Four New Cities Make MovieMaker's Top Ten Movie Cities '07

It should come as no surprise that New York City topped the list of MovieMaker's Top Ten Places to Film. What is shocking is that Los Angeles is nowhere to be scene. (I purposely chose to spell it that way.)

While L.A. placed number six last year (up one spot from number seven in 2005), the rearrangement and addition of new cities pushed the lone Californian from the results.

Also knocked off the list from last year are: Chicago, Illinois (previously four), Baltimore, Maryland (previously eight), and Wilmington, North Carolina (previously ten).

The newly-appointed? Albuquerque, New Mexico (now four), Las Vegas, Nevada (now five), Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana (now six), and Salt Lake City, Utah (now ten).

How did these newbies overtake the more popular cities of the past?

The only one of those that makes any sense without delving deeper is Las Vegas. But it still only brings to mind Ocean's Eleven. Even without the immediate recognition, Vegas has made a surprise showing at number five on the list (whereas one is the top, and ten is the bottom).

But we'll start with Albuquerque, given the nickname "The Little Town That Could" by MovieMaker.

The combination of good weather and state incentives have catapulted Albuquerque to the number four spot on the top places to film. Last year, thirteen features and television shows were produced there, including the recently-released Wild Hogs.

And, due to be completed next month is the city's own Albuquerque Studios. Just imagine what more will be done between now and 2008 after the place is up and running.

One spot below Albuquerque (that's a really fun word to type) is Las Vegas, dubbed "Home of the Free---and the Brave."

This city's largest appeal is its plethora of free things. These include such items as permits, scouting, and photography. The tax situation in Nevada is also much nicer to the wallets of independent filmmakers. So much so that last year, 61 features were filmed there.

So now we come to the city I didn't even recognize: Shreveport-BossierCity with its "Red Carept Treatment-No Red Tape."

Hurricane Katrina happened and everything planned in New Orleans was forced to be relocated. A lot came here. The city even offers all of its own buildings to filmmakers free of charge for use in their projects.

And it has a chameleon type of quality, in which it can be made to look like a multitude of areas. Because of the city's ability to accommodate after Katrina, many productions have scheduled Sheveport-Bossier City this upcoming year.

Tenth on this year's list is Salt Lake City - "See You At the Crossroads."

Whether for its natural beauty or $1 million film incentive fund, twenty-six features were filmed in Salt Lake City last year. For their own, the city has placed an emphasis on educating young children about film.

It's biggest claim to fame, however, is its Sundance Film Festival. Sundance is one of, if not the, most presitigious festival(s) for independent filmmakers in the United States.

The final ranking, you ask?

1.) New York City, NY - "The Film Community That Never Sleeps"

2.) Philadelphia, PA - "City Behind the Scenes"

3.) Austin, TX - "It's All Relevant"

4.) Albuquerque, NM - "The Little Town That Could"

5.) Las Vegas, NV - "Home of the Free---And the Brave"

6.) Shreveport-Bossier City, LA - "Red Carpet Treatment---No Red Tape"

7.) Memphis, TN - "A City of Character---and Characters"

8.) Miami, FL - "More Than Just Glitz and Glamour"

9.) Portland, OR -- "A City Built On Scenery"

10.) Salt Lake City, UT -- "See You At The Crossroads"