Lights, camera, action on Coast

JUST when you thought it was safe to get back in the water.

JUST when you thought it was safe to get back in the water.

An ocean thriller being shot in Hervey Bay is already being hailed the new Jaws.

Called The Reef, the $3.5 million movie will recount the true story of four friends who were forced to swim to a nearby island after their yacht capsized on the Great Barrier Reef.

The movie will tell the tale of the cat and mouse game the group played with a shark that stalked them in open water.

Ross Wolff, from Hervey Bay's Reefworld, was enthusiastic yesterday when asked what he thought about the project - but said he hoped people didn't get the wrong idea about sharks, as they did when Jaws was released in 1975.

“I think it's great for the community,” he said.

“It's a promotion for the area.”

Mr Wolff said the fear-factor surrounding sharks would definitely pull people into movie theatres but it was important to remember that “not all sharks are bad”.

“I think people are more knowledgeable about sharks now.

“I think film-makers go for something really scary to draw people in.

“We promote shark swims here (at Reefworld) and we've never had an incident.”

Production began in Bowen last week and a teaser for the film has already been released on YouTube with the tagline “Pray that you drown first”.

Andrew Easton, from Brisbane, was on the verge of getting into the shark pool at Reefworld when asked what he thought about the new film.

He said he wasn't too worried about it, joking that he hadn't seen Jaws lately.

“If anyone has the Discovery Channel it's just as bad.

“You can't judge all sharks by one shark. I'm keeping an open mind.”

The Reef will feature Balibo star Gyton Grantley, Damian Walshe-Howling out of Underbelly, Zoe Naylor from McLeod's Daughters and Out of the Blue's Adrienne Pickering.

The actors will spend most of their time in Hervey Bay, on what is expected to be a five-week shoot, but they will not be swimming with sharks.

The sharks will be added in post-production using real footage of great whites off South Australia.

Originally published as Lights, camera, action on Coast