Liam Neeson joins the post-COVID onslaught in Australia with Ozark’s Mark...

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The film is the latest production to be lured to Australia under the federal government’s $ 400 million incentive program. This increases the tax compensation for foreign productions from 16.5 percent to 30 percent of local expenditure.

Arts Secretary Paul Fletcher said the federal government will contribute $ 5.8 million to production, which is expected to create more than 500 local cast and crew jobs and 550 roles for extras.

„“Black light will revitalize the Victorian display industry, so badly hit by COVID-19, “Minister Fletcher said.

Mr. Williams, who also directed Neeson in the latest thriller Honest thiefsaid he was considering shooting in the US, Canada and Australia but was ultimately influenced by Australia’s success in fighting the coronavirus.

After choosing Melbourne as the location for an undisclosed North American city, he watched “with some concern” as the city experienced a second wave of infections, but never lost confidence.

“I’m very kind to the movie gods, so I believed in the situation,” he said. “I arrived in Australia a few months ago and when I got out of quarantine and walked around Sydney I was shocked at how many people were out without a mask. I’ve been to Melbourne for the last month and so on. The masks here make me feel much more comfortable, not just for our production, but for everyone else in town as well. ”

The production will use LED screen technology similar to that of Disney The Mandalorians. Normally a film of this size would be shot at Docklands Studios, but this facility is already fully booked.

Black light will instead be the first film to use the Melbourne Convention and Entertainment Center as a studio, a task it is said to be well-suited for.

Making a movie in COVID conditions is a far tougher question. A source close to the film suggests that up to 30 percent of the bottom line could be achieved. It is also impossible for foreign film and television productions to take out COVID insurance, which means that the costs for a shutdown due to illness are borne by the production (Black light cannot be covered by the federal government’s $ 50 million temporary interruption fund, which is designed to cover such scenarios.

Despite the challenges, Mr. Williams said it was vital for independent productions like his to show “that we can get back on track with all of this.”

“You can’t get insurance, you can’t get a bank loan, you are in trouble if someone gets sick,” he said. “Everyone tries, but the virus doesn’t care.”

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