Written by Shona Smith on May 1, 2019. Posted in Production News

Untitled Baz Luhrmann Elvis project to be filmed in Queensland, Australia

Baz Luhrmann is producing and directing the Warner Bros. film that will explore the life and music of Elvis Presley. Tom Hanks is set to play Colonel Tom Parker, Presley’s manager but the part of Elvis is yet to be cast.

Luhrmann, the award winning Australian director noted that “since shooting significant portions of the film Australia in Queensland, I’ve been excited to get back to such a conducive creative environment to realize this film” stating that “Australia continues to be one of the great filmmaking locations in the world where we’ve created everything from Paris cabarets to the Jazz Age in New York” with projects including The Great Gatsby and added “I am committed to not only making the film, but also developing Queensland’s creative culture and supporting filmmakers, storytellers and artists of all kinds, in the same manner that we ourselves were supported and mentored in our early careers”.

The film is expected to be based at the Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast, employing around nine hundred Queenslanders in below the line roles including set construction, catering and transportation.

Queensland has seen a steady stream of major incoming productions, with tent pole features such as the upcoming Godzilla vs Kong choosing to base production in the state.

Productions based in Queensland have access to a 4.75% Payroll Tax Rebate. Australia’s Location Offset provides a 16.5% offset on qualifying Australian production expenditure for film and television projects with an Australian spend of over AUD15 million. The Location Offset is a merit assessed grant of 13.5% of the qualifying Australian expenditure that can be sought alongside the Location Offset.