Hollywood on the Gold Coast location tour to play starring role at film festival
THE Gold Coast will star in a new movie magic tourist attraction set to premiere at this year’s Gold Coast Film Festival (GCFF).
Entertainment
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THE Gold Coast will star in a new movie magic tourist attraction set to premiere at this year’s Gold Coast Film Festival (GCFF).
The Gold Coast Movie Locations Tour will take guests on a three-hour scenic drive to locations featured in more than 20 movies made on the Coast including Kong: Skull Island, The Shallows, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, San Andreas and Muriel’s Wedding.
The tour will mark the launch of a new film tourism industry on the Gold Coast and see the city join major movie hubs such as Los Angeles, New York and London as must-visit destinations for film buffs.
One of several new events on the program for the 15th annual GCFF, the tour will run daily at 9am and 1pm from April 22-24 and make four major stops including the Emmy-award winning makeup-effects studio JMB FX at Labrador.
Guests will be able to tour the JMB FX workshop, which has worked on films including Ghost Ship, The Ruins, The House of Wax, San Andreas, Scooby Doo, Street Fighter and most recently Thor: Ragnarok, Kong: Skull Island, The Shallows and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
The tour will also stop at The Spit, where Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales stars including Johnny Depp, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario and Kevin McNally spent several days filming scenes on the beach and in a specially-built castaway cabin set and Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Fool’s Gold, Triangle, Pacific Rim, Mako Mermaids and Ghost Ship also spent time filming.
The other stops are Bond University, which hosted Fear of Darkness, Scooby Doo and The Marine and saw Abedian School of Architecture building feature prominently as a backdrop in Dwayne Johnson’s epic action flick San Andreas, and Coombabah Lakeland Tracks, which hosted Oscar winner Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L. Jackson during filming for Kong: Skull Island, which opens in Australia on March 9.
While work on Hollywood blockbuster Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa and Amber Heard, will prevent the tour from accessing Village Roadshow Studios, guests will be treated to an exclusive virtual behind-the-scenes tour of the Oxenford filmmaking facility.
Interviews with film crew and Queensland filmmakers will also be screened as part of the tour, with guests to be treated to untold celebrity tales and interesting set stories in-between stops.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said he was pleased to see the launch of the film tourism industry on the Gold Coast and hoped it would continue to flourish in coming years.
A recent Screen Australia report found Australia’s screen industry contributed $3 billion to GDP in 2014-2015 and created 25,000 jobs — more than the gas and oil industry.
This year’s GCFF, from April 19-30, will celebrate and promote the city’s status as a leading film and filmmaking location and holiday destination with film screenings, events and interactive workshops at various venues throughout the city.
Visit http://www.gcfilmfestival.com/ for details.
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