International movie studios and streaming services show high demand for filming in SA

Up to $387m worth of movie projects are in talks to film in South Australia as Hollywood and streaming services search the world for COVID-safe places to film.

Zac Efron films the Stan Original film Gold in South Australia last year. Picture: Stan

More Hollywood blockbusters and television series’ are set to be filmed in South Australia, with the state in active talks for $387 million worth of new projects.

Demand from international movie studios and streaming services like Stan and Netflix is booming due to Australia and SA being a COVID-safe place to film.

Industry group Ausfilm has had about $2.8 billion worth of inquiries to film in Australia since last June to January.

SA Film Corporation chief executive Kate Croser said the state was still being “inundated” with requests. Picture: Matt Turner

SA Film Corporation chief executive Kate Croser said the state was still being “inundated” with requests.

“It’s just a matter of working really closely with productions to make sure that we can spread things out so that there’s a consistent pipeline for the talent and the crew and businesses in the state, but certainly the interest doesn’t look like coming down anytime soon,” she said.

“We want to roll out in a really strategic way so that it maximises the amount of jobs for South Australians.”

A mix of projects are eyeing off SA, from high-value international blockbusters to local and Australian companies.

Actor Zac Efron was here in late 2020 to film Stan’s original movie Gold, along with Joel Edgerton’s thriller The Unknown Man, Stan’s A Sunburnt Christmas and six-part comedy series Aftertaste.

The Tourist, a joint BBC One and Stan production, will start filming in autumn, and SA YouTube stars RackaRacka are set to make their first feature-length film.

RackaRacka YouTubers Michael and Danny Philippou will make their first feature-length film. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Ms Croser said most requests came from US-based studios.

“It’s projects that can shoot anywhere. There’s a lot of competition globally for these types of projects, and what we’re finding is that with our studio infrastructure, with our really experienced, sophisticated crews and beautiful locations, and of course our COVID-safe record, Australia is certainly rising to the top of the wish list for places to shoot,” Ms Croser said.

“SA has been performing incredibly strongly as well.

“It’s so fantastic to have the recent experience of Mortal Kombat to talk about because people can see that you can actually make world-class, high-value international productions here in South Australia.”

Jessica McNamee as Sonya and Josh Lawson as Kano in Mortal Kombat, due for release in April. Picture: Warner Bros

Matt Damon drew attention this month when the actor and his family flew to Australia on a private jet to quarantine in a rented house in Byron Bay for 14 days before he starts filming Thor: Love and Thunder in Sydney.

Ms Croser said aside from a few high-profile reports, most actors and crew used hotel quarantine.

She echoed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s remarks this week that actors like Damon would enable projects that created hundreds or thousands of jobs for locals.

But the projects SA was in talks with were looking to bring in minimal crew.

“Everyone’s looking at ‘Who can we find in SA, cast and crew - they want to do as much as possible within the state borders because they all appreciate that right now it’s tricky moving people around,” she said. ”That’s in itself is providing a really great opportunity for our people.”

Skilling more local cast and crew to deliver major projects would be a focus this year, she said.

An Australian Border Force spokesman said 32,780 international visitors had been granted exemptions to travel to Australia from March 20 when borders closed to December 31.

More than 50,221 requests for exemptions had been denied.

The requests were mainly for critical skill workers or for compassionate grounds.

AusFilm chief executive Kate Marks said Australia’s Covid-safe environment, the industry’s reputation and the Federal Government’s $400 million boost for the film location incentive was a “perfect combination” to draw interest.

“I really think that we will continue that steady stream of production, and I know that all the states are having really great conversations with international productions,” she said.

The international industry had a strong understanding of Australia’s covid management strategies and were willing to work with them, Ms Marks said.

Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said Australians stranded overseas should be the first priority, but there would also clearly be economic consequences for Scott Morrison not launching more federal quarantine facilities in addition to the states’ medi-hotels.

“The film industry is telling us there are hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of projects on offer for SA - which means jobs for South Australians, but those opportunities may pass us by because of Scott Morrison’s refusal to deliver on this core federal responsibility,” she said.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the government’s location incentive was helping create a pipeline of international projects that would generate “tens of thousands of Australian jobs in the screen industry over the next seven years”.

The 18 projects announced to date will generate an estimated $1.44 billion spending in Australia and, support about 11,500 local jobs for cast and crew, and involve more than 11,600 Australian businesses.

The Federal Government is also launching a “concierge service” to help overseas productions navigate Covid restrictions and travel exemptions, and help them to find safe and viable locations to film.