J55 Motion Picture and Sound Recording Activities

The race for Sydney’s second film studio

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Original article by Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 18-Jun-25

The NSW government’s decision to contribute $100m to the construction of a new film studio in Sydney has been welcomed by Zareh Nalbandian, the founder of animation studio Animal Logic. He says the existing Disney Studios at Moore Park – which was formerly called Fox Studios Australia – is great, but Disney has priority in using its nine sound stages. The government has yet to open a formal tender process for the new film studios, although three private consortiums are said to be serious bidders. Nalbandian produced the first two Peter Rabbit films in Sydney, but warns that the third one in the series may have to be made elsewhere unless he has access to a film studio.

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ANIMAL LOGIC PTY LTD. DISNEY STUDIOS AUSTRALIA

Trump tariffs a loony move for global film industry, says veteran director

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Original article by Helen Trinca
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-May-25

Veteran Australian film director and producer Bruce Beresford has expressed concern about the potential impact of the Trump administration’s proposed for a tariff of 100 per cent on foreign-made films. He argues that Hollywood studios might simply not make a film if they do not have access to the subsidies provided by the federal government to attract international films to Australia. Beresford adds that some Australian films would struggle to obtain financing, as many of them are made with US investment.

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Trump tariff threat kick in the guts for local film industry

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Original article by Mackenzie Scott, Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 2 : 7-May-25

Queensland’s Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek has urged the federal government to protect the state’s economic investment in local film production. The state’s film industry generated a return of $525m in 2023-24 and created 4,000 direct jobs, including at the Gold Coast production studio. Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate says US President Donald Trump’s proposed 100 per cent tariff on all movies ‘produced in foreign lands’ is a "kick in the guts" for the region’s film industry. However, a White House spokesman has indicated that a final decision has not been made regarding tariffs on foreign-made films.

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ARTS QUEENSLAND, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Spotify denies its algorithm spurns Australian music

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Original article by Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 11-Apr-25

Spotify Australia MD Mikaela Lancaster says that the "vast majority" of song choices by the streaming service’s 13 million Australian users are actively made by them and not its algorithm. Lancaster was responding to claims that the algorithm ‘steers’ users away from Australian music, while she notes that Spotify paid out $250 million to Australian rights holders last year, with that figure expected to grow by a double-digit percentage this year. Spotify has launched a Turn Up Aus tile on its homepage and its search page that links to playlists of local music curated by its Sydney-based team.

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SPOTIFY LIMITED

Director says film industry is in peril

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Original article by Geordie Gray
The Australian – Page: 7 : 8-Oct-24

Noted film director Phillip Noyce has expressed concern about the state of the Australian film industry, saying that many young directors have to leave Australia in order to earn a reasonable living. His comments are part of a push by the Australian Screen Directors Authorship Collecting Society for reforms that would give directors greater control over their works to the extent that they would get access to secondary revenue streams such as royalties from online platforms; currently, Australian film directors only get royalties from broadcast television.

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AUSTRALIAN SCREEN DIRECTORS AUTHORSHIP COLLECTING SOCIETY

High-flyer takes on Hollywood

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Original article by Jessica Toonkel, Joe Flint
The Australian – Page: 17 : 10-Jul-24

Skydance Media founder David Ellison says he aims to transform Paramount Global into a "media and tech hybrid" to enable it to compete with rivals such as Disney and Netflix. The complex merger deal will initially see Skydance acquire Paramount’s major shareholder, National Amusements, for $US1.75bn; Paramount will in turn acquire Skydance for about $US4.7bn. Skydance has identified around $US2bn worth of cost savings at Paramount, and aims to make the iconic film studio cashflow positive by the end of 2026. Paramount’s assets include the Ten Network in Australia.

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SKYDANCE MEDIA LLC, PARAMOUNT GLOBAL, NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS INCORPORATED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Streaming quotas may violate FTA

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 22 : 6-Feb-24

The federal government is under renewed scrutiny over its plans to impose local content requirements on streaming video services, which are largely based in the US. The Computer & Communications Industry Association has warned that local content quotas could constitute a breach of the free-trade agreement between Australia and the US. Amazon in turn notes that some of its TV shows and documentaries that are filmed in Australia will not qualify as local content because they were not produced under the complete control of Australians. Amazon adds that a quota system would increase production costs.

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COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED

Golden Globe awards 2024: Australians win big as Sarah Snook, Margot Robbie and Elizabeth Debicki land gongs

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Original article by Sian Cain
The Guardian – Page: Online : 9-Jan-24

Australians have done well at the 2024 Golden Globes, with Sarah Snook winning the award for best actress in a TV series – drama for her performance in Succession, which also won best TV drama. Elizabeth Debicki won the award for best supporting actress in a TV series for her performance as Diana, Princess of Wales, in The Crown, while Margot Robbie accepted the inaugural award for cinematic and box office achievement with Barbie director Greta Gerwig.

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Drama still booming Down Under, but a downturn could be coming

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Original article by Karl Quinn
The Age – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Data from Screen Australia highlights the continued strength of the nation’s television and film industry. The annual Drama Report shows that a total of $2.34bn was spent on the production of local and international scripted content in 2022-23; this includes broadcast television, streaming and video-on-demand content, as well as theatrical feature films. It is slightly down on the $2.43bn spent in 2021-22, although it is still the second-highest figure on record. Foreign film and TV productions accounted for $1.22bn of the expenditure in 2022-23.

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SCREEN AUSTRALIA

Hollywood writers in deal to end strike

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Original article by Geordie Gray
The Australian – Page: 8 : 26-Sep-23

The Writers Guild of America has advised that it has reached a deal to end Hollywood’s 146-day writer’s strike. The ‘tentative’ three-year deal follows five days of negotiations with film studios and production companies. However, the WGA has emphasised that the strike will continue until members vote on the deal and it is ratified. Amongst other things, WGA members will receive increased royalty payments for streaming content and guarantees regarding the use of artificial intelligence to generate content. Separate industrial action by Hollywood actors is continuing, and no talks between the actors’ union and film studios are currently scheduled.

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WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA