'Hollywood of the Outback' plan for Broken Hill

MOVE over Hollywood - Broken Hill is trying to cash in on the tourist dollar with its own answer to Universal Studios.

MOVE over Hollywood - Broken Hill is trying to cash in on the tourist dollar with an ambitious plan to develop its own version of Universal Studios.

The local council is seeking investors to help turn the outback town where where Mad Max was filmed into a major tourist attraction.

Broken Hill City Council has asked for expressions of interest from potential partners to to help develop, manage and operate the precinct, which includes Australia's fifth-largest operational film studio.

Interested parties have until July 27 to lodge documents with council outlining their vision.

Studio B has already been refurbished by the council in partnership with the NSW Government at a cost of more than $2 million and is ready for operation, while the larger Studio A is awaiting renovation.

There are also plans for tourist attractions such as an underground mine experience, a film experience focusing on the Mad Max franchise and a motor museum with a functioning workshop.

The prospectus also includes plans for a hotel, function centres and a casino using Broken Hill's unique year-round two-up license.

"Broken Hill Studios has the potential to become the 'Hollywood of the Outback', a fully-functional film studio in a uniquely isolated urban centre whose multi-talented population has a proven track record in support and assistance on any film project,'' council general manager Frank Zaknich said.

"With its internationally-recognised industry reputation as the most prolific mining city in the world and surrounded by tourist attractions such as the Living Desert, Broken Hill Studios could become one of Australia's major tourist attractions.''

The work of production company Kennedy Miller Mitchell -  which leased Broken Hill Studios for two years for Mad Max 4: Fury Road  - was a catalyst for the idea.

Despite extensive pre-production work on the film being undertaken in Broken Hill, filming has since been moved to South Africa after unusually heavy rainfall in the area led the "post apocalyptic'' desert to bloom with flora.