Wolverine returns to Sydney, ‘2000 jobs created’
A new Wolverine film will be made at Sydney’s Fox Studios, it has been announced this morning, with a $12.8m investment from the Gillard Government to secure the deal.
The one-off payment secured the deal for the producers, of which Hugh Jackman, who plays the Wolverine character, is one.
The investment package, on top of the location offset is equivalent to an increase of the offset to 30 per cent.
A statement from the Gillard Government said that without the one off investment, the producers would not have chose Australia as a location.
Production will begin in August and create almost 2000 jobs for the industry, bringing $80m to the state, according to the deputy premiere and minister for trade and investment Andrew Stoner.
The film was also lured to Sydney with the help of the NSW Trade & Investment and Screen NSW.
Speaking with Encore, line producer Joe Caracciolo said the film would be in Japan, where the film is set, for the first two weeks of filming with the rest of the shoot in Sydney from early August until the end of November.
The film sees the return of Hugh Jackman and the Marvel character to Sydney after the production of 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Stoner said: “The Wolverine is expected to generate more than $80m in production expenditure in NSW and create more than 720 jobs for NSW-based cast and crew, along with opportunities for up to 1200 extras.”
“It is a testament to our screen industry that Hugh Jackman and his team have chosen to come back to NSW, after such a positive experience making the X-Men Origins: Wolverine here in 2008.”
Jackman said: “I couldn’t be more excited to return to Australia to film the next chapter in the Wolverine saga, thanks to the significant support from the Federal and NSW Governments. It will be great to work with the highly talented crew and to provide employment opportunities to so many people across all levels of the industry. Not to mention, Deb and I will get to spend some time with the family back in Australia!”
Stoner said while the loss of Alex Proya’s big budget adaptation of John Milton’s Paradise Lost was a shame, “the resources saved allowed us to secure this movie.”
With Jackman on the producing team is Lauren Shuler Donner and John Palermo. Despite Jackman’s involvement the film won’t be eligible for the producer offset. Walk the Line director James Mangold will helm.
While most post work will be shipped off-shore, a significant portion will stay in NSW, mainly VFX.
Stoner said: “This investment in the skills of NSW visual effects companies will reinforce Sydney’s reputation as a leading visual effects centre and will position local talent to secure future work on other large-budget international films.”
X-Men Origins: Wolverine was made for an estimated US$150m (AU$145m) and grossed US$373m (AU$360m) worldwide.
None of the revenue from this film will return to Australia. The local gains are purely short term. There is a fierce debate about continuing subsidy to the local car industry yet this project is no different. When are governments going to realise that the Wolverine’s of this world are pure manufacturing subsidies for Hollywood? They don’t build either a competitive manufacturing base as the complete failure of Fox Studios is a testament to nor do they have any cultural benefit for Australians. It is time for a review.
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