Florida
‘Bad Boys’ and ‘Road House’ Remind Filmmakers What Florida Has to Offer
The Sony Pictures sequel “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” made headlines as it rolled through a succession of Florida locations in late February and early March, with reports of crews “spark(ing) buzz” filming on the A1A Highway in Fort Lauderdale, fans catching a glimpse of stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Brickell, and traffic tie-ups in Miami.
“If you look at the trailer, you’ll see anything that has to do with the beach is all us, with the stunt scene that they did on Ocean Drive in Fort Lauderdale,” boasts Sandy Lighterman, film commissioner for Broward County (Film Lauderdale) and president of Film Florida. “That was because we made it so easy for them.”
One of the reasons the presence of the latest “Bad Boys” movie was such big news is that while Florida has a wealth of TV production courtesy of Spanish language networks Telemundo and Univision, commercial shoots, and reality series such as “Selling Tampa” and “The Queen of Versailles Reigns Again” — all of which maintain a healthy crew base and industry infrastructure — shoots for scripted Hollywood movies and TV series are a rarity these days.
The state has served as the primary shooting location for many memorable projects, from movies such as “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” (1994) to the TV series “Miami Vice” (1984-1989) and “Burn Notice” (2007-2013). But these days, major Florida-set productions are more likely to resemble Apple TV+ series “Palm Royale,” which was only there long enough to do aerial shots of the Bath & Tennis Club in Palm Beach, and Netflix’s remake of “Road House,” which was filmed almost entirely in the Dominican Republic.
The reason is simple economics: since the sunset of the Sunshine State’s film and TV tax incentive in 2015, productions have gone elsewhere, most notably its neighbor to the north, Georgia, which offers a 20%-30% refundable tax credit.
With no sign of the state moving to revive its incentive, counties are taking matters into their own hands. In April, Miami-Dade County launched its High Impact Film Fund Program, offering a cash rebate of up to 20%. To qualify, projects must have a minimum budget of $5 million, base 90% of their Florida production in the county, and have 60% of their qualified labor be country residents and 70% of their vendors be locally registered businesses. With its annual cap of just $10 million, it’s unlikely to attract any tentpole movies, but it’s suitable for higher-end low budget films or a portion of a TV series. The county also has an incentive for projects with a minimum spend of $1 million that awards grants of up $100,000 per project.
“We worked very closely with a lot of industry stakeholders to research around the country and around the world as to what would make sense in terms of putting these percentages together,” says Marco Giron, chief of film and entertainment in Miami-Dade County.
In Broward County, located in the Miami metropolitan area, producers can choose from a menu of incentives, including the Sun-Screen Program ($1.5 to $5 million county spend; 20% rebate capped at $800,000) and the High Impact Film & TV ($5 million minimum county spend; 15% rebate capped at $2 million).
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had 12 movies that fully shot here because of the incentive program,” says Lighterman, who preceded Giron in Miami-Dade before taking the top film job in Broward in December 2021.
But movies aren’t the only yardstick of success. The film and TV industry generated a record $247 million in local expenditures in Palm Beach County in 2023, up 3% from 2022, on the strength of unscripted shows such as “Hot Yachts” (ITV/Paramount+) and the Netflix docuseries “Break Point.”
One of the drivers of its success is the Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission’s sponsorship and development program, which encourages the production of content that promotes local tourism. To be considered for funding, shows must have distribution outside the county, reaching potential visitors. After airing on their original platforms, they become available on demand on the Palm Beaches TV channel. Projects participating in the program have included Travel Channel’s “Pets in Paradise” and PBS’ “Travels and Traditions” with Burt Wolf.
“In many cases, they wouldn’t have the budget to do these types of things, so it’s been an incredible success for us,” says Palm Beach County film commissioner Michelle Hillery.
In the case of actress of Julia Stiles’ directorial debut “Wish You Were Here,” however, the primary reason a large portion of the shoot took place in Florida was not incentives (it didn’t get any), the valuable help it received from the Palm Beach and Broward County film commissions or the connections producer Michelle Khan made shooting commercials in the state. It was, in fact, a boat.
“There’s a catamaran featured in one of the final scenes in the film that we were able to get for a relatively affordable price down there,” says Khan.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league is cooperating with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier after being issued a subpoena.
Uthmeier sent the subpoena to the NFL on May 13 as his office investigates whether the league has committed potential civil rights violations related to the Rooney Rule and the league’s other employment practices, policies and programs.
“I think we have been very clear about our programs, and we obviously evaluate them all the time, not just for how they get better, but also to make sure that they’re consistent with the law,” Goodell said Tuesday during league meetings in Orlando, Florida. “We’re engaging with the Florida attorney general and will continue to. We’ll share everything we’re doing with them. We think it’s certainly within the law, but also something very positive.”
Uthmeier threatened possible enforcement actions against the league in March if it didn’t suspend the 23-year-old Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for head coach, general manager and coordinator positions. At least one minority candidate must be interviewed for the quarterbacks coach position.
Uthmeier said in a letter to Goodell that the Rooney Rule amounts to “blatant race and sex discrimination.”
The subpoena orders the league to appear at the attorney general’s office in Tallahassee, Florida, on June 12. It asks the league to produce extensive documents, including “all diversity reports, coaching census data, or demographic surveys that reflect the race and sex of coaching staffs of the teams from 2017 to the present.”
Among the programs being reviewed by Uthmeier’s office is the accelerator program, which the league created in 2022 as an extension of the Rooney Rule to increase diversity among coaches and front office executives.
The accelerator program gives participants an opportunity to connect with owners and team executives, and attend informative sessions designed to equip them for future interviews.
The NFL held its revamped accelerator program on Monday and Tuesday in Orlando after pausing it last May. It now includes nonminority participants and nearly half of this year’s group were white men.
“There are a lot of candidates up there that are diverse, that are getting the opportunity to improve themselves and to get exposure, to get an opportunity,” Goodell said. “So, the people that are up there are the best of the best and they are a very diverse group, but they are the best of the best. And what we’re trying to do here is to make them even better and to give them opportunities. And that’s what I heard is that one, they appreciate the opportunity; two, it was helpful in that.”
Florida wildlife officials will release more information about the 2026 Florida Python Challenge on Tuesday, which brings hunters from all over to compete for a big cash prize while also helping protect the local ecosystem.
The competition has been held every year since 2013 to help raise awareness of the invasive Burmese python, which has contributed to the decline of small mammals like opossums, bobcats and foxes.
On Tuesday, officials with the Florida Wish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District and partners are holding a news conference to release more information about the unique competition that helps to support the delicate Florida Everglades ecosystem.
It was a record-breaking year for the competition in 2025. The FWC said 934 people from 30 states and Canada removed a record 294 pythons during the 10-day competition.
Last year was also the first time Everglades National Park was included among the official competition locations.
And last year’s winner removed 60 invasive Burmese pythons and claimed the $10,000 Ultimate Grand Prize.
When is the 2026 Florida Python Challenge?
The 2026 Florida Python Challenge starts at 12:01 a.m. on July 10, 2026, and ends at 5 p.m. on July 19, 2026. Those who are interested in participating in the event can register here.
Participants must follow the competition rules and specific area regulations of the eight competition locations.
Those who are taking part will also be required to take the 2026 version of the Required Online Training, and training from a previous year is not valid for the 2026 registration.
The Florida Python Challenge aims to raise awareness, remove the invasive snakes
The Florida Python Challenge, now a yearly event, includes public education and a 10-day competition in which participants attempt to capture and remove Burmese pythons from public lands.
The Burmese python is one of the largest snakes in the world, with adult snakes caught in Florida growing to between 6-9 feet in length, and the largest captured in Florida measuring more than 18 feet long.
Because of their large size, adult Burmese pythons don’t have many predators, with humans being the exception.
They can also pose a threat to human safety, with pythons also preying upon pets like cats and dogs.
A truck driver is accused of hitting a parked car and then driving off, according to Orlando police.
Rakeem Williams, 32, faces a charge of leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police said Williams attempted to drive down a narrow road near South Street when he hit the parked car.
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