"Pirates of the Caribbean "is a very successful movie series that has grossed $3.7 billion at the box office, and now a deal has been struck to film a new episode here in Australia. This week the contract was inked with the Disney studio for "Dead men tell no tales " to showcase Australia in a similar manner to the huge success achieved by "Crocodile Dundee "a few years ago - and it is hoped that it will create another tourist bonanza.
The locations will be Port Douglas and Cairns for semi tropical outdoor scenes and much of the show will be created in Roadshow's Gold Coast studios. It will provide thousands of jobs over the months of filming and the Australian film and television industry is hopeful that some of the budding acting talent under training here will get an opportunity to expand their experience - and possibly make it into the big time.
The magazine industry is positively salivating at the prospect of stars Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom gracing our shores. It is a long time since a major film was located in Australia and "Pirates "is a guarantee of worldwide distribution. The people who orchestrated this deal are crowing at their success and it is getting wide coverage in the media.
A lot has changed in the movie world since Crocodile Dundee. A long time ago the movie industry came cap in hand to get permission to film in many countries and the local authorities were rapacious in imposing fees for traffic disruptions and allowing the use of public amenities. Now the situation is reversed. Bringing a film location to a country has become a bidding war because a successful film is now seen as the motivation factor in attracting tourists - and big spending tourists are the means of balancing national budgets.
Both the Federal government and the Queensland government will pony up $ 21.6 million in offset incentives to sweeten the deal that will see "Dead men tell no tales " with an Australian background. No doubt "advisers " will be on hand to help the film technicians select the right locations that will then be extensively used in our overseas tourist promotions - with reference to the film shot there to tie the connection in the minds of the public.
Hopefully, if the production of this film results in a blip in tourist numbers it may persuade governments to be more generous in backing our local film industry. Hollywood has the name and the connections to push a film into cinema showings on a world wide basis and our local industry needs a big slice of luck to have a film make big time. In many cases a deserving theme is passed over simply because the financial backing can not be negotiated. It would be helpful if governments could be persuaded to take a chance on the success of films with the backing of our most experienced film makers - and help our local industry to expand.
That $ 21.6 million seems well spent to attract a "Pirates "movie that will be assured prime showing on the world stage. If a similar amount were available to help the local industry no such guarantees would be possible - but the entire Australian film industry would be greatly strengthened - and an element of risk is usually the key to success !
No comments:
Post a Comment