Katie McGrath’s family originally hail from Ireland.
“Ireland is such an amazing location, with such incredible variety in the landscape. We’ve been scouting locations and we’re very excited and hopeful,” he said.
The director is not merely paying lip service – he has holidayed here on several occasions and knows the country extremely well.
“My wife Katie is of Irish descent and we have had some wonderful holidays there,” he said.
It has already been reported that much of the eagerly-awaited new Star Wars movie will be filmed in the UK, but Abrams is keen to also set some scenes here.
The director is currently one of the most powerful figures in the movie world. After enjoying massive TV success with Alias and Lost, he directed such film hits as Mission: Impossible 3 and Super 8.
And after rebooting the Star Trek series in recent years and turning it into a massive success, top studio Disney – which acquired the production company Lucasfilm last year – has hired Abrams to invigorate Star Wars. 
The filmmaker has been hailed in Hollywood as ‘the new Spielberg’ because of his fondness for science-fiction movies and his knack for bringing big-budget projects to life. 
The Disney studio plans to release three Star Wars movies in the coming years, with plans for more should they prove a hit with film fans. The franchise is the most successful in movie history, taking almost $4.5 billion at cinemas worldwide ever since the first movie was released back in 1977.
There have been reports that former Star Wars cast members Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher will have roles in the new films.

via - SundayWorld