Paramount is moving in to Brisbane’s new $12m studios

Filming is poised to start on a new Hollywood-backed production as Screen Queensland officially opens its $12 million Brisbane studios.

Brisbane’s new $12 million film and television studios are now open at Hemmant. Picture: Paula Shearer

A LITTLE bit of Hollywood has arrived in Hemmant.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday officially opened a $12 million film and television studios in Gosport St, with Paramount ready to roll in with the first production.

The new studios, built in former cotton sheds, include two 6000sqm sound stages, two 6000sqm warehouses, a 3000sqm mixed-use building and a production office. There are 200 car parks.

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Details of what was going to be filmed were top secret but Screen Queensland chief executive officer Tracey Vieira did reveal the Paramount production would use the full site for 26 weeks.

“The Screen Queensland Studios is something our industry has been asking for, for many years,” Ms Vieira said.

“They’ve been able to get into Village Roadshow’s (Gold Coast) studios between some of the big blockbusters that we’ve had there, but this actually is going to provide a home for all of our productions.

“We needed an overflow because we’ve done such a great job in the state, with the support of the Queensland Government and the Premier, in making sure we had back-to-back productions.

“And so now, being able to have facilities that have sound proofing — that actually enable our productions to make world-class stories for television and take it to the world — is something that ticked so many boxes.

“We are really thrilled to be able to stand here today, after an incredible six months of getting these off the ground, and know that immediately we’ve got a production, and we have other productions knocking on our doors.”

State Member for Lytton Joan Pease, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira at the announcment of the new studios. Picture: Paula Shearer

The Premier said the new studios were about providing employment, and that productions supported by the State Government generated an estimated $114 million of direct expenditure plus more than 1500 jobs in the past financial year.

“Queensland has been experiencing a production boom in recent years, and one of the most prolific periods of film and TV production in the history of our state,” she said.

“Through our people, our incentives, locations and world-class facilities we have developed a strong international reputation for making world-class screen content, proven most recently with Aquaman grossing over $1 billion at the global box office.”

Ms Palaszczuk said the new studios would help with the supply of soundstages and warehouses for set construction workshops, art department and short-term storage.

They would be available for low-budget feature films — both international and domestic, television drama series and commercials. Importantly, the space would cater for subscription and streaming video-on-demand series.

“Nine months ago this was a cotton warehouse,” she said.

“Look around now, and these brand new, state-of-the-art studios here in Queensland are going to take production to the next level.

“Nowhere in Australia do they have studios that are specifically designed to take on those new mediums … We want to have the best screen industry in Australia right here in Queensland.”

Inside the new Hemmant studios. Picture: Paula Shearer

Ms Palaszczuk said the Hemmant location had been a “logical” place to site the studios, given its proximity to the airport, Brisbane CBD, and off-site locations suitable for filming.

“Honestly, everyone here is thrilled,” she said, noting that in the future Wynnum residents could find themselves bumping into cast at local restaurants and businesses.

“I think they might see a few stars wandering down the street. Everyone loves a good bit of that!” she said.

State Member for Lytton Joan Pease agreed the studios would provide flow-on benefits for the surrounding bayside suburbs.

The former cotton sheds have been repurposed into sound stages. Picture: Paula Shearer

Ms Vieira said a number of independent productions were looking to use the studios.

“We have a number of holds on the stages. The first one is here, it’s the first one ready to go and there will be other productions – but they are from a range of different companies, not just one,” she said.

“Ultimately, what we want is that every company coming to these studios is actually doing the right thing for Queenslanders.

“We want to see them employing locals, we want to see training pathways, we want to be able to leverage those productions into tourism outcomes for the state.”