While visiting the movie set of Dora the Explorer in Brisbane this morning, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also confirmed two more productions were coming to Queensland, one of epic proportions.
The Premier said Godzilla vs. Kong and Reef Break had been secured through her Government’s Production Attraction Strategy.
"Godzilla vs. Kong is the biggest blockbuster that we have seen for a long time which will be filmed on the Gold Coast," the Premier said.
"Filming will begin immediately following Dora the Explorer ensuring consistency of production on the Gold Coast.
"Disney’s ABC Studios International will also be filming television series Reef Break, starring Australian Poppy Montgomery in the South East.
"The productions will create more than 1000 jobs for cast, crew and extras."
The Premier said Disney discussed the tv series with her during meetings on the recent US trade mission in June 2018.
"Queensland has been in negotiations since and confirmed its support, which was also required for the Federal Government to consider the series as part of its new Location Offset Incentive," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"I’m very pleased Scott Morrison has come on board with my government in terms of recognising the value of the screen industry for jobs and the economy, and making these two productions happen.
"When I met with Legendary Pictures executives about Godzilla vs. Kong in Los Angeles in June, I mentioned our world-class facilities, talent and expertise we have in Queensland and they made specific mention of how the Dora offset deal delivered by my government has provided certainty for production houses.
"That’s why I was pleased when the Federal Government finally came to the party to deliver the location tax offset increase I’ve been personally campaigning for since 2015.
"Increasing the offset from 16.5 to 30 per cent nationally finally makes Australia world-competitive when it comes to luring international movie-makers to film their blockbusters and there’s no better place than in Queensland.
"We want to see a permanent film industry created here with permanent jobs for the thousands of talented local crew and production staff and to keep providing a boost to our economy.
"We know that attracting big productions to our state has economic spin offs for other industries and it also gives us the opportunity to create more local content.
"We’ve been trying to lure some of the biggest movie makers for years with Queensland’s amazing production facilities, film locations and our attraction fund however the sticking point has been always been the reluctance of the Federal Government to put their money where their mouth is and match the tax offsets on offer from other countries.
"Now that we have secured the increase to the tax offset we need, we’ll be doing all we can to continue to lure the big name productions that will continue to put Queensland on the map and create jobs."
The $50 million Production Attraction Strategy has been providing funding certainty to negotiate and secure back-to-back productions and helped Queensland establish a significant pipeline of screen production including: Dora The Explorer, Aquaman, The Shallows, Guardians of the Tomb, Hoges, At Last, Swinging Safari, Kong: Skull Island, Thor: Ragnarok, Pacific Rim: Uprising, and Harrow season one with season two commencing production soon.
