October 27th, 2009 12:16 am

Sydney’s new film and television production hub

The Seven Network, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and ‘MasterChef Australia’ are about to get a new neighbour. George Miller’s ‘Mad Max 4’ has moved in next door.

Move over Fox Studios Australia, the Redfern Waterloo precinct is the new home of film and television production in Sydney.

George Miller’s upcoming film ‘Mad Max 4′ will move into a new production facility next door to CarriageWorks. The creative arts centre where Network Ten films ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.

Miller’s production company, Kennedy Miller Mitchell, will convert the existing warehouse space into the new Digital Film Making Studio, with a motion capture stage, art department workshops, a visual effects studio and production offices.

ABC News was there as Miller talked about his upcoming film and the future of Australian cinema.

The former railway carriage and blacksmith workshops will house the upcoming sequel ‘Fury Road’, as well as pre-preduction on Miller’s ‘Happy Feet 2′, the sequel to smash hit animated film.

CarriageWorks is just across the train line from Australian Technology Park, which has similarly become a popular spot for film and television production.

‘Australian Idol’, ‘MasterChef Australia’ and ‘Top Gear Australia’ have all used its industrial surrounds for filming.

‘Idol’ holds its Sydney open call auditions at ATP, while ‘MasterChef’ shoots the top 100 heats inside ATP’s expansive carriage bays.

But that’s not all, the Redfern Waterloo precinct is also the future home for the Seven Network and Global Television.

Seven are in the middle of constructing 4 purpose built sound stages and a state-of-the-art broadcast facility within Technology Park’s grounds.

Shows currently filmed at Seven’s Epping studios, including ‘Home and Away’ and ‘Packed to the Rafters’, will move into the sound stages at the new facility in the near future.

Meanwhile, over at Moore Park’s Fox Studios Australia, things aren’t quite as bright.

The studio recently lost the major Hollywood feature ‘Green Lantern’, which director Martin Campbell (‘Casino Royale’) and actor Ryan Reynolds were scheduled to film in Australia. Just last week, Warner Bros. announced that the project would be shift overseas for budgetary reasons — a result of the high Australian dollar vs the weak US dollar.

Fox Studios are however preparing for production to begin on Stuart Beattie’s smaller budgeted feature ’Tomorrow When the War Began’, which stars ‘Home and Away’ actor Lincoln Lewis and former ‘Neighbours’ actress Caitlin Stasey. Production will be based at the Moore Park studios and will also shoot in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales.

But despite the upcoming project, it doesn’t change the fact that Fox Studios has remained vacant for over a year — following the conclusion of production on Hugh Jackman’s ‘Wolverine’.

The same can’t be said over at Redfern/Waterloo, where it seems there’s no shortage of film and television productions.

With Seven/Global opening their new facility in the near future; Miller’s ‘Mad Max 4′ and ‘Happy Feet 2′ in for the long haul; and returning series ‘Dance’ and ‘MasterChef’, it seems there really is a new film and television hub in Sydney — and it’s not likely to be slowing down any time soon.