The recovery of Australia’s screen production sector is boosted today with the announcement of two major Netflix titles – a feature-film and a series – to be filmed locally with $21.58 million in support from the Morrison Government’s Location Incentive program.
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said this latest investment will inject around $160 million into the economy and create 770 local jobs.
“These jobs will be in many different areas – from carpenters, lighting technicians and set designers to actors, crews and special effects teams,” Minister Fletcher said.
“Australia’s world-class production sector is renowned for being hardworking and these productions will support hundreds of jobs – from carpenters, lighting technicians and set designers to actors, crews and special effects teams.
“This is also an exciting opportunity for locals to work alongside home-grown stars including our very own Chris Hemsworth and Toni Collette, who have taken Australia to the world stage,” Minister Fletcher said.
Escape from Spiderhead, a Netflix film featuring Chris Hemsworth, and directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick, Tron Legacy, and Oblivion) is set in the near future, where two young convicts grapple with their pasts in a facility run by a brilliant visionary, who experiments on inmates with emotion-altering drugs. Filming will take place on the Gold Coast, commencing in November.
Pieces of Her, an eight-episode Netflix series starring Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress Toni Collette, is set in a sleepy Georgia town where a random act of violence sets off an unexpected chain of events. Australian Bruna Papandrea (Wild, Big Little Lies, The Undoing) is an executive producer on the series. Production will take place at Homebush, in New South Wales, commencing in January.
Toni Collette said, “Given the challenges the film and television industry has faced this year on a global level, I am thrilled that the producers and Netflix have been able to relocate Pieces of Her to film in Australia so that production can remain on track and this story can be told. On a personal level, for me, it also brings with it the great joy of shooting at home in Australia.”
Debra Richards, APAC Director of Production Policy for Netflix, said, “We greatly appreciate the support of the Australian Government through its Location Incentive program, together with the Queensland and New South Wales governments, and the City of Gold Coast, to secure these productions which will deliver significant contributions to Australia’s screen industry and economy. We’re looking forward to working with more of Australia’s great talent and crew, as well as the award-winning production service businesses.”
Escape from Spiderhead and Pieces of Her are supported under the Australian Government’s $400 million boost to the Location Incentive to create a pipeline of international projects during the recovery from COVID-19, which will generate tens of thousands of Australian jobs in the screen industry over the next seven years
The Government recently announced the new live-action feature film Blacklight starring Liam Neeson will be produced in Victoria thanks to the Location Incentive program.
For more information on the Location Incentive program visit: www.arts.gov.au/what-we-do/screen/australian-screen-production-incentive.
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