Driving down the palm tree lined streets with the blue sky overhead, sun shining, and beach bodies everywhere, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Los Angeles. Look closer and you’d realise you were on the Gold Coast, the newest movie hot spot.
The Gold Coast has seen a host of producers rushing to our beautiful city to film movies, television series, mini-series, and documentaries. And they have not been disappointed. The Coast is abundant with talent, whether they need costumers, lighting, writers, directors, actors, or producers. Add to that a diverse backdrop of the beaches, city, and mountains and the scene could be anywhere in the world (or even out of this world if they so desired).
In fact, the Coasters are so talented that some have even been nominated for Emmy and Academy Awards. Congratulations go out to the makeup company JMB FX Studio located in Labrador for their recent 2010 Emmy Award win. John Cox’s Creature Workshop located in Ashmore was the recipient of the 1995 Academy Award for Visual Effects. To have local talent be recognised on the world stage for their outstanding work is a true testament to their ability.
Over the last few years an impressive line up of movies have all been filmed in South-East Queensland. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Peter Pan and the Condemned, The Great Raid, Daybreakers, James Cameron’s Sanctum, Fool’s Gold, and Crooked Business to name just a few. They are big movies, attracting big stars, and banking big dough.
While the romance of movie making is attractive enough, there is no denying the financial benefits the industry brings to our turf. The Steven Spielberg produced mini-series “The Pacific” cost an estimated $150 million alone and a good part of that was spent right here in South-East Queensland. This mini-series has now won an astonishing amount of Emmy awards, with the Gold Coast being acknowledged as part of the win.
It’s not only the entertainment industry that benefits when the road show comes to town, it’s the hotels, the restaurants, the retailers, the taxi’s. The financial benefits filter down through the economy to reach nearly every industry.
And then there’s the non-financial benefits. Movies are like a 90 minute advertisement for our city. They showcase our sparkling blue water and white sandy beaches. They make people want to visit the Gold Coast and add an element of movie magic to their stay.
So what, in my opinion, keeps bringing the movie producers back? Talent with a capital T. Budgetary constraints are one thing (albeit very important) but producers wouldn’t keep coming back to a place if we didn’t have the people to bring them here. The wonderful citizens of the Gold Coast with all their diverse range of skills are a conglomerate of talent and to be congratulated for playing on a world class stage.
I hope in the future we continue to develop the industry to provide even more opportunities for our new up and coming talents. The possibilities are endless.