Industry veteran Matt Carroll has joined Screen NSW to help attract more film and TV productions to the state.
NSW minister for tourism, major events and the arts, George Souris, last week said Carroll would take up the position of director of production attraction and incentives. Carroll's film and TV credits include Skippy, Breaker Morant, Storm Boy, GP, and Joanne Lees – Murder in the Outback.
“As an experienced producer, Matt Carroll knows exactly what a producer will be looking for when deciding where to base a production," the minister said in a statement. "He is well versed in the international production arena and knows the competitive advantages NSW offers as a production destination.”
Carroll said he planned to bring a fresh, ‘hands-on producer’ vision to future productions in NSW.
It has generally taken significantly higher levels of government subsidy to lure offshore productions to Australia in recent times due to the strong local currency. NSW has recently hosted Hollywood films such as The Wolverine, The Great Gatsby and Walking With Dinosaurs 3D.
However, The Wolverine received an extra $12 million grant from the federal government while Gatsby is understood to have received a multi-milion dollar payment from the NSW government to film in the state.
Souris said the NSW government committed $6.5 million towards attracting 32 new screen productions in 2011-12. The NSW government has also provided Screen NSW with funding to build a new location images database to support pitches aimed at luring film and television productions to shoot in the state.
Contact this reporter at bswift@www.if.com.au or on Twitter at @bcswift.