Annastacia Palaszczuk’s office has been caught up in an embarrassing blunder in the announcement of a major Hollywood film to be shot in Queensland. Last week the Premier’s office sent out a release reporting their involvement in luring the new film Jungle, starring Daniel Radcliffe, to be shot in Queensland. It boasted a stellar Aussie cast including Queenslanders Alex Russell, who shot to fame in Angelina Jolie’s film Unbroken, and Jason Clarke, who was last seen in Terminator Genisys and Everest.
These big names were to be joined by Packed to the Rafters and Love Child star Ryan Corr, who won acclaim in the Aussie flick Holding the Man. Unfortunately, a few of these famous stars aren’t actually in the film, and one person who is was left out. Neither Clarke nor Corr will be involved in Jungle, while Joel Jackson, who won a swag of awards for his portrayal of Peter Allen in Seven’s biopic of the Australian icon, is part of the cast.
Screen Queensland, who administer the state government’s screen funding, claimed the blunder came through a series of unfortunate events. “They were the cast attached at the time of application and confirmed,” CEO Tracey Vieira said. “They were proposed cast but that did change.” Apparently between the press release being signed off and sent out, massive changes occurred in the cast with Clarke and Corr out and Jackson in.
Fortunately for the Premier’s office, Radcliffe is signed to the film and producers are excited to be bringing him to Queensland. “It’s challenging (to secure someone like Radcliffe), he has a lot going on, he is very busy,” producer Todd Fellman said. “It’s always a challenge but when you have a really good story and an amazing character, he responded to the material and came on board.”
As part of the state government’s financial investment in the film, producers have agreed to shoot at least half of Jungle in Queensland. And Fellman said the combination of great crews and great location made the decision to film here easy. “I have always felt it would be an ideal project to shoot in Queensland,” he said. “We have found some fantastic locations, we have got an incredible team together, it’s going to be an impressive film.”
Jungle is based on the memoirs of Yossi Ghinsberg who ventured into the jungle with two friends and a guide. Their adventure of a lifetime becomes a psychological ordeal as they battle the worst of human nature and the terrors of the jungle. The fact that locations around Mount Tamborine, not far from the Village Roadshow studios on the Gold Coast, can easily sub in for the Amazon rainforest also helped secure the film’s Queensland location. “The rainforests around the Mount Tamborine area are amazing,” Fellman said. “They look more like the Amazon than the Amazon.”
The film is in pre-production at the moment ahead of the crew heading overseas for the first stage of filming in mid-march. They will return to Queensland for principal photography in April.
Source: brisbanetimes.com.au
