Political leaders in talks for next Gold Coast movies set to include Barbie and more Marvel

LIFE in plastic is fantastic for the Gold Coast, which is set to become the home of the Barbie movie. The big-budget comedy is leading the charge of blockbusters coming to the Gold Coast in 2018.

THE Gold Coast’s billion dollar film industry is set to get an injection of the plastic fantastic — Barbie.

The world’s most popular doll will be the subject of a big-budget film potentially starring Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway — and it’s in talks to be shot here on the Glitter Strip.

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Barbie could be on her way to the Gold Coast.

The film, to be directed by Australian Alethea Jones, is expected to see the popular doll ejected from her home of Barbieworld into the real world.

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The two worlds would be created inside the southern hemisphere’s largest sound stage at Village Roadshow’s Oxenford Studios.

She’s a Barbie girl and the Gold Coast is set to become a barbie world.

Industry sources tell the Bulletin talks to host the film are well advanced but a deal is yet to be signed.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk met with executives from Sony, the studio producing the Barbie film while she was in the US on a trade mission in June.

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The meeting was held on June 22 in Culver City, Los Angeles, home to major motion picture studios.

“I used meetings in Los Angeles in June to bid for more projects,” Ms Palaszczuk told the Bulletin.

“We are still in negotiations, but we are confident of more positive news coming to a sound stage near you soon.”

Behind the scenes on Marvel Studios' film Thor: Ragnarok. On the Gold Coast set with director Taika Waititi (left) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) Photo: Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2017

If secured, Barbie would head into production after the studios have finished being used as the Commonwealth Games venue for boxing, squash and table tennis events.

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The Barbie talks come as city leaders work to secure the Coast’s future as the home of major superhero franchises following the recent big-budget Thor: Ragnarok and Aquaman shoots.

With filming set to wrap on Aquaman later this year, there were fears the city’s movie industry would be left without a major production in town for the first time since 2014.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk are both working to woo new productions to the Gold Coast. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

However, Mayor Tom Tate confirmed the city’s studios would not sit empty for long and that talks were well advanced for the city’s next hit.

A tight-lipped Cr Tate said “yes” when asked if superhero films were likely to be among them.

“Our film and television industry has come of age and what comes with that is having the superstars here,” he said.
“After the Commonwealth Games, the super sound stage’s duties as a sporting venue will be over and we have got some big budget films coming in, though I am not able to say which ones yet.

“Our film industry is going well.”

Cate Blanchett stars as Hela in new Thor Ragnarok poster. Picture: Marvel

The Bulletin understands Marvel is keen to continue its production relationship with the city with executives saying they would shoot another film in Australia “in a heartbeat”.

If Ragnorak performs well, it is expected another stand-alone Thor film will be made.

A production insider said: “If there is another one, you can expect it will be filmed in Australia.”

Ms Palaszczuk appealed to the Federal Government to help secure the movie shoot with tax incentives for studios.

“What I don’t have is a Federal Government that is completely on board,” the Premier said.

“We need the Federal Government to make a permanent increase in the location tax offset from 16.5 per cent to 30 per cent instead of making the studios wait for one-off deals from the Federal Treasurer.”

Chris Hemsworth is a local and is understood to want to shoot a future Thor film at home again.

Executives from the studio’s owners, Disney, met with the Premier during the June trip and it is understood that further locally-made Marvel films were on the agenda.

Sequels have already been announced for some of the studio’s biggest hits including Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr Strange and Spiderman: Homecoming but no locations have been decided.

Thor: Ragnarok will be released in cinemas late next month and is already being predicted to rake in more than $250 million during its initial weeks of release.

The two most recent Gold Coast-made blockbusters — 2015’s San Andreas and this year’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales — raked in a combined $1.2 billion.