Indiana Jones 5 set brought biggest film crew Glasgow has ever seen

Hundreds of crew members were in town to shoot the fifth instalment in the popular series as Glasgow was transformed into 1960s New York City earlier this year.

And the city has since been taken over by filming for another major blockbuster, with Batman spotted filming thrilling chase scenes in and around the city centre for the big-screen version of The Flash.

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The productions are estimated to have brought millions of pounds into the city, and added to the excitement around the plans for the city’s own film studio.

Glasgow City Council offers a “one-stop shop” model to movie crews and it is believed that helps to attract big name productions. The Glasgow Film Office has brought over £350million into the city’s economy since the late 1990s.

A council spokesman said the Indiana Jones crew had surpassed the one brought when Brad Pitt zombie horror film World War Z was filmed in the city.

He said the film office “attracts many cinema, broadcast and advertising productions” — including “prominent” examples recently — and “can look forward to more in the not too distant future”.

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Key to the city’s success is “a one-stop shop with a large portfolio of locations and the capacity to work closely with other parts of the council”, the spokesman added.

This includes the roads team and public bodies to “ensure that filming can take place smoothly and efficiently, with the lowest impact on the daily lives of residents and businesses that can reasonably be made”.

“This one-stop shop model means that Glasgow is continuously attractive to producers and location managers — for example, a production being shot across London potentially has to deal with 32 local authorities and their associated public bodies.”

In 2019, the film office generated almost £12.5m for the city’s economy, when productions such as award-winning 1917 and Succession came to Glasgow.

The council spokesman said: “While for many of us, it’s a pleasure to see the streets and buildings of Glasgow on the big (or small) screen, the real benefit to the city is economic; whatever the size of the cast and crew, they all have to live, eat and drink somewhere, and that means good news for our hotels, bars and restaurants.

“In addition, local logistical companies in catering, transport and storage service these productions, and the regular film shooting diary means that this is now a sustainable sector that contributes to economic growth.

“The development of the film and TV studio hub at the Kelvin Hall will continue this trend: a custom-built facility that will be a base for production, in turn further growing the sector and making Glasgow an even more attractive filming location.”

Plans for a film and TV studio at Kelvin Hall were submitted by the council last month. The £11.9m project received support of up to £7.9m from the Scottish Government.

Property consultancy firm Gardiner and Theobald have worked with Reaiach and Hall Architects to design the studio, which will also have production and editing suites, dressing rooms and meeting spaces.

Their application states: “The production facility will support Glasgow’s dynamic screen and creative industries sector; an industry estimated to be worth up to £500m to Scotland each year with 60% of its revenue generated in Glasgow”

Independent producers will be able to let the studio and it is expected to host screenings, re-establishing Kelvin Hall’s “primary purpose as an entertainment venue with performance at its heart”.

“The presence of a major film studio in Glasgow will cater to a growing need for a central facility that can accommodate Scotland’s fast-growing screen industry,” the plans add.