Government incentive sees Gold Coast Village Roadshow studios go gangbusters

A NEW incentive saw Village Roadshow Studios go from empty to fully booked out within hours of its announcement

VILLAGE Roadshow Studios went from “virtually empty” to “full until March next year” within hours of the Federal Government announcing its new Location Incentive.

Village Roadshow Limited Co-Executive Chairman and Co-Executive CEO Graham Burke said the phone at the Oxenford studios had been “ringing hot” since Foreign Minister Julia Bishop and Arts and Communications Minister Mitch Fifield joined Tourism, Trade and Investment Minister Steve Ciobo on the Gold Coast to announce the new incentive.

Village Roadshow Co-Executive Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer Graham Burke on the Gold Coast. Picture: Luke Marsden.

“The studios are already booked out until March 2019,” Mr Burke said.

“This demonstrates the policy worked.

“We’ve gone from virtually empty to full through until March next year.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk hopes to attract more new blockbusters to film here when she heads to Hollywood next month.

“I always knew lifting the tax offset would be a game changer for the Queensland film industry, so it’s great to see the Federal Government finally jumping on board,” she said.

A scene from the Thor: Ragnarok trailer filmed on the giant Asgard set at Village Roadshow Studios.

As the Bulletin revealed yesterday, details of the $140 million funding boost, to be rolled out over four years, will be revealed when the Federal Budget is handed down on Tuesday.

Senator Fifield said the incentive would effectively increase the current 16.5 per cent location offset for international film productions to a more competitive 30 per cent to pave the way for a pipeline of blockbuster movies and a permanent screen industry.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop strikes a pose with Wonder Woman at Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled.

COAST’S DORA THE EXPLORER MOVIE FINDS ITS STAR

Mr Burke said the announcement was a great win for Australia that would provide “jobs for our kids”.

He said Australia’s three major productions studios — Village Roadshow on the Gold Coast, Fox Studios in Sydney and Docklands in Melbourne — and the businesses they support would be virtually empty without the new initiative.

“Under the old system, we simply cannot compete with the programs in the UK, Europe, Canada and the US.”

Village Roadshow Studios President Lynne Benzie chats to Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop after the announcement of a four-year, $140 million location incentive for big budget films. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled.

GUESS WHERE THAT WAS FILMED — THOR: RAGNAROK MOVIE MAGIC

Blockbusters have become globetrotters during the past decade as major US studios head offshore to cash in on tax incentives.

In 2013, a third of the Top 100 films at the US box office were filmed overseas. By 2016, that number had risen to almost half.

The UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand lead the studios’ preferred list of locations thanks to a combination of factors including good exchange rates, generous incentives and highly skilled film crew.

Mr Burke said the new Location Incentive was a “true rebate”, not a subsidy.

“Every $1 invested in film creates $3.30 of economic activity and the rebate is paid on average three years after the investment, so Australia has enjoyed great prosperity of the dollars years before a fraction goes back,” he said.