Some info about the JLA film. Sorry if this has been posted.
http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option...4492&Itemid=99
Exclusive Updates on Justice League and Happy Feet 2!
Written by Silas Lesnick
Monday, 10 March 2008
This morning, Showest presented a panel on film in Australia and IESB caught an exclusive interview with Ausfilm Commissioner Tracey Vieira about Justice League, Happy Feet 2, Mad Max: Fury Road and Bax Luhrmann's Australia.
The primary issue in regards to whether or not it will film in Australia seems to be a newly introduced incentive program designed to promote Australia as a nation. Films deemed "significantly Australian" are eligible for a 40% break -- obviously something that makes filming there very attractive to producers.
IESB: There was a rumor early-on when Warner Bros. said they were pulling out because of the tax-breaks that Australia came back and said, "No, no, no. It was because of the script." Then we hear later that it was possibly because of the script but then that they're maybe going to shoot in Canada. Is there a battle going on now to decide?
Vieira: My understanding is that there's not yet a decision been made. Certainly the actors are still training and there's a lot of Australian actors involved. My understanding is that the government still hasn't made a decision or whether the producers have said or not. They're certainly eligible for the other incentive we have.
IESB: Which is which one?
Vieira: 15 percent. It's a location off-set. But, obviously, 40 percent is a lot bigger.
IESB: And that's what they're after? The 40 percent?
Vieira: Absolutely. There's a lot of Australian elements to it but what the government needs to figure out is the significant Australian content and where on the scales is it really falling? Is it somewhere in the middle ground because, if so, it's probably not considered significant. What they don't want to do is take rebranded American films with a change of names and a few attachments and give away such a huge amount of money that would just disappear for us.
IESB: Do you know if that has anything to do with the talk that it wasn't going to be called Justice League of America but just Justice League or Justice League: Mortals and the casting of Australian actors like Megan Gale as Wonder Woman?
Vieira: Well, again, I can't guess why Warner Bros. have made the decisions they've made and I'm certainly not on the panel that makes the final decision about the funding. But certainly talking to some of the Australians involved, they consider it to be a significant Australian film. It's a challenging nutcracker of an incident in that it's come so quickly after it was introduced. It's not an incentive that says, "You check this box, you get five points." It's much more flexible than that so I think they're taking their time with it. And there was Warner Bros. who really didn't feel that the script was quite right and didn't want to right it. Now it's a whole different game in terms of stage-availability.
IESB: Does that then run the of risk of everybody jumping on and saying, "Hey, Hugh Jackman's Australian. We're shooting Wolverine in Australia. We should get the incentive,"?
Vieira: I think that's what everyone's afraid of. If Justice League was to get it then the government would have made the decision that it was a significantly Australian film rather than a rebranded film. Really, that's why it hasn't happened more quickly in terms of a decision. They're working very closely with Warners to make sure they're making the right decision. Because if they do make it, they don't want to open that door that anybody can come to Australia with a $200 million film and get 40 percent or the incentive will go away. That's the last thing we want to happen.
IESB: Now Australia, the Fox film, got that incentive?
Vieira: Yes. It's Baz Luhrmann. It's got Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. Stuart Beattie was the writer. It's shooting in Australia and it's called Australia. You really can't get any more Australian than that. Even though it's a 20th Century Fox film and there's that funding behind it, every single element is from Australia so there's really no question behind it that it should be considered a significantly Australian film.
IESB: Going back to Justice League, do you think that Justice League will have an announcement soon? Because it's supposed to have to go into production in the next eight weeks or so.
Vieira: I don't know.
IESB: Does a movie like Happy Feet qualify?
Vieira: Well, technically Happy Feet doesn't apply because it happened before this was introduced. But based on definitions of what the incentive is and what Happy Feet is, it certainly would qualify for that without any doubt.
IESB: Are they trying to pair them? Happy Feet 2 and Justice League?
Vieira: Well, I've heard George's comments. He's certainly putting them together and saying, "Well if we can't do this one, we can't do this one." I've heard that in the media but I've never heard it from him. I think that if Happy Feet 2 does happen, I'd find it hard to believe that they'd take it anywhere else because they would get 40 percent. It's not a process of bundling films together to get it. Each one is looked at individually. I know it's being put out there, "If we lose Justice League, we lose Happy Feet 2," but I think that by the time they get to that, they'll look at it on its own and make their decision.
IESB: Have you heard anything about Mad Max: Fury Road?
Vieira: I know that that's George's pet project. My understanding is that it's still a little ways down the road. I know that the last time they were looking at getting it up, they were looking at Morocco rather than Australia but, again, I think that when they get to that film and they have the script exactly as they want it and they have the picture the way they're going to shoot it, then they would look at all of the things. Not just the story but the actors and the location and everything.
