Crowe, Hemsworth in new Coast blockbuster

THE Gold Coast will roll out the red carpet to Australian acting A-listers Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth during filming of war thriller Land of the Bad later this month.

The latest blockbuster coup, uniting Hemsworth and his older brother Luke, comes after the acting stars encouraged American producers to look to Australia as a location.

Also starring Daniel MacPherson and Milo Ventimiglia, filming was then secured for Queensland through a $3.9 million cash injection via Federal Government’s Location Incentive. Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy gave further support.

The movie will inject $7.7 million into the local economy and create 270 jobs for local cast, crew and extras.

Crowe and Liam, the youngest Hemsworth brother, were first linked to the film in April, having worked together on Crowe’s own project, Poker Face, in Sydney last year.

Producer Michael Jefferson said: “We first announced the film during one of the sales markets and what excited us about Australia was we could find all our locations within a contained area and knew the cast would be thrilled to work at home.

“They were encouraging us to make it in Australia. But it wasn’t until we started looking at where in Australia that it became clear that Queensland was the place to be,” he said.

“Queensland locations just make sense given their proximity to crew and facilities.”

Land of the Bad follows Crowe as Reaper, an Air Force drone pilot supporting a Delta ops rescue mission in the Philippines. It goes awry and leaves green JTAC Kinney, played by Liam, in the middle of a high-stakes extraction.

Older brother Luke Hemsworth will play the tier-one team’s Sergeant Abel while Ventimiglia is its captain, Sugar.

Post-production and visual effects will be completed in Australia, with a focus on engaging local workers.

“They are as good as you can get anywhere,” Jefferson said.

Arts Minister Tony Burke said Land of the Bad would maintain Australia’s reputation as a global leader.

“Every film we attract to Australia provides local workers with the opportunity to showcase their skills. It also showcases amazing Australian landscapes,” he said.

American director Will Eubank co-wrote the script with David Frigerio.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: “Queensland continues to shine off and on screen, which is why producers are returning to our state and local production companies are gaining global reputations.”

Recently, Baz Luhrmann who filmed his Elvis biopic on the Gold Coast, declared the city one of the best places to make movies and postproduce them, as did Elvis star Tom Hanks.

QUEENSLAND LOCATIONS JUST MAKE SENSE GIVEN THEIR PROXIMITY TO CREW AND FACILITIES PRODUCER MICHAEL JEFFERSON