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Film Shooting Starts in Budapest Starring Keanu Reeves

Hungary Today 2025.01.30.

Works have officially begun in Budapest on the long-awaited movie The Entertainment System is Down, Deadline reports.

Ruben Östlund has begun filming his long-awaited movie in the Hungarian capital. The Oscar-nominated Swedish director shared a video of the preparations on Instagram, showing a real Boeing 747 aircraft that will be the central set of the film:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ruben Östlund (@ruben_ostlund)

According to Imdb, Ruben confirmed in the podcast “Värvet” that the dark satire’s plot is about a journey on an airplane where the entertainment system goes down. Consequently the people on the flight are forced to boredom and to entertain with social interactions.

In addition to Keanu Reeves, the main cast of the production includes Kirsten Dunst, Daniel Brühl, Nicholas Braun, Samantha Morton and Tobias Menzies.

The Entertainment System is Down is produced by Swedish, German and French production agencies. The project will be the Swedish director’s second English-language film, reads the article.

The Peacock streaming service’s historical thriller series Ponies also started production in Budapest recently, Music Daily reports. Most of the casting is still unknown, only the main roles are certain. Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Haley Lu Richardson (The White Lotus) have been cast as the two leads, who have reportedly already arrived in Hungary.

Set in 1970s Moscow, the series follows two secretaries at the US embassy who become CIA agents after their husbands are murdered, uncovering a Cold War conspiracy behind the tragedy.

Last weekend, a nail salon in Budapest shared on their Instagram page that Emilia Clarke had visited them.

Although the original post was removed shortly after it was published, it can still be found on some fan sites.

Fact

Film expenditure in Hungary is two and a half times higher than the European average. The main reason is the extremely favorable state tax incentive system, making the Hungarian film industry one of the most competitive in the world, writes Filmdestination. The combination of professional traditions, generally good public safety, and a rapidly developing professional infrastructure has helped the Hungarian film industry to increase its revenues twenty-fold in fifteen years. Today, as a result of the boom, tens of thousands of film workers are available to foreign crews in Hungary.

Incentive Extension Secures Hungary's Place as a Hub for Global Film Production
Incentive Extension Secures Hungary's Place as a Hub for Global Film Production

The country has become a favorite location for Hollywood productions in recent years.Continue reading

Via Deadline, Music Daily; Featured image: Wikipedia


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