FACT#130: Game of Thrones almost chose to film in Scotland.
One of the most impressive aspects of Game of Thrones is its use of a wide range of locales to double for George R.R. Martin's sweeping fictional landscapes. But it appears that the show almost chose to film in Scotland instead of Northern Ireland.
So what exactly happened? Well, according to Drew McFarlane of Equity Scotland (an entertainment industry trade union), the producers were scared off by "a lack of infrastructure" pertaining to Scotland's ability to handle large-scale film productions. Specifically, the artistic and economic branches of the Scottish government, Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise, were not cooperating to help bring film and television productions to the country, leading the show to ultimately pick Northern Ireland-with the very stable Northern Ireland Screen providing many filming incentives-instead.
More after the jump...
This decision matters quite a bit beyond wanting to bring jobs and prestige to the country. Thrones is massive all over the world, and as such it draws curious tourists to the locations where the show is filmed, which translates into a not-insignificant impact on the economy. Northern Ireland is reporting that Thrones filming has given them a £110.7m return on their investment in the show. Meanwhile, the show's first year filming in Spain proved beneficial for that country as well. So it's possible that losing one of the biggest television shows to Northern Ireland has served as a wake-up call to the Scottish Parliament to fight more aggressively for film and television projects in the future.
