A delighted Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the Turtley Awesome news yesterday, Friday 20th March 2015, that Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures will start filming scenes for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2", a sequel to Nick and Paramount's 2014 fun-filled and action-packed blockbuster "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie, in New York City beginning this April.
2014's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", which starred Megan Fox and Will Arnett, was a major financial success for Paramount, making $190 million at the US box office and $485M worldwide. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" also packed a major punch with phenomenal sales during its first week of release on Blu-ray and DVD in the USA (Region A/1).
"TMNT 2", which will see the Heroes in a Half Shell return to take on another mission to save New York from a dangerous threat, is scheduled for release on Friday 3rd June 2016.
Director David Green ("Earth to Echo") will take the helm of the next installment in the film franchise, with Michael Bay set to produce alongside his Platinum Dunes partners Andrew Form and Brad Fuller, with Galen Walker and Scott Mednick also producing. Screenwriters Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec ("Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol") are again coming aboard to write the sequel and will also Executive Produce. The sequel will be released in theaters on June 3, 2016.
De Blasio, who was elected on a progressive platform in 2014, said the film would bring $70 million to the state of New York and create "many jobs."
"From production assistants who work behind the cameras, to textiles and lumber for set design, to local restaurants to feed crew members, New York City knows how to host block-buster films," the mayor said.
The mayor's office quoted an independent study as saying that the entertainment industry generates $7.1 billion in New York, $400 million in tax revenue and employs 130,000 residents.
Council Member Dan Garodnick said, "There is no better way to project the character of this city than through television and film, and what's more New York than pizza-loving ninjas and a talking rat?"
The majority of "TMNT 2" will be shot in New York City, however, Nickelodeon and Paramount are also planning to film a action scene involving a vehicle chase in the city of Albany, New York, in April 2015.
Sources: Lights Camera Jackson, Manila Bulletin, WPIX-TV (11).
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