Filming for a major Hollywood TV project by Paramount+, starring Michael Fassbender and Richard Gere, is set to begin in Estonia next month. This production is a remake of a popular French espionage series and will include scenes shot in the country.
Called "The Agency," the series is being produced by Hollywood star George Clooney, and the first two episodes are to be directed by Joe Wright ("Pride & Prejudice," "Atonement"), states news.err.ee
Edith Sepp of the Estonian Film Institute (Eesti Filmi Instituut) told ERR that they had learned about the impending project at the start of this year.
She said: "This is a major project, it's a TV series in multiple parts, and it's certain there will be multiple seasons."
"If the first season goes well in Estonia, it could end up a long-term project which continues for the forthcoming years: This is our great hope," Sepp went on.
A rebate program in Estonia aims to entice foreign producers to film on location. The most famous example of this in recent years was the Christopher Nolan-directed "Tenet," which saw several scenes on location in Lasnamäe, the Linnahall and elsewhere and with a cameo appearance from Estonian actor Jan Uuuspõld.
Under the scheme, which has an annual budget of €6 million, support of up to 20-30 percent is provided towards production costs for Estonian-foreign co-productions.
Sepp called this profitable measure for the state, as the money eventually returns to state coffers via taxes and other expenditures in various sectors, she said.
Sepp confirmed that Estonian professionals are also involved in the project, and while the numbers cannot be stated precisely, it will be "a lot."
"This will be made evident from the tax returns; we request labor cost payments and from their size we can see that the labor taxes paid to the Estonian state are quite substantial," she added.
"The Agency" is a spy thriller based on the popular French series "Le Bureau des Légendes," created by Éric Rochant and which aired on Canal+ 2015-2020.
The English-language version will air on Paramount+ and is being produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov.
In addition to Fassbender ("Inglourious Basterds," "Hunger") and Gere ("Pretty Woman," "Looking for Mr. Goodbar"), the series will feature Jeffrey Wright ("Hunger Games," "The Batman"), Jodie Turner-Smith ("The Acolyte," "Anne Boleyn"), Katherine Waterston ("Steve Jobs," "Alien: Covenant") and John Magaro ("The Umbrella Academy," "Orange Is the New Black") in leading roles.
Edith Sepp noted that rumor had had it that British director Joe Wright had previously scouted filming locations in Estonia as far back as two years ago, and that he had been reportedly impressed by locations, actors and filmmakers here.
According to current information, episode one of "The Agency" is expected to air at the end of this year.
The article was firstly published in news.err.ee news portal