Hollywood dreams
HAL McElroy spent years at Mission Beach filming an Aussie hit and reckons the region is “a treasure chest of opportunities” just waiting to be rediscovered by the movie and television industry.
Mr McElroy is behind many of Australia’s top-rating and commercially successful TV shows, including five seasons of Sea Patrol that were filmed in Far North Queensland, and said there was rising industry interest in tropical locations.
“Every production has to deliver to an audience a special experience and the right sort of physical environment can be part of selling a good story,” he said. “Good locations can elevate a movie, give it prestige, make it evocative and incredibly magical. The reason to come here is spectacular scenery and the Cassowary Coast, for example, is a truly spectacular place.
“Other areas in the region have their appeal too – from the Tablelands to as far as Townsville. The region is dense with different potential filming locations and possibilities.”
International circumstances that combined for the last boom in the early 2000s were again creating the potential for a revitalised industry in the region, Mr McElroy said.
“We have spectacular locations but also good roads and logistics, ready access to airports, reliable power and clean water. We’re also a safe part of the world, and all these things are considerations when producers decide where to film,” he said.
Neil McGregor, the former vice president of Locations and Production Attraction, said producers could be heavily influenced by whether an area was perceived to be “film-friendly”.
“When a producer comes to an area, they will do a location scout to see if that area works creatively and logistically,” he said.
“If the producer knows they’re going to get council and community support, it makes it a lot easier to do a production there.”
Cassowary Coast Regional Council Mayor John Kremastos is keen to make sure film companies know his organisation is supportive of creative projects.
“Councils in our region should build opportunities into our planning to take away the red tape. It can’t just be waiting for someone to come to us and say ‘we want to make a movie here’,” he said.