Seven million litre water tank attracts US blockbusters
The biggest thing in US blockbuster Fool’s Gold isn’t Matthew McConaughey or Kate Hudson - it’s the seven million litre water tank used to film the movie’s action-packed underwater scenes.
The Queensland Government has invested $500,000 in the tank, the only facility of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and one of only a few worldwide.
Filming in the controlled environment of the tank has many advantages over filming on location. In film-making, where time is money - big money - not having to deal with halts to filming because of bad weather means huge savings.
Without the tank, Fool’s Gold would not have been filmed at the Gold Coast studios. The 7.5 metre-deep tank was purpose-built for the production, with Fool’s Gold backers, Warner Roadshow Studios, and the State Government jointly contributing to the cost.
It’s an investment that has quickly paid dividends with the tank successfully luring US production giant Walden Media to shoot Nim’s Island in late 2007.
Based on the popular children’s book by Australian author Wendy Orr, Nim’s Island stars Academy award-winner Jodie Foster and the child star of Little Miss Sunshine, Abigail Breslin. The actors share the limelight with a couple of Sea World sea lions, Spud and Friday. The sea lions had a list of special needs to rival that of any Hollywood ‘A list’ celebrity.
Teams of experts from Sea World were consulted over animal welfare and other issues, including an engineer who calculated the time it would take a sea lion to swim the length of the tank. The giant tank had to be specially adapted, with the building of a fence around the perimeter to keep the sea lions from jumping over the edge. Sea lions are ocean heavyweights, so the fence also had to be especially reinforced.
The tank uses recycled water. Between filming the water is stored in a dam, filtered and recycled. Approximately 85 per cent of the backwash water can be recycled back into the tank.
Studio President Lynne Benzie said film producers are discovering there are many advantages to filming in Queensland. "The water tank will play a fundamental role in continuing to secure multi-million dollar productions for studios, resulting in an ongoing benefit for the Queensland economy," Ms Benzie said.
The ‘Caribbean’ scenes from Fool’s Gold were filmed off Port Douglas and Lizard Island, the Whitsundays and in Brisbane - yet another great endorsement for Queensland as a film-making and holiday destination.
Story: Antoinette Bauer
Last reviewed 16 June 2008
