The Gold Coast's film industry has seen a boost in employment, with figures released by Gold Coast City Council’s Economic Development branch revealing that 1100 jobs have been created in the past two years.
The Gold Coast Investment Attraction Program has focused on expanding the area's creative industries as means of moving away from the reliance on construction and tourism.
Since launching in July 2009, the initiative has injected $77 million into the local economy. Of the 1300 jobs created through the program, almost 85 per cent of these were directly related to the film industry, the council said.
Nonetheless, while a number of big-name film and television projects have filmed in the Gold Coast over the last two years, such as 3D shark thriller Bait, the fifth series of Sea Patrol and Roland Joffe's Singularity, the state has also been struggling to attract production in recent months amid a general downturn.
Steven Spielberg's science fiction series Terra Nova re-commenced filming at the end of May after a planned hiatus of several months. It is the only major offshore production currently filming in Australia.
PJ Hogan's upcoming local comedy Mental, featuring Toni Collette, will also shoot on the Gold Coast.