Sydney Sweeney swans into city
Look out, Gold Coast! Blonde bombshell and Hollywood “It Girl” Sydney Sweeney is swanning around the city to film the sci-fi franchise movie Gundam.
Sweeney joins Street Fighter hunk Noah Centineo as the stars of the movie, which is now being filmed at Village Roadshow Studios in Oxenford.
The cast also includes Jackson White (Tell Me Lies), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool & Wolverine), Nonso Anozie (Sweet Tooth), Michael Mando (Better Call Saul), Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton (Under the Bridge), Oleksandr Rudynskyi (The Agency), Ida Brooke (Dune: Part Three), Gemma Chua-Tran (Heartbreak High), and Jason Isaacs (The White Lotus, Harry Potter, The Death of Stalin).
Reportedly, the production will inject an estimated $110 million directly into the local economy and employ more than 350 local cast and crew.
For those not in the know, Gundam has long been a leading franchise in the mechanical warrior genre.
It was the original giant robot anime show that inspired a global multimedia movement.
Now, it’s being filmed by Legendary Pictures as a live-action adventure set in an era of war between Earth and its former space colonies.
The film follows Sweeney and Centineo as rival maverick mech pilots who must come together in a race across the stars for humanity’s survival.
Minister for the Arts, John-Paul Langbroek, said the Crisafulli Government’s investment in Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy continued to reap rewards for the state.
“We know that our production incentive ensures that Queensland remains globally competitive, with a strong pipeline of major projects delivering ongoing employment and expenditure for local communities,’’ said Mr Langbroek, who is also the State Member for Surfers Paradise.
“During filming at Village Roadshow Studios, Gundam will inject an estimated $110 million directly into Queensland’s economy by employing more than 350 local cast and crew and engaging a supply chain of small businesses across a range of connected industries.
“Over the last 10 years, Legendary has consistently turned to Queensland for their ambitious projects, with titles including Pacific Rim Uprising, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and four ‘Monsterverse’ features collectively contributing more than $328 million to the local economy, in addition to Gundam.”
Jacqui Feeney, Screen Queensland CEO said the screen agency recognised the importance of strong partnerships with industry heavyweights like Legendary Pictures.
“Legendary’s continued trust in Queensland to create exceptional world-building environments is a testament to our experienced crews, first-class studios, versatile locations and competitive incentives supported by all levels of government,’’ she said.
“Projects of scale across the ‘Monsterverse’ and now Gundam also provide invaluable career pathways through our Attachment program to expand Queensland’s crew base, with emerging screen practitioners having the chance to hone their skills on set, guided by our highly experienced local industry veterans.”
Herb Gains, EVP Physical Production at Legendary, said Queensland had become an important production centre for Legendary for the past 10 years.
“The crews, facilities, as well as the government support have proven to be great partners and problem solvers for our Monsterverse films,’’ he said. “The friendships that have developed with the community have made Queensland a second home and we look forward to expanding the relationship with Gundam.”
Written and directed by Jim Mickle (Sweet Tooth, Cold in July), Gundam is produced by Legendary Pictures and Netflix in partnership with Bandai Namco Filmworks.
The film is supported by the Australian Government through the Location Offset, the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy, and Local Government through the City of Gold Coast’s Screen Attraction Program.
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