The state government has made good on its commitment to build state-of-the-art film studios on the fringe of Whiteman Park.
After investing almost $300 million on new film studios in Malaga, the construction is complete and the job of enticing movie and television production companies has begun.
“We will continue to ensure that we're looking at the occupancy of this location, but also what are the returns that we're getting on our investment,” Creative Industries Minister Simone McGurk said.
“Like with any assistance, particularly in its infancy, you do need to make investments.
“There will be a production booked in here before the end of the year, I can assure you.”
Originally flagged for Fremantle ahead of the 2021 state election, the four colossal-sized studios and largest backlot in the southern hemisphere could only have been developed on a greenfields site.
“We’re desperately looking forward to the first production team coming here to film studios,” Premier Roger Cook said.
“The design and scale of this is purpose built making sure we’ve got 90,000 square feet of sound studios, administration areas, make-up areas, green rooms and the capacity in workshops to create whole new worlds.”
Skirting Whiteman Park, the studios' management company Home Fire will rely on government incentives to bring overseas film makers to WA.
“You have to have a lot of conversations with people to make this a successful and vibrant creative ecosystem,” said studio chief executive Tom Avison.
“Those conversations are well advanced. The business plan of this facility is absolutely to make money for the government.”
He said it was expected the workforce of film and television production staff in WA would grow significantly across the next decade and that people from WA working over east and overseas would have good reasons to return.
He was confident the state’s geographical isolation would not put off production companies.
“They want to come to places where there is a smooth operating facility,” he said.
