Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday that Australia will be offering some $280 million (adjusted to the American dollar) to Hollywood and other foreign film industries in an attempt to “sustain the vitality of Australian screen production and support jobs and local businesses,” per Variety. This Location Incentive plan is a part of the larger Location Offset system, which is meant to support those who do production or post-production in the country. Earlier in the pandemic, Australia announced that they would be donating $175 million to support the arts that have been impacted or halted due to the coronavirus.
A number of Hollywood projects are shot in Australia, including Tom Hanks and Austin Butler’s upcoming Elvis biopic, currently slated for 2021 release.While on-set for Elvis, though, Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, contracted the virus and production was subsequently halted for months.
That being said, Australia has been relatively strong in their virus response, which, along with these new deals, should further prompt producers to continue shooting there as soon as possible. Currently, there are a little more than 11,000 cases nationwide in a population of nearly 25 million.
There have been a number of films that have taken advantage of the Location Incentive plan so far, chief among being Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
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