Sony’s ‘The Shallows’ To Shoot In Australia
Columbia Pictures’ thriller “The Shallows” will shoot in Australia from November, ahead of a release by Sony Pictures.
The film will be directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (“Non Stop,” “Unknown”), based on a screenplay by Anthony Jaswinski. Production is by Lynn Harris and Matti Leshem.
The film’s scheduled release date is 24 June 2016, according to a list of 16 distribution titles unveiled earlier this month by Sony.
The ‘Down Under’ location work was announced by Annastacia Palaszczuk, premier of the Australian state of Queensland. It will use stages at the Village Roadshow Studios on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
“I’m very pleased they’ve chosen Queensland, where they will have the opportunity to make the most of our world -lass facilities including the purpose built water tank, which is the largest in Australia, and our world-class crews and cast,” Palaszczuk said in a statement. “’The Shallows’ will showcase Queensland’s stunning beaches and employ around 130 crew.
Budget and financial details including the likely contribution from the Queensland government were not disclosed. The film will be eligible to make use of Australia’s generous federal location spending offset scheme.
With its generous subsidy programs and a sharply weakened Australian dollar, Australia is attracting other major movies which do not have to shoot in California, so called ‘runaway productions.’ “The Nest 3D” will also start filming in October at Village Roadshow Studios.
Queensland has attracted $113 million of location spending in 2014-15 from four international productions.
Last week, the Queensland government and the Village Road Studios announced plans to build a 4,000 m2 sound stage.
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