US Strike Fuels Local Production

Australia is experiencing a huge increase in US film and television production as Hollywood producers race to complete their projects before the expected strikes.

The boom threatens to increase the cost of Australian feature films by pushing up the cost of crew wages, especially in NSW, warns Screen Producers Association of Australia chairman, Nick Murray.

In a bid to escape the worst effects of the industrial action by writers and actors in the US expected for the second half of 2001, US producers have flooded Australian studios and state location managers with bookings and inquiries, according to state film and TV agencies. The demand was likely to stretch crew availability to the limit and was so great Queensland had already had to turn down several US feature films because of a lack of available studio space, said Pacific Film and TV Commission chief executive Robin James. He said Queensland expected to see a record volume of production during 2001.

A greater than usual number of tele-movies are in the pipeline, including a soon-to-start filming Disney production called Ship Shape, continuing TV series Beastmaster and Lost World, and a feature film based on the TV series Scooby Doo. An ancient Roman tele-series, Spartacus, is a possibility for later in the year following test-filming in Queensland last year.

NSW Film and Television Office liaison manager Kingston Anderson said that the state had had a huge increase in the level of production and inquiries from US producers due to the strike fears, "and my colleagues in other states are beginning to find the same thing happening". He predicted the state's foreign production would increase by 30 percent this year. Production in NSW this year will include the first of two sequels to blockbuster "The Matrix", US comedy "Down and Under", TV movie "The Invincibles" featuring martial arts star Jet LI, and the return of Star Wars Episode 2 to Fox Studios to film new scenes.