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British Columbia's Film Commission says 2010 was a strong year for the province's film and television production industry, despite figures that show an overall drop in spending from 2009. A total of 246 productions were shot in B.C. last year - a slight increase from 2009 - but overall spending fell from $1.3-billion in 2009 to just over $1-billion in 2010.

But there was a significant increase in television series production in 2010. At $512-million, TV series accounted for more than half the total spent on production last year, an increase of $74-million from 2009. Among the TV series shot in B.C. in 2010 were the U.S. cheerleading comedy Hellcats, Brent Butt's Hiccups and the new YTV sitcom Mr. Young.

Sixty-nine feature films - 36 foreign, 33 domestic - were shot in B.C. last year, including the competitive bird-watching film The Big Year starring Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson; Caesar: Rise of the Apes starring James Franco, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2, based on the popular youth book series.

Domestic production spending in B.C. increased from $218-million in 2009 to $244-million last year.

Among the productions currently shooting or about to begin production in the Vancouver area are the Tom Cruise vehicle Mission: Impossible 4, the next film in The Twilight Saga, and Ansiedad starring Eva Mendes.

Red Riding Hood, which opens on Friday, was shot in B.C.

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