North Phoenix Filming of ‘Transformers’ Movie Brings in $15 Million
North Phoenix residents might recall when the Loop 303 was shut down for several days last year during filming of “Transformers: The Last Knight.” City officials this week said the movie brought $15 million into the Phoenix economy. Overall, more than 700 film, TV, webcast and photography projects brought $32.5 million into the city, according to the City of Phoenix Film Office (yes, there is such a thing).
“Transformers,” which also filmed around the Deer Valley Airport, hits the big screen June 23. It remains to be seen how much of the region will be recognizable. The film trailer suggests other locations were involved (downtown Detroit was one):
“Transformers” was the only major movie filmed in Phoenix last year. A sampling of other productions in 2016:
- 3 TV productions based here
- 25 reality TV productions with limited engagements (often just one shot)
- 14 music videos
- 96 still photography projects
- 113 commercials
- 228 corporate and industrial productions (typically for internal use)
Together, the projects had the following impact:
- Local crew hired: 3,086
- Local talent hired: 1,875
- Hotel room nights: 5,409
“Between mild weather and unique backgrounds, Phoenix has always been an important location when it comes to media productions,” said Phil Bradstock, the city’s film commissioner. “’Transformers’ made this an exceptional year but we also saw an increase in production with several large projects that filmed for extended periods of time such as Harley Davidson and Pantene.”
