Schönbrunn Palace, the baroque summer residence of the Habsburg dynasty in the early 18th century, hosted its first production in 2024 when it opened its doors to the HBO/Warner Bros. Discovery modern-day series The Regime.
As the series’ central location, the palace stood in for the residence of a fictional dictator clinging to power, played by Kate Winslet.
The palace’s dazzling interirors and exteriors allowed series directors Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs to use the building as a visual hint to the long history of the imagined reigning dynasty.
Thanks to this role played by the Schönbrunn Palace in The Regime, the Vienna Film Commission is one of the five European finalists in contention for the annual EUFCN Location Award.
The Schönbrunn Palace is one of Austria’s most popular tourist sites, open 365 days a year, the Vienna Film Commission managed the logistical coordination of visitors with the filming requirements of a major international production. The Commission worked closely with palace owners, the Schönbrunn Group, to find sustainable solutions to enable four weeks of smooth shooting during ongoing museum operations.
The economic impact of production on Schönbrunn Palace was quickly tangible.
“The decision to make the palace accessible for productions has had a lasting impact on the perception of the location as a tourist attraction and filming location,” notes Vienna Film Commission managing director Marijana Stoisits. “It underlines once again that even the most challenging locations can be used for filming in Vienna.”
The Regime was the first production to benefit from Austria’s federal incentive FISA+ when it came into force in January 2023. FISA+ supported the production with a 30% cash rebate plus an additional 5% green filming bonus.
Over the years, Vienna has hosted international productions including Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and Simon Curtis’ Woman In Gold by Simon Curtis, as well as TV shoots for the US streamers, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Contact: Stefanie Rauscher, Marijana Stoisits
Find our more: viennafilmcommission.at
The EUFCN Location Award is the annual prize for European filming locations, organised by the European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN).
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