Perth's big, beautiful movie studio is getting ready for its close-up

The Age

12 hours ago

It was always expected Western Australia's first purpose-built movie studio would be big.
It's one of the reasons the state government decided to shift the $233 million screen facility from Victoria Quay in the heart of Fremantle to the southern edge of Whiteman Park in Perth's northern suburbs.
But it is not until you get up close and personal to Perth Film Studios, as it has been rebranded, that you fully appreciate the size of the four state-of-the art boxes that in years to come will host large-scale Australian and international productions that will put our city on the filmmaking map — that is, if everything goes to plan.
Taken aback by the size of the facility – in particular the sound stage in the most advanced stage of completion – the first question to Perth Film Studios' British-born chief executive Tom Avison must be: 'What level of production could it not accommodate?'
'Not many,' replied Avison, who was head-hunted from London to shepherd the studio into operation and help lure the kind of big-budget film and television productions for which it was designed.
'A James Bond movie or a Mission: Impossible might require something bigger.
'But for most things these four sound stages are comparable to facilities in the UK such as Pinewood, Leavesden or Sky Studio Elstree.
'They're plenty big enough for most of the movies and television series being shot around the world.'
The facility boasts 19,232 square metres of production space — including 8361 square metres across four sound stages — and a backlot bigger than the playing field at Optus Stadium.
Equally impressive is the overall quality of the build and various facilities that will be used to support the sound stages — production offices, dressing rooms, spaces for costumes and laundry.
'A movie studio is like a reef. It acts like a centre of gravity. It brings the ecosystem to it. You get big fish, you get small fish and everything in between.'
Perth Film Studios CEO Tom Avison
And in Avison, the WA Labor government and Home Fire Creative Industries – the Perth company that won the much-publicised competition to build and operate the studio – have found a chief executive with recent experience opening a similar facility, Sky Studios Elstree, in London.
Sky Studios was a baptism of fire for Avison in his role as director of operations, as the new studio's first production was Wicked, Universal's blockbuster musical that took over eight of the studio's 12 sound stages.
'We had just completed the build when Wicked moved in. Builders out on Friday, production in on Monday,' Avison said.
'It was a challenging time but very exciting and incredibly rewarding.
'It battle-hardens you and your staff and forces you to get up to the highest standards very quickly.
'When a film is green-lit it goes fast. The train is leaving the station and you have to climb on board.'
It is doubtful that Perth Film Studios will kick off in the first quarter of next year with a production the size of Wicked.
However, if Hollywood wants to shoot a mega-budget musical, or an action fantasy, or a series about the world overrun with the undead, then Avison and his team will be ready.
'We will have conversations with producers who have the biggest projects to those with the smallest,' Avison said.
'And the studio will be a fantastic option for local and national projects.
'A good example are the two recent television series that were filmed in Perth, Ghosts and The Postcard Bandit. We want the Perth Film Studios to become the hub for the Western Australian screen industry.'
Avison says that he was lured away from his big job in one of the world centres of film and television production because of the excitement around the WA film industry and the support of the state government, which is backing its investment in the studio with an array of incentives to ensure it doesn't become a 'white elephant'.
'There is an industry here that has been growing organically and successfully and a government that is supporting it,' Avison said.
'And when you factor in organisations like ScreenWest and the crew of highly skilled freelancers you feel that Western Australia is on the cusp of something great. I wanted to be a part of that.'
Avison said there was also the understanding that it was not enough to just build a studio: 'You need to build an industry to support it.'
Ever since the movie studio was announced by then-premier Mark McGowan during the 2021 state election in a starry press event at Victoria Quay with local stars such as Tim Minchin, Kate Walsh and Ben Elton, the industry has been debating the issue of whether Perth is ready for a movie industry.
There are arguments that WA's industry is not mature enough to service a movie studio, and that most of the talent will have to be imported, raising costs and make it less attractive to American studios and other production entities around the globe.
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Avison disagrees that WA is putting the cart before the horse.
'A movie studio is like a reef,' he said.
'It acts like a centre of gravity. It brings the ecosystem to it. You get big fish, you get small fish and everything in between.
'In the past productions have come here to take advantage of the wonderful locations then go somewhere else for the studio component. They will now be able to do everything here.'
He also sees potential for crews returning if they have a good experience in Perth, giving the example of a series production, which could take months.
'That means that the various services that support a production are assured of long-term work,' he said.
'All of this occurs because at the centre of the ecosystem is a movie studio.'
The other big challenge is distance. Perth is, as we hear ad nauseum, the most isolated capital city in the world.
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So, will the production entities in the United States, Europe and, to a lesser extent, Asia be willing to send their projects across multiple time zones to do what could be done on their respective home territories?
Adding to the challenge is that, since the rise of streaming services such as Amazon, Netflix and Apple, screen facilities have been popping up across the United States and across the globe, with Sydney recently announcing plans for a second studio.
While some aspects of international filmmaking are out WA's control — the rise and fall in the dollar, and Donald Trump's tariffs have added another element of uncertainty — Avison believed the studio would overcome distance by offering a unique, high-quality experience.
'Filmmaking is complex and stressful, with tight deadlines and fixed budgets. So crews need to feel reassured they can do their jobs,' he said.
'We will create an environment that will not just get the job done but will allow filmmakers to flourish.
'We want them to be reassured that they don't have to worry about the basics, and they can put all their energy into their creativity.'
While there is pressure on Avison and his team to lure the kind of bigger budget productions that will brush aside the naysayers, he believes it will take time for the studio to build a reputation and drop into the field of view of the global film industry, like Tom Cruise in Top Gun.
'I come from an industry where studios have been there for 100 years,' Avison said.
'That is what we want to build — a facility that is not a flash in the pan something that will serve the local industry for generations to come. We will be ready in the first quarter of next year, but our eyes are also on the future.'