RIO DE JANEIRO ? A film studio and Rio de Janeiro city and state authorities have offered $17 million to US film director Woody Allen to work his celluloid magic in the fabled Marvelous City, media reports said Tuesday.

The offer was made last week when Allen's sister and film producer Letty Aronson was given a guided tour of Rio by advertising executive Claudio Loureiro, as quoted by the Folha daily.

Loureiro told the newspaper that Allen was offered $15 million to film in the city by Brazilian film studios Conspiracao and $1.7 million by the authorities of both Rio de Janeiro city and state.

Shooting would begin in 2012, Loureiro said, since Allen is booked up until 2011.

Major film productions in Rio have been scarce, with many businesses shunning the city in recent years due to its high crime rate.

Allen has already worked on films outside his beloved New York and the United States: he shot "Match Point" (2005) in London and he filmed 2008's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" mostly in the Spanish city and other locations in Spain.

Next year, the American director is expected to shoot a film in France.