Order of the Pheonix to film in UK

There were fears that the next Harry Potter movie was going to leave the UK, as has the latest Bond movie Casino Royale, however it looks like Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is going to film here after all.

It was said that it was leaving the UK because of the tightening of UK tax laws on movies, basically your rebates were out the window. Studios were turning to foreign climates where you could receive most, if not all, of your tax back during production and pay it back when the film was successful. All sorts of similar incentives are on offer in other countries, not here anymore thanks to our greedy and short sighted Goverment. From Coming Soon:

Warner Bros. has decided Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will shoot at Leavesden, north of London, like its predecessors, as well as on location around the U.K.

Variety says that the value of Hollywood films shooting in the U.K. is expected to drop 40% to $592 million this year due to the strength of the British pound and changes in the U.K.’s tax-break schemes. Further changes to the tax regime, set to take effect March 31, are likely to hit hardest those films budgeted above $35 million.

The good news for them is that they are likely to get the filming started before the current tax breaks disappear, filming starts February. However the next movie is a different story.