Netflix is shooting here.Should the filmmakers work half the center of Prague?Jindřiška Bláhová<

Cars flying through the air, shooting from a machine gun, specially modified trams, Jan Palach Square transformed beyond recognition, where a fountain grew in front of Rudolfinum and next to it a bar called Jágr. In the past few weeks, the action film The Gray Man from the production company Netflix starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans was filmed in the exposed parts of the center of Prague. The preparation of the film with a budget of 200 million dollars closed a large part of the metropolis. In various stages, it was not possible to pass through, for example, Čechův bridge, the aforementioned Palachovo náměstí, Dvořákovo and Alšovo nábřeží, or along the busy Holešovice Dukelských hrdinů street from Strossmayerova náměstí to Výstaviště. In terms of the scale and number of locations in Prague - it was also filmed in Karlín or on Náměstí Republiky - this is one of the largest projects that foreign companies have ever implemented here. In addition to the interest of the media, the occupation of the streets in the center of Prague also aroused emotions and debate, which will not subside even with the end of filming on Tuesday. Does production on this scale even belong in the center of the metropolis, where they restrict its inhabitants? And what and to whom do they actually bring?

It's not just about incentives

Foreign crews have been intensively filming in Prague since the 1990s. At that time, the Czech metropolis even played a premium among other European locations thanks to the combination of price-attractive location-experienced film professions such as costume designers, stuntmen, architects or scenery manufacturers. Post-production also had a good sound. The films Mission Impossible, Hellboy and The Illusionist, for example, were created here. Large service companies, led by Stillking Films, have established themselves here, providing service to foreign crews.

Gradually, however, competition grew in Prague. As far as Central and Eastern Europe is concerned, mainly in Budapest, where modern film studios were established precisely with the aim of attracting foreign productions and with them interesting money. London remained attractive, although more expensive. Added Romania or Poland. European countries have started to compete to see who can offer better conditions to foreign filmmakers – the most attractive of which are big-budget Hollywood films and, at present, large-scale series produced by Netflix or Amazon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hNvrFWhlp8

So-called film incentives, which guarantee the producer the return of part of the money invested in a given country, became the trump card and later the standard. For example, in Hungary he can take back 30 percent of the money spent, in the Czech Republic it is currently ten percent less. Foreign productions thus choose which country is more advantageous for them to shoot in. Money naturally plays one of the key roles, although not necessarily the most important.

The location where it is possible to shoot, or the level and quality of the filmmaking professions can be decisive. In the case of The Gray Man, the Czech Republic allegedly competed with several other countries. The Czech Film Commission, an organization that promotes the Czech Republic among foreign filmmakers and lures them here, has prepared a list of locations and information about the Czech incentive system and the benefits of filming. For example, its versatility played a role for Prague - i.e. the variety of places it can eventually represent in the film. Prague will be Prague, but perhaps Karlín will end up "playing" Bangkok.

As far as incentives are concerned, in 2019 foreign manufacturers in the Czech Republic spent almost nine billion crowns. At the same time, foreign orders made up 67 percent of the total film production in the Czech Republic (advertisements 20 and Czech films 13). The state cinematography fund, under which the incentives fall, paid out over a billion on returns. It is a matter of supporting private business, which, however, is expected to have a considerable benefit for the economy of the given state. For example, by the crews paying for hotels or rentals.

Filming large foreign projects like The Gray Man is also beneficial for the film industry in general. Not only by renting studios, equipment or using post-production. Crews often carry only a narrow core, such as the producer, director, lead stars and cinematographer; for other jobs, they hire local craftsmen and filmmakers, such as location managers, architects, stuntmen, shoemakers or graphic designers. Involvement in a Western project thus maintains or increases the quality of certain groups of professionals, which will subsequently benefit the Czech film industry (although the outflow of qualified personnel from the production of Czech films is another issue). At the same time, after the outage caused by covid, many people working in the film industry had to stop their business - for many of them such a large order is doubly important. Two weeks of detours is not a big price to pay for economic advantages.

What else can be tolerated

However, the situation can be seen completely differently by the residents of Prague, who are not involved in the project in any way and - to put it bluntly - many of them may not care about the film business. It may bother them that the city diverted traffic right under their windows, that they cannot easily get to where they need to go, that they cannot reach the customer. Or - for example, if they are not from Prague 1 and did not receive a leaflet with information about the filming in their inbox - they learn about the filming only at the moment when they have to go around the blocks and look for another way to their destination, perhaps under time pressure.

“The filming of NETFLIX in Prague and their occupation of the city are totally out of line. Argument of cultural contribution even more... Who approved this? I hope this is the last time for a long time - and I'm writing this from the position of a filmmaker," for example, film architect Jan Vlček, who lives in the affected center, wrote on his Facebook, saying that he is concerned with the level of what can still be tolerated in a city like Prague for the interest of private business. For some, the idea that "Americans" can buy anything with their money also comes into play; and that the city districts simply allow them to do anything and do not look back at the residents.

The captures bring money to the coffers of individual city districts, while each one then decides for itself what to allow the filmmakers. For taking up roughly ten thousand square meters, the filmmakers will send 1.5 million crowns to the city coffers of the first city district. According to information from the municipality, almost two million crowns will be contributed to the Security Fund - according to councilor Richard Bureš, the money will go to reward police officers - and one million will go to the development of public space, i.e. repairing roads and planting greenery. Prague 7, on the other hand, agreed on half a million crowns above the standard fees per square meter. According to Mayor Jan Čižínský, the money will also be used to repair sidewalks and plant trees. "We also decided whether or not to allow filming based on the fact that, in our opinion, it would bring a desirable economic injection after covid and at the same time advertising for Prague, which plays itself in the film," adds Čižinský.

The question of whether it is enough for such a large project and in such exposed parts of the city is an easy one anyway. As well as the question of possible excessive benevolence on the part of the city districts or the disclosure of how it actually decides on such projects and what it considers. It can be argued that the exceptional blocking of several streets for a fortnight is a minimal "tax" given the restrictions we have experienced during the past eighteen months, and compared to the economic benefit and publicity for Prague. At a time when the metropolis does not have the best reputation as a city that is friendly to its own residents - just look at Smíchov or Wenceslas Square - the indignation is nevertheless quite understandable.

Prague 1 did set up a website where people could follow the current filming, but the information did not reach a number of Prague residents and they only learned about the filming and the restrictions related to it when they encountered roadblocks and security guards on their way, explaining that it was simply it doesn't work. If, for example, at that moment they had already had several weeks of jumping over dug-up streets and living with traffic diverted from several arteries under their windows, their reaction could be significant.

If it had been clearer and more visible from the beginning what specific benefit Prague and the residents of the "affected" city districts would have from the annexations, the whole situation would perhaps have been acceptable to them in the spirit of the motto "something for something". And from the windows of their apartments, they would then more calmly watch the attraction, which they will not see so often.