George Clooney is headed to Queensland. We repeat: Clooney, many a woman’s poster boy, source of great affection and arguably the only person for whom the phrase “silver fox” applies, is headed Down Under, to Queensland. It seems Hollywood 2.0 is in full swing, with the world’s biggest stars trading Los Angeles for the coastal breeze and scenic vistas offered in Australia. Amongst them, Clooney and Julia Roberts are set to arrive on Aussie shores, with the pair filming their upcoming romantic comedy, Ticket to Paradise.
Production on the film is scheduled to begin later this year, with the pair filming in the Whitsundays (ugh, life as an actor is hard), which will double for both Bali and southern Queensland from November onwards. They’ll then make their way to Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
It’s an exciting prospect, and one the Australian economy certainly needs. According to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Universal Pictures will create roughly 1,000 jobs for local cast, crew and extras, while injecting a rather sizeable $32.7 million into the state economy. Already, Australia is groaning under the weight of Hollywood stars, including Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Matt Damon, Idris Elba and Zac Efron.
As for the movie itself, Ticket to Paradise will be directed by Ol Parker, the director behind such notable films like Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and who wrote The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title will produce the film which, according to reports from Variety, tells the story of a divorced couple (Roberts and Clooney) who rush to Bali for the purpose of stopping their adult daughter from getting married.
With Marvel studios reportedly relocating from the US to Sydney for the next five years, it’s clear Clooney won’t be the only mega-star we’ll be keeping an eye out for. It might just be the case that while international travel remains out of reach, we can always entertain ourselves with a bit of celebrity sight-spotting.
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