‘Peter Rabbit.’
In an implicit admission that NSW is not getting its fair share of productions from other states and overseas, the NSW Government is pumping more money into the Made in NSW fund.
The state budget announced today allocates an extra $25 million for the fund. That means a total spend of $55 million over the next four years: $15 million next financial year, followed by $15 million, $17.5 million and $7.5 million.
Arts Minister Don Harwin said the funding will drive screen investment from domestic and international producers.
“The fund’s $43 million investment to date has already delivered an estimated $700 million to the NSW economy – I can’t wait to see what the future holds for production in our State,” he said.
The Government is delivering a total investment of $871 million in the arts, screen and culture sector in 2019-2020, a 22 per cent increase in recurrent funding.
In last year’s budget the Government allocated up to $10 million per year towards the fund over the next four years.
Among the latest beneficiaries are an untitled Marvel movie, believed to be Shang-Chi, based on a Marvel comics character known for his martial arts prowess, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, which starts shooting at the Fox Studios soon; and Will Gluck’s Peter Rabbit 2.
The Federal Government is giving the Marvel production $24 million. A co-production between Animal Logic Entertainment and Gluck’s Olive Bridge Entertainment, the Peter Rabbit sequel features a voice cast including Rose Byrne, James Corden, Domhnall Gleeson and David Oyelowo.
The screen production finance budget for the next fiscal year is $10.5 million, slightly down on the current year’s $11.7 million because that year included carry-forwards. All available budget has been spent this year, meaning no carry-forward.
The arts and cultural development program gets $61 million, which includes National Art School funding, up from $54.8 million.