Welcome to Goldywood: Schuyler Weiss on prospects for Gold Coast to enter golden age of movie making

A-list producer and Baz Luhrmann production house boss Schuyler Weiss has revealed how the Gold Coast could be on the verge of a golden age of movie magic. Read the full interview.

This is the golden age of the Gold Coast.

As Hollywood loses its lustre, plagued by strikes, pandemics and politics, our city’s star is rising.

Suddenly we’re no longer an outpost at the edge of the world, but stealing centre stage.

From superstars like Paul Rudd and Jack Black chilling on our beaches to a line-up of luminaries including Russell Crowe attending the AACTAs at HOTA to A-list auteur Baz Luhrmann setting up his global headquarters here, the Gold Coast is the one to watch.

But perhaps nothing illustrates this new role for the city quite like Schuyler Weiss’s reading list.

Sitting in the tropical atrium of the Oxley at Nobby Beach, the Oscar-nominated producer for Elvis and managing director for Luhrmann’s Bazmark production house summarised the Coast’s global position perfectly.

“I have two sources of information in my life: the New York Times and the Gold Coast Bulletin,” said the Manhattan-born Mr Weiss.

“Those publications tell me everything I need to know about the world in which I live.

“When US politics gets too traumatic, I can switch over to whatever the latest project is here on the Gold Coast.

“It’s not just the film industry that’s being drawn to the city, there is a real positive energy here. The Gold Coast is enterprising and optimistic and outward-looking and I feel like those qualities are in too short supply in the world today.

“Here we say ‘yes’ and ‘let’s try that’ and ‘why not’, instead of ‘well, the problem with that is …’ which is something you hear, unfortunately, in a lot of more established Australian cities.

“The Bulletin is reflective of the city’s positive energy, we move to the beat of our own drum and our cheerleader-in-chief is our illustrious mayor.”

Producer Schuyler Weiss. Picture: Glenn Campbell.

Mr Weiss said the opportunities for the Coast had never been greater, especially within the film industry.

He said seismic changes in Hollywood meant the city was in the spotlight and fast becoming first choice for major productions, despite competition from other destinations.

He said while the rise of ‘Goldywood’ might seem super-fast, it was anchored by world-class infrastructure and local crews.

“There has been a general shrinking in the amount of production done in Hollywood and the US,” said Mr Weiss, who grew up in both America and Australia and lived in New York City until 2019 when filming for Elvis introduced him to the Gold Coast.

“A lot of people in the arts are not especially happy with the political culture in the States right now and, not to sound too opportunistic, that does work in the Gold Coast’s favour.

“However, it’s a competitive space – the UK and other European countries are always ready to offer a really attractive tax incentive or something like that – but what they can’t offer is the infrastructure and the industry to back that up.

“That’s why what’s happening here is no flash in the plan. This is not going to be a case of ‘oh, remember that fun time on the Gold Coast when we had movie stars here?’ This is our new reality.

“We have the incredible facilities at Village Roadshow, the new Yatala screen studio, plus the new creative industries precinct at Miami, it’s going to create so many jobs that will benefit the locals.”

Jack Black and Paul Rudd visit The St Bernard Hotel at Mt Tamborine. Picture: Instagram @stbernardhotel

However, Mr Weiss said there was still room for improvement.

He said while state and federal governments were largely responsible for attracting individual productions to shoot here, he said he would love to see the City of Gold Coast’s new Invest GC entity focus on attracting permanent screen economy businesses to expand and relocate here.

“I’d love to see a real focus on attracting, for example, a Sydney-based production company to move here, or making sure than if an international company is looking to open an Australian office that it will be here on the Gold Coast,” he said.

“We’re really great at incentivising productions to come and film here but what we haven’t focused enough on is incentivising film-related businesses to come here and stay. I’m talking about production companies, editing companies, tech companies, entertainment companies, visual effects companies, businesses that can contract out for every production and provide work 52 weeks of the year.

“I’m sure that if a media company was to visit the corridors of power in Bundall they would absolutely help, but it doesn’t feel like there is an actual system to seek that out.

“I’d love to work with Invest GC to have a program where they can proactively offer that if you move your office here and job opportunities are created here, we have a whole program of incentives set up to attract and retain you.

“We know we can make stuff here, because we do that all day long. But let’s finish the circle with those highly skilled, well paid jobs which we don’t have enough of right now.

“It’s all about the twin goal of attracting business, skills and investment from outside, while also creating an environment to grow that right here. That’s the dream.”

Schuyler Weiss’s miniseries How to Make Gravy is nominated for 15 awards at the AACTAs next weekend. Picture: Glenn Campbell

While he might describe Mayor Tate as the city’s cheerleader-in-chief, both Mr Weiss and Luhrmann have been critical in supporting our city’s team spirit.

Bazmark Productions is the first major tenant to move in to the city’s new Creative Industries Precinct, based at the council’s former depot site at Miami.

Once the company has moved into its new home, it’s set to be a busy year as work begins on Luhrmann’s next project, Jehanne D’Arc, better known as Joan of Arc, the patron saint of France.

Meanwhile, Mr Weiss himself is set to steal the stage at the AACTAs next weekend, with his feature film How to Make Gravy nominated for an incredible 15 awards.

“Part of my mission when I moved here was to really throw myself into the industry. Once we finished Elvis I wanted to produce something smaller and something organically Australian,” he said.

“Meg Washington and Nick Waterman, both Queenslanders, had created this beautiful story based on the iconic material from Paul Kelly and we were able to make the whole movie here.

“Paul Kelly allowed Meg and Nick to have the right to develop the idea but he was very clear this was their creative work, not his. Still, we always felt he was our chief audience member and his approval meant a lot. Now to have him performing at the AACTAs on the outdoor stage and with How to Make Gravy nominated for so many awards, it’s amazing.

“After the AACTAs we’ll continue work on Jehanne D’Arc, which will be Baz’s next big film. I don’t want to predict the future but I would like to think that we can make that here. There is a long road to go down but our commitment to make work here is very strong.

“Both Baz and I came to the Gold Coast in 2019 to start pre-production on the Elvis film, it was only meant to be temporary but something just really clicked for us.

“My wife (arts executive Danielle McFall Weiss) is also from America and I don’t think she would have settled for Sydney, but she fell in love with the Coast. We really started to put down roots in the community with our children

“Then we also became really invested in this dynamic screen industry that was going gangbusters in Queensland, but especially this city. I just really wanted to stick around and contribute to that.

“We spent a lot of time in New York City and I made a lot of films there, and while I’d like to think that New York misses us, I know the reality is that it’s doing just fine.

“Whereas here, I feel like you can actually make an impact.”

Ironically, the Gold Coast has become the perfect place to script that Hollywood ending.

Originally published as Welcome to Goldywood: Schuyler Weiss on prospects for Gold Coast to enter golden age of movie making