The biggest threat to the Iron Throne could be Brexit.
HBO’s hit fantasy epic “Game of Thrones” could face costly obstacles while filming its final two seasons if the UK leaves the European Union, according to Foreign Policy, a publication focused on covering global affairs.
“Game of Thrones” is funded, in part, by the European Regional Development Fund, a group that seeks to increase economic growth in the European Union.
If the UK departs the European Union, HBO could lose one of its primary filming locations – Northern Ireland. Filming could become too costly for the company and would require HBO to either relocate or find alternative funding.
“It might be up in the air for US studios who want to film in the UK,” Peter Chase, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Brussels office, told Foreign Policy. “There are EU programs to help fund all of this. If the UK is no longer part of the EU, that has the potential to go away.”
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“Game of Thrones” is not the only production that could be affected by Brexit. British film and television projects were granted a total of US$32 million (S$43 million) in the last seven years from organisations like Creative Europe, which, like the European Regional Development Fund, are designed to increase economic growth and jobs in the European Union.
More than 280 actors, authors and leaders of the UK’s creative industries published a letter in The Telegraph in May backing the campaign to remain a part of the European Union.
“Leaving Europe would be a leap into the unknown for millions of people across the UK who work in the creative industries, and for the millions more at home and abroad who benefit from the growth and vibrancy of Britain’s cultural sector,” according to the letter.
Notable signatories included Keira Knightley, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir John Hurt, Benedict Cumberbatch and Helena Bonham Carter.
