In 2021, the Bute House Agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens set the future trajectory for Scotland’s film industry.

The agreement promised to “provide additional resources to Screen Scotland for the purpose of facilitating year-round engagement between the Scottish and international film & television industries, with a particular emphasis on the USA”.

In layman’s terms, the Scottish Government aimed to offer enticing tax reliefs and accommodating terms to attract Hollywood studios – following local economic boosts from major productions like Fast & Furious 9 in Edinburgh and the then-upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in Glasgow.

This aligns with an increasing trend in Hollywood production, where filming in Los Angeles and across California has declined by a third over the past decade, shifting instead to international locations. Rising labour costs – exacerbated by recent strikes – and more favourable terms abroad have progressively deterred studios from filming in their own backyard.

How the Scottish Government made a deal with Hollywood and lost

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