Tiny Goulburn town turned into Hollywood movie set for Carmen remake

A sleepy village on the outskirts of Goulburn was the setting of a new Hollywood movie — the latest in a long line of productions heading to Australia due to the pandemic.

A sleepy village on the outskirts of Goulburn was transformed into a high intensity movie set on Saturday as the latest Hollywood production to be filmed in Australia got under way.

Irish actor Paul Mescal, who shot to fame — and up the world’s most eligible bachelor rankings — after last year’s hit series Normal People, was braving the hot and dusty countryside around Breadalbane with Mexican co-star Melissa Barrera, as they filmed the first scenes of Carmen, a modern day retelling of one of the world’s most popular operas.

Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera shoot a scene for Benjamin Millepied’s Carmen in the small town of Breadalbane. Picture: MEDIA MODE

The movie, which was originally set to be filmed in Mexico and LA, is helmed by Natalie Portman’s husband Benjamin Millepied in his directorial debut.

Not looking out of place in a blue singlet and dirty jeans, Mescal could be seen rehearsing with Barrera in the back seat of a dirty old American muscle car.

Whereas the original opera is centred on the downfall of Spanish soldier Don Jose after he is seduced by Carmen, this latest version follows a young Mexican woman’s desperate attempts to make it to freedom in LA.

The cast and crew are expected to travel to Broken Hill to film the remainder of the movie.

The cast and crew are expected to move to Broken Hill to finish filming. Picture: MEDIA MODE.

Millepied and Portman have been in Sydney since November when they arrived on a private jet with their two children so that Portman could prepare for the highly-anticipated Thor 4: Love and Thunder.

Paul Mescal shot to fame after starring in the hit series Normal People. Picture: MEDIA MODE

Mexican actress Melissa Barrera will also star in Scream 5, due to be released next year. Picture: MEDIA MODE

Australia’s excellent COVID-19 position has made it the ideal Hollywood substitute, with many major studios and streaming services all taking advantage.

Nicole Kidman kicked off the post-lockdown revival when she chose Byron Bay as the location to shoot Nine Perfect Strangers, bringing with it a $100 million injection into the ravaged industry.