Gold Coast screen hub ‘snub’ feared as government road map puts Brisbane in picture

GOLD Coast screen sector stakeholders fear Brisbane is set to muscle in on the city’s hard-fought gains after the release of a 10-year blueprint to help grow the industry in Queensland.

GOLD Coast screen industry stakeholders fear Brisbane is set to muscle in on the city’s hard-fought gains after the release of a 10-year blueprint to help guide the industry’s future growth in Queensland.

The Advance Queensland Screen Industry 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan outlines the State’s plan to become a globally recognised commercial and creative screen industry hub by 2028.

The roadmap’s recommendations include a feasibility study into “the viability of a new film precinct to support small productions in south east Queensland”.

Aussie actor Thomas Cocquerel and Isabel Lucas on the set of In Like Flynn, a $12 million Errol Flynn biopic filmed on the Gold Coast. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

Industry veterans want the Government to rule out Brisbane as the site for any such facility to ensure the Coast retains its status as the capital of the State’s screen industry.

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The recommendation follows news the State Government will spend $12 million to convert two Brisbane industrial locations into 30,000sq ft screen production facilities.

“Most ‘below the line’ crew are based on the Coast while Brisbane is traditionally the home of ‘above the line screen crew’ — the suits — who don’t want to travel to the Coast all the time,” one industry veteran said.

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth on the red carpet at the Thor: Ragnarok premiere at Event Cinemas, Robina. Picture: AAP Image/Regi Varghese.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who tabled the road map in Parliament on Friday, said the State’s share of national screen production had risen from 3 per cent to 33 per cent since 2015 “due in large part to the industry focused on the Gold Coast”.

She said demand for studio space was expected to “grow rapidly” in the wake of the Federal Government’s decision to increase its location offset.

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“Having more facilities in SEQ gives production companies better access to a wider range of filming locations and allows multiple productions to take place at the same time,” she said.

Village Roadshow Studios president Lynne Benzie and Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop at the studios after the Federal Government announced a four-year $140 million location incentive for big budget films. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled.

She said the new Brisbane facilities would be “within easy reach of the Gold Coast”.

“That ensures a greater availability of work for the various industries that rely on the screen industry for employment,” she said.

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“The Gold Coast, with the Village Roadshow studios at Oxenford, will always be the spiritual and physical home of Queensland’s film industry.”

Ms Palaszczuk said industry consultation would form a key part of the feasibility study, due in mid-2019.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has tabled The Advance Queensland Screen Industry 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan in State Parliament — a 10-year blueprint to help guide the screen industry’s future growth in Queensland. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the State had been “very active in fighting for a fair share” of projects for both Queensland and the Coast.

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“I believe in critical mass so any development the State, or even Brisbane City, puts into the film industry will have a flow on effect as we are just 75km down the highway and we have some of the best sound and stage facilities, and natural attractions, in the world. It’s a win-win,” he said.

The road map says while the term ‘screen’ has traditionally referred to film and TV productions, it now includes app development, interactive games and content, online digital content and subscription video on demand platforms.