Robert De Niro's 'The War With Grandpa' Abruptly Moves Production From Toronto. The comedy, directed by Tim Hill for TWC-Dimension, moved production at the last minute to Atlanta

03/03/2017 - The War With Grandpa, a TWC-Dimension Films comedy that stars Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken, has shifted production from Canada to Georgia.

The cameras were set to roll on the kids-friendly comedy on Feb. 27 in Toronto. But the project, to be directed by Tim Hill, moved production at the last minute to Atlanta, a spokesperson for The Weinstein Co. confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. There's no word on what sent the movie to Atlanta, but a Toronto studio operator privately said the project got an "attractive offer" from Georgia that included tax credits that reimburse the salaries of major stars. The move also raises questions over whether the plunging value of the Canadian dollar, against the American greenback, combined with the foreign film tax credit here, has allowed Toronto to compete with Atlanta and its aggressive incentives for Los Angeles producers, as local boosters claim. Toronto is bursting with film and TV production. Canada's biggest production hub earlier this week reported foreign, mostly major studio production hit a record $800 million in 2016. The activity has forced film and TV producers to head to Hamilton, Ontario, and elsewhere in the province to shoot lower budget projects.

The War With Grandpa portrays a young grandson forced to yield his room to his grandpa Jack (De Niro), who is moving in. The boy engages in a series of pranks to drive his grandfather out, but the old man fights dirty, giving as good as he gets. Phillip Glasser, Marvin Peart and Rosa Morris Peart are producing, with Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh executive producing the project based on an adaptation of the Robert Kimmel Smith book. Marro Films is financing the feature, to be distributed by Dimension. The War With Grandpa was originally set to hit theaters on April 21, 2017, but now has a Oct. 20, 2017 release date.

De Niro shot another comedy, Dirty Grandpa, alongside Zac Efron in Atlanta in 2015 for Lionsgate.

(Hollywoodreporter FILM)