Hollywood star Zac Efron signs for Stan movie to be filmed in South Australia
Hollywood superstar Zac Efron has arrived in South Australia in a major coup for the local film industry.
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Hollywood hunk Zac Efron has arrived in Adelaide ahead of his starring role in a new SA film.
The High School Musical star touched down at Adelaide Airport this afternoon, making a low key entrance with a friend following their flight from the Gold Coast.
Wearing a face mask, Efron, 33, was dressed casually in shorts, a long-sleeved t-shirt, sneakers and a hat as he strolled through the airport before he was whisked away in a private car.
Efron, who’s been living in Byron Bay with girlfriend, Australian model Vanessa Valladares, has signed on to star in Stan original movie Gold, which will start shooting in remote SA regions starting later this month.
The popular actor will feature alongside Anthony Hayes and award-winning actor Susie Porter, while Hayes will also direct the film, which is based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Polly Smyth.
Gold is a taut thriller about greed and the lengths people will go to secure themselves a fortune. It follows two drifters travelling through the outback who stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found.
Efron was last in Adelaide in 2012, for a local premiere of his film, The Lucky One, directed by SA filmmaker Scott Hicks.
Efron has tackled some meaty roles recently including serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and Ms Croser believed part of the appeal of Gold for Efron was the chance to explore another “incredibly compelling character”.
Securing Efron is another huge coup for the local film industry, which last week welcomed homegrown Hollywood star Joel Edgerton. He started work on a new film in Adelaide, The Unknown Man, which is tipped to create more than 500 jobs for the state.will shoot at locations across Adelaide and SA.
Hollywood superstar Zac Efron is on his way to South Australia, with the state’s film industry scoring a major coup.
Efron has signed on for the Stan original feature movie Gold, which will be filmed in remote South Australian regions starting later this month.
Efron will star alongside Anthony Hayes and award-winning actor Susie Porter, while Hayes will also direct the film, which is based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Polly Smyth.
Hayes said it was an “absolute gift” to have secured Efron as his main man for the film.
“I can’t wait to deliver this bold, visceral and cinematic film to audiences all around the world,” he said.
South Australian Film Corp CEO Kate Croser said it was another example of SA becoming the next hot spot – thankfully not for COVID – but rather for film. Discussions with the production team had been underway for some time.
“It’s definitely testament to our crews and talent and locations,” she said. “We’ve actually been talking to the producers for a while but when COVID hit, it really put a question mark over the whole production.
“They’ve obviously been working really hard to work out how to get it back up and in this case if it had been planned anywhere else, I doubt that they would have been able to get it up and running.
“It’s definitely another case of our COVID-safe advantage to be able to greenlight these kind of productions.”
Efron has tackled some meaty roles recently including serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and Ms Croser believed part of the appeal of Gold for Efron was the chance to explore another “incredibly compelling character”.
“Zac is really brave and he has, in terms of his choices with his roles, definitely moved away from what we would expected after he did High School Musical,” she said. “He takes on some interesting and challenging roles. ”
South Australian Innovation and Skills Minister David Pisoni said securing Gold’s production in South Australia was fantastic news for the local screen sector, which had continued to deliver jobs and investment for the state throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
“South Australia became one of the first locations in the world to resume film and television production after COVID delays,” he said.
“The economic benefits of local screen production extend to the construction, hospitality, transportation and retail sectors.”
The Stan original film Gold will premiere on Stan and in cinemas in 2021.
Gold was developed and financed with the assistance of the South Australian Film Corporation.
Last week, homegrown Hollywood star Joel Edgerton started work on a new film in Adelaide, which is tipped to create more than 500 jobs for the state. The Unknown Man will shoot at locations across Adelaide and SA.
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Originally published as Hollywood star Zac Efron signs for Stan movie to be filmed in South Australia