Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is set to shoot in Queensland in early 2015 in a major economic boost for the State.
Confirming the Walt Disney Studios’ decision, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said the production would bring in about $100 million and create thousands of local jobs.
Pre-production will start this month with principal photography due to begin in February, shooting in part at the Village Roadshow Studios.
As IF had reported, Australia’s chances of landing the project, which has a reported budget of more than $200 million, soared when the federal government agreed to give Disney the $21.6 million incentive offered by the previous government as an inducement to shoot the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea remake in Oz.
Arts Minister George Brandis described this as Australia’s largest ever contribution to the financing of a major film. “The fifth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise will be the largest international feature film ever to shoot in Australia and will focus the world’s attention on Australia as a leading film destination,” Brandis said. “Our investment in attracting the film to Australia will result in substantial benefits for the screen industry and economy.”
Queensland Arts Minister Ian Walker said the united effort between the Australian and State governments put a strong creative and financial argument which ensured Queensland was the most attractive commercial option.
“The last major productions to film here were San Andreas, which employed more than 3,000 Queensland crew, cast, contractors and extras and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, which employed about 3,180 locals,” Walker said.
“This fifth Pirates is a bigger film in terms of expenditure than either of those big budget films, so the economic benefits to the state will be powerful.”
Jerry Bruckheimer will produce the Disney film, written by Jeff Nathanson and directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg. It’s due for worldwide release in July 2017.
Mal Tulloch, the MEAA’s director, entertainment, crew and sport, welcomed the news and congratulated Disney on agreeing to fair terms for the crew in a collective agreement well in advance of the shoot. “This gave Disney the certainty of employment conditions,” he told IF.
While Tulloch said the location offset was critical in attracting the production, he warned the outlook for securing more Hollywood films after Pirates 5 is “very bleak” unless the federal government heeds the industry’s calls to increase the offset from 16.5% to 30%.
In 2013/14, producers Bill Mechanic and Paul Currie's The Moon and the Sun, Universal's Unbroken and New Line's San Andreas employed a total of 6,300 people and brought in investment of $150 million, according to Ausfilm.