Queensland’s screen test: How the state is keeping blockbuster films onshore amid border closures

While other territories shut up shop, Queensland is increasingly seen as a safe haven for big-budget movie and TV productions. WHAT’S COMING

Queensland is holding firm as a safe haven for big budget film and TV projects despite concerns Australia’s border closure is sending productions back offshore.

After the state’s screen sector boomed when the pandemic shut down studios overseas last year, delivering a record-breaking year in expenditure, industry workers now fear ongoing snap border closures and strict lockdowns interstate have soured Australia’s reputation as a desirable filming location.

The possibility of Queensland opening up after the southern states is also raising concerns in the industry over the comparative difficulty of filming in the state.

But Screen Queensland chief executive Kylie Munnich insists the screen body is “continuing to field inquiries from both interstate and international productions interested in filming in Queensland in 2022 and beyond.”

Filming of the Netflix Jessica Watson biopic True Spirit on the Broadwater. The film stars Teagan Croft as Jessica Watson.

“It is true to say that 2020-21 was extraordinary due to the rest of the world being in lockdown and productions needing Covid-safe territories in which to film,” Ms Munnich said.

“As the world opens up, we are seeing a return to more normal levels, however, we now have producers and directors, some of whom had never previously worked in Queensland, keen to return based on their positive experience.

“Screen Queensland and the Queensland Government continue to work closely with the industry, as we have throughout the pandemic to ensure productions can proceed when it is safe to do so.”

In NSW, which was last year a hotbed of Hollywood celebrities taking advantage of the Covid-safe environment, a series of major productions have now been paused or cancelled and it is understood word about lockdowns tying up the workforce and the slow vaccine rollout had filtered back to Hollywood production houses.

Natalie Portman withdrew her HBO movie Days of Abandonment due to personal reasons, Netflix shifted Extraction 2 starring Chris Hemsworth to Europe and Russell Crowe’s Poker Face was closed due to a Covid-19 case among the crew.

Hollywood actor Victoria Justice on the Gold Coast filming a Netflix romantic comedy alongside Adam Demos. Picture: Instagram

Meanwhile New Zealand lost Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series to the UK.

But despite fears Queensland would follow suit and become collateral damage to Sydney’s lockdown stalemate, Love Island, which shifted from Port Douglas to a location near Byron Bay, is the only major production to pull out of Queensland amid the hard border closure.

After the state attracted an influx of international interest last year, June’s state budget included a $71 million screen industry cash splash, with an extra $53 million over two years for the Production Attraction Strategy to continue the momentum.

There were eight productions backed by Screen Queensland filming across the state in September, including Netflix biopic True Spirit and NBC series Joe Exotic, the stars from which, including Kate McKinnon and Anna Paquin, travelled from overseas and completed hotel quarantine.

In September Hoodlum was filming Stan movie Christmas on the Farm in Brisbane – with Poppy Montgomery, Darren McMullen and Hugh Sheridan – as well as a Netflix romantic comedy starring Adam Demos and Victoria Justice, who also travelled from Los Angeles.

“It has been a huge opportunity for Queensland’s screen industry to shine and while the constant pivoting with borders and snap closures certainly has had impacts, they are minimal in comparison to the upside of being considered one of the safest places in the world to film,” a Hoodlum spokesman said.

Darren McMullen filming Stan movie Christmas on the Farm in Brisbane.

McMullen was among a number of actors basing themselves in Queensland, having not returned to his Sydney home since lockdown began in June and postponed an American production he was due to film.

“It’s just good to be working. I had a lot of jobs cancel in Sydney,” he said.

“There is a lot of American stuff being made in Queensland at the moment … but the unfortunate thing is every man and his dog from Hollywood happens to be here as well.”

Australian Survivor is about to begin season seven in Charters Towers, while Universal Pictures’ Ticket to Paradise starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney is entering pre-production, with filming due to begin across Hamilton Island and southeast Queensland next month.

In a boost for the state, NBC Universal has brought Young Rock back to the Gold Coast following a positive experience last year, with season two beginning last week following investment from the Federal and State governments.

Fellow NBC series Irreverent, starring Chicago Med’s Colin Donnell, is underway in Far North Queensland.

Big budget Disney series Nautilus will film in Queensland in the first half of 2022, as will Tim Minchin’s Upright season two.

A spokeswoman for federal Arts Minister Paul Fletcher said the vaccine rollout was the key factor for the industry as a whole going forward.

“The industry has strong Covid protocols in place and attractive Government incentives,” the spokeswoman said.

“As vaccination rates continue to climb, we are confident that Australia will remain a destination of choice for significant local and international productions.”

George Miller’s next Mad Max film, Furiosa, is in pre-production in NSW and is currently still going ahead early next year, once Hemsworth wraps filming Extraction 2 overseas.