THERE’S A LOT THOR WHERE THAT CAME FROM
THE Gold Coast could be in the box seat to attract more blockbuster superhero movies.
During San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige described the Gold Coast set of Thor: Ragnarok as “by far the happiest, most pleasant, most effective set that I’ve ever been on.”
He added: “And I don’t know if that’s (director) Taika (Waititi), I don’t know if there’s something in the water there in Australia, if that’s the crews, but that’s a fact.”
The comments came as star Chris Hemsworth revealed he pitched shooting on the Gold Coast three years ago following the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
A number of cast members went on to praise wild offset antics during the Ragnarok
shoot, which stretched from July until October last year.
Tessa Thompson said it was “scandalous” while Karl Urban added “there were a few shenanigans” and labelled Waititi as the “ringmaster”.
“We got less work done because I took them down to Dreamworld, Movie World, a few drinks, a few restaurants. It was great actually,” Hemsworth added.
The Byron Bay local has since brought a number of high profile friends to the region, including Hollywood heavyweight Matt Damon.
On working with Cate Blanchett in the film, he added: “It was wildly intimidating but she is one of my favourite people on the planet.”
Blanchett said during a panel discussion that she became involved in the Marvel world at the request of her children.
Of her casting alongside Hemsworth, Feige said: “They’re two Australian legends, they’re two acting legends, and that’s never a bad thing to get them together in a movie.”
The first two films in the Thor series earned more than $1 billion USD at the global box office while the filming of Thor: Ragnarok was expected to inject $100 million into the Queensland economy.