When an ABC journalist contacted me a couple of weeks ago about excessive federal and state government subsidies to international film productions such as Thor: Love and Thunder, I mentioned it wasn’t just hard-headed economists like me complaining. Cultural luminaries, such as legendary Australian playwright David Williamson, are also concerned about all the assistance going to international productions – e.g. at least $24 million to the new Thor movie, according to Create NSW. Unfortunately, I missed the resulting story from my conversation with the ABC journalist when it was aired last Thursday, but it’s available via the ABC website, and it includes commentary from both David Williamson and me (from 2:25):

Concerns Hollywood blockbusters crowding out local productions

Williamson would rather see that any assistance largely goes to domestic productions which tell genuinely Australian stories. That’s a good call.* Some of my favourite films are those classic SA Film Corporation films from the seventies, such as Sunday Too Far Away and Picnic at Hanging Rock. Let’s support productions that tell Australian stories, rather than fantasy stories from mega-profitable multinationals like Disney.

*I’d go further, however, and wouldn’t give international productions any special treatment.

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