As Captain America: Civil War opens around the world, production designer Owen Paterson has called for a more formal system of incentives to attract more Hollywood production to Australia.
The Australian industry veteran, who came to the latest Marvel blockbuster after working on the Matrix trilogy, Godzilla and Gods of Egypt, believes the federal government system of allocating funds on "a one-off, ad hoc basis" to attract such movies as Alien: Covenant and Thor: Ragnarok needs an overhaul.
While the federal government has been considering a permanent increase in what's called the location offset – taking it from 16.5 per cent to a more internationally competitive rate – those two movies were landed late last year with top-up grants.
Paterson says while he was in Los Angeles recently for the Civil War premiere he met many American studio and production executives who believe Australia needs a more formal system of incentives so they know exactly what is being offered.
"We have a very good rebate system now," he says. "But in comparison to how the system works in Atlanta, Georgia, or in the United Kingdom, we need to readdress how the process works.
"The British have really developed a highly successful mechanism for generating income for the country by subsidising the making of essentially American films in the UK. And the same with Georgia, where the governor told us they'd earned $US1.5 billion ($1.94 billion) from film production coming to their state."
Paterson believes there is Hollywood interest in bringing much more production to Australia, given the value of the dollar.
"It would be fantastic if we were able to make a production like the Prometheus sequel [Alien: Covenant, which is shooting in Sydney] while another film is in pre-production that will be ready to get going in July once Prometheus is finished."
Paterson says there needs to be either a dedicated fund or a higher rebate for international productions.
"Ireland is 33 per cent above and below the line," he says. "The UK is around 30 per cent. Australia needs to be the same."
More production would not only pump more Hollywood money into the economy, it would give crews continuity of work.
"It's hard now for art directors to find construction people because for the past eight years or so, though we've made some very big and successful films here, they would make one then there would be a year off," Paterson says.
"So the carpenters and the painters and the plasterers – let alone the camera people – all needed to go and get other jobs."
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Civil War has the Avengers split into two warring camps led by Captain America and Iron Man over a United Nations plan to rein in their powers.
Paterson worked for 11 months on the movie, initially in Los Angeles, then at the new Pinewood studios in Atlanta and later Berlin and Leipzig in Germany.
"Joe and Anthony really wanted it to be an absolutely real world – a world with a visceral textural quality, so you'd say, 'That's just a conference room,' " he says.
"Their idea was you could then inhabit that world with superheroes or characters of an 'enhanced nature'. And tonally they got the film spot on. The combination of drama and sadness and humour works really well."
Looking For Grace director secures award
Radha Mitchell and Odessa Young in Looking for Grace.
The wheat-belt drama Looking For Grace will get screenings for key industry figures in Los Angeles and New York after director Sue Brooks won the Australian Directors Guild's Finders Award, which aims to help notable films get a US release.
An annual collaboration with the Directors Guild of America, the prize will be presented at the guild's awards in Melbourne on May 6.
The guild has also announced that lawyers Michael Frankel and Greg Duffy have won the Cecil Holmes Award for "their long-term dedication to the Australian screen industry".
Chief executive Kingston Anderson says they have provided pro-bono legal services to guild members for more than 20 years.
"This support of the ADG and directors in general is reflected in the work their firm does in the screen industry," he says.
Geoffrey Nottage (Home and Away, Something in the Air) has won the Michael Carson Award for excellence in TV drama.
Making the presentation to Brooks will be Craig Monahan, who won the Finders Award for Healing last year and attributes the US screenings to selection for various film festivals.
When Kriv Stenders went to Los Angeles after winning an earlier award for Boxing Day, he met producer Nelson Woss and they later went on to make Red Dog together.
Purple Rain to reign again
Prince in Purple Rain, which is heading back to cinemas.
After Prince's death last week fans will get another chance to see his 1984 film Purple Rain in cinemas with a series of tribute screenings.
The semi-autobiographical film has Prince playing a young musician, The Kid, who has to deal with a rival singer, a complicated romance and troubles with his band. Featuring classic songs such as Let's Go Crazy, When Doves Cry and Purple Rain, it won Prince an Oscar for the music.
In Sydney, screenings include five Event Cinemas this Friday night – George Street, Miranda, Parramatta, Macquarie and the QT Screening Room that was formerly the Reel Room – then the Chauvel on May 1 and Cremorne Orpheum on May 13.
In Melbourne, screenings include Cinema Nova every day, the Astor on Saturday and May 7 and Melbourne Central on May 5.
In the US there has been such demand among grieving fans looking for ways to celebrate Prince's life that Purple Rain is expanding from 87 cinemas last weekend to more than 200 this weekend.
Wayward Huntsman heads for heavy fall
Jessica Chastain in The Huntsman: Winter's War. Photo: Giles Keyte
While Snow White and the Huntsman was a hit four years ago, the sequel that is also a prequel The Huntsman: Winter's War has proven no fairytale at the box office.
In a disappointing result for star Chris Hemsworth, who is preparing to shoot Thor: Ragnarok in Queensland, the movie could lose the Hollywood studio Universal $US70 million.
According to Variety, Winter's War needed to earn about $US325 million globally to break even during its cinema run but looks like taking $US200 million after poor reviews – ending the studio's attempts to establish a new fairytale franchise.
But Universal has three good prospects in coming months, with Matt Damon returning in Jason Bourne, Despicable Me creator Chris Meledandri's The Secret Life of Pets and Zac Efron and Seth Rogen in Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising.
Jungle Book still king
The Jungle Book is still working at the box office.
The Jungle Book continued its popularity in Australian cinemas, reaching an impressive $19.6 million on its second weekend.
A handsome cinema average of $10,500 shows Disney's latest live-action movie based on a classic animation has reached a broad audience.
Despite mixed reviews, Eddie the Eagle had a solid opening with $2.6 million and a cinema average of almost $7000.
While it had much better reviews, the sci-fi film Midnight Special had a modest opening on limited release – just $99,000 in 20 cinemas.
For Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the first weekend's take of $13.2 million suggested it would be a huge hit but the widely panned superhero movie is nearing the end of its run with just $29.6 million – nowhere near Deadpool's $43.1 million.
Australian drama The Daughter has hung in, reaching $1.6 million on its sixth weekend.
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