'The Avengers' To Shoot In Los Angeles, Not New York

Any comic book fan knows that The Avengers are based in New York. So one would assume that Joss Whedon's The Avengers would take place the Big Apple too. But even if the film takes place there, that's not reportedly where most of it will be shooting.

When production starts on The Avengers in February, most of it will reportedly be shot on sound stages in Los Angeles with New York only used for exteriors, according to Bleeding Cool. That site speculates this is purely an economic decision by Marvel but, according to New York and California state tax laws, New York currently has a higher tax credit on film productions than California. So maybe it's just easier to assemble such a huge cast  – including Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo – in Los Angeles rather than New York. Read more after the jump.

Admittedly, film production costs and state tax credits confuse the crap out of me. What I do know is that certain states with high percentage tax credits attract more productions there and in recent years, states like Connecticut gave such incredible deals to film productions that many films simply shot there simply to save money.

The best I can tell without a law degree is that New York is currently offering a 30% maximum tax credit while California is only offering 25%. It's not an easy thing to get, though. There are a whole bunch of things that films need to do to qualify – plus that money comes out of a very small pot that gets dried up very quickly. So, I doubt choosing California over New York for The Avengers is really going to be that big of a difference as a below the line budget item. Not to mention, if a film is too expensive, it automatically doesn't qualify and I can't imagine The Avengers is going to be cheap.

Where moving the production might make a big difference, though, is with scheduling, housing and transportation for the cast and crew: above the line. One would assume most of the actors have places in Los Angeles. Plus, there's so much more studio space in Los Angeles than New York, so Marvel could presumably build sets for the whole movie all over town and just jump from stage to stage.

Does news like this worry you, fascinate you, or just totally fly over your head?

Source: Bleeding Cool