The film industry in Florida is one of the largest in the United States: in 2006, Florida ranked third in the U.S. for film production (after California and New York) based on revenue generated. [1] However, more recent 2009-2010 data no longer show Florida among the top four states. [2]
Production activity has been generally concentrated in two regions, South Florida and Central Florida (Orlando and Tampa). The South Florida region is famous for large projects like Jerry Bruckheimer's Bad Boys film series and Neal Moritz's 2 Fast 2 Furious . The Central Florida area has been featured in The Punisher , starring John Travolta, and Adam Sandler's The Waterboy .
The state of Florida has a long film history thanks to its year-round sunshine and moderate climate. Film classics were filmed throughout the state, such as Moon Over Miami (1941) and Esther Williams' Easy to Love (1953).
In the early 1990s Orlando experienced a great boom in film production. The construction of the Disney-MGM Studios and Universal Studios production facilities attracted many filmmakers to the area. Films like Ron Howard's Parenthood and syndicated television shows like The Adventures of Superboy led the pack. Soon, the Steven Spielberg series seaQuest DSV and Tom Hank's From the Earth to the Moon called Florida home. Nickelodeon Studios operated within Universal Studios Florida. During this period Orlando acquired the nickname "Hollywood East" because of its surging film industry.
Just as film production appeared to be on the decline in Florida, the phenomenal success of 1998's The Blair Witch Project led to another boom. While this film was filmed in Maryland, its director and entire crew were University of Central Florida film school graduates. This cult independent film has led to a new wave of film production for the area.
Florida is also the home of many famous actors. Celebrity residents of Florida have included Burt Reynolds, Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Andy Garcia, Tom Cruise, Ron Palillo, Joe Jonas, Sophie Turner, Kaye Stevens, Michael Winslow, Larry Haines, Margaret Hayes, Roberta Haynes, Meinhardt Raabe, Jackie Gerlich, Hedy Lamarr, Susana Giménez, David Caruso, Christian Slater, Kenan Thompson, Vanilla Ice, Christian Daniel, Iggy Pop, Donna Summer, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Kerry, Jerry Springer, Antonio Sabàto Jr., Gloria Estefan, Jackie Gleason, Richard Boone, Perry Como, David Winters, Herb Shriner, Jean Shepherd, Bob McFadden, Scott "Carrot Top" Thompson, Billy Connolly, Cody Burger, Mickey Kuhn, Bobby Breen, Peter Palmer, Ricou Browning, Philip Michael Thomas, Eugene Levy, Barrie Ingham, Mike Douglas, Leslie Nielsen, Eddie Egan, Kirby Grant, Arlene Dahl, Patricia Dane, Norma Miller, Lili Damita, Martha O'Driscoll, Dixie Dunbar, June Preisser, Phyllis Thaxter, Vic Damone, Vaughn Monroe, Tom Fadden, Kimbo Slice, Dick Smothers, Rhonda Shear, Luke Halpin, Jay North, Dan White, Dennis Hoey, Freddie Bartholomew, George Hamilton, Gary Burghoff, Jo Ann Pflug, Steve Sipek, Arthur Metrano, Dave Madden, David Cassidy, Davy Jones, Anthony Newley, Gayle Hunnicutt, Cindy Crawford, Gail Edwards, Enrique Iglesias, Phil Collins, Sofia Vergara, Hulk Hogan, Nick Hogan, Randy Savage, Dave Bautista, John Cena, and Dwayne Johnson. There are also quite a few successful film directors located in the state including Daniel Myrick, George Abbott, and Harry Revier.
Metro Orlando alone is home to more than 10 state-of-the-art sound stages, making it one of the largest working production facility centers outside of Los Angeles and New York. Complete studio and production services are available throughout Florida, including backlots that can double for just about any national or international locale, production office space and sound stages totaling more than 160,000 square feet (15,000 m2).
Miami, officially the City of Miami, is a coastal metropolis and the seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida. With a population of 442,241 as of the 2020 census, it is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Florida after Jacksonville. It is the core of the much larger Miami metropolitan area, which, with a population of 6.14 million, is the second-largest metropolitan region in the Southeast and ninth-largest metropolitan region in the United States. Miami has the third-largest skyline in the U.S. with over 300 high-rises, 58 of which exceed 491 ft (150 m).
Orlando is a city in, and the county seat of, Orange County, Florida, United States. Part of Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States and the third-largest metropolitan area in Florida behind Miami and Tampa Bay. Orlando had a city population of 307,573 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa. It is the state's most populous inland city.
The Waterboy is a 1998 American sports comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It was written by Adam Sandler as well as Tim Herlihy and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. Sandler also stars as the title character while Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Henry Winkler, Jerry Reed, Larry Gilliard, Jr., Blake Clark, Peter Dante, and Jonathan Loughran play other characters.
SeaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032. Set in "the near future", seaQuest DSV originally mixed high drama with realistic scientific fiction. The first two seasons star Roy Scheider as Captain Nathan Bridger, designer and commander of the eponymous naval submarine seaQuest DSV 4600, the ship prefix standing for "deep-submergence vehicle".
Luis Fernando Allende Arenas is a Mexican singer, actor, painter, film producer and film director.
Nickelodeon Studios was a production studio and theme park attraction run by the television network Nickelodeon at Universal Studios Florida.
The Miami metropolitan area, also known as South Florida, SoFlo, SoFla, the Gold Coast, the Tri-County Area, or Greater Miami, and officially known as the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a coastal metropolitan area in southeastern Florida. It is the ninth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the largest metropolitan area in Florida. With a population of 6.14 million, its population exceeds 31 of the nation's 50 states as of 2022. It comprises the three most populated counties in the state, Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County, which rank as the first, second, and third-most populous counties in the state, respectively. Miami-Dade County, with 2,716,940 people in 2019, is the seventh-most populous county in the United States.
Thunder in Paradise is an American action-adventure TV series from the creators of Baywatch, which stars Hulk Hogan, Chris Lemmon, and Carol Alt. This first-run syndicated TV series originally premiered as a direct-to-video feature film in September 1993, then ran for one season from March 25 until November 27, 1994, before being cancelled. In May 1994, during a taping of WCW Saturday Night, Hogan publicly expressed a desire to return to professional wrestling and hinted that he would no longer be a part of the show. The series was later rebroadcast on the TNT cable network.
Superboy is an American television series based on the fictional DC comic book character Superman's early years as Superboy. The show ran from 1988–1992 in syndication. It was renamed The Adventures of Superboy at the start of the third season.
Marc Macaulay is an American actor.
Gasparilla International Film Festival is an annual independent film festival that takes place in Tampa Bay, Florida. The festival is run by the Tampa Film Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing film education and supporting filmmakers in the Tampa Bay area. The first Gasparilla Film Festival took place in 2007.
Charles Recher was an American installation artist and filmmaker who lived and worked in Miami Beach, Florida. Recher created in excess of one hundred films and videos. His work ranged from the film "Kwagh-Hir ", a documentary of the theater tradition of the Tiv people of Nigeria, to "Cars & Fish", Miami Performing Arts Center's inaugural video installation, which cast 600-foot-long swirling images onto adjacent building façades during Art Basel/Miami Beach in 2005.
The Orlando Economic Development Commission (EDC) is a not-for-profit, private/public partnership. The EDC serves Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties and the City of Orlando in Florida.
Stephen Michael Jepson was born May 31, 1941, in Sioux City, Iowa. After receiving his MFA from Alfred University in 1971, he went on to open his studio in Geneva, Florida, and began the ceramics department at the University of Central Florida, where he taught for eight years. In 1976, Jepson jar with lid was selected to be included in the Smithsonian Museum Collection of American Crafts. In 1978, Jepson was profiled in The Professional Potter by Thomas Shafer. In 1993, he founded the video production company, Thoughtful Productions. His instructional videos are intended to teach intermediate and beginner potters how to improve their technique. In 1997, Jepson founded The World Pottery Institute in Geneva, Florida, a school for potters. While Jepson continues to teach pottery, he is now retired and has dedicated himself to athletic inventions.
Wasabi Anime, also known as Green Mustard Entertainment, is a company specializing in the production of events and programming for anime conventions and other fan conventions in North America, as well as hosting their own standalone conventions. The company's journey began in 2001 with the registration of the WasabiAnime.com website. It started as an anime club, later evolving into a limited liability company (LLC) in 2007, and ultimately becoming a corporation in 2010. As of July 2012, Wasabi Anime had organized events in California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, and Las Vegas.
Zev Buffman was a Broadway producer who served as president and CEO of Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida. He produced more than 40 Broadway shows. He partnered with Elizabeth Taylor to present her in her Broadway debut, The Little Foxes. Buffman was also the co-founding general partner of the NBA champion basketball team the Miami Heat.
Lisa A. Hertzner, known professionally as Lisa Casalino, is an American jazz singer and songwriter.
Giff or GIFF may refer to: