It was Hollywood on the Gold Coast, indeed, when 'The Portable Door' had its premiere at HOTA on the weekend, says Sam Wylie.
There was no shortage of buzz and exited hustle and bustle with stars, crews, renowned producers and executives at the red-carpet premiere of Jeffrey Walker’s fantasy modern classic, ‘The Portable Door’.
Starring Hollywood heavy-hitters, Sam Neill, Christoph Waltz and Miranda Otto, the film made a splash at the HOTA last Saturday evening.
With the entire film shot in Queensland and primarily on the Gold Coast, award winning Director and Actor, Jeffrey Walker releases ‘The Portable Door’ following a steady stream of directorial success for such acclaimed series as ‘Modern Family’ and recently back-to-back Disney Plus series, ‘The Clearing’ and ‘The Artful Dodger’.
“Filming in Queensland and on the Gold Coast is just a fantastic working lifestyle with world class film studios, great beaches and productions partners who are second to none.”
He added, “With a script as appealing as ‘The Portable Door’ based on the book by Tom Holt, it was easy to attract the big names and talent we have, even during the pandemic Covid lockdowns”.
“There was a distinct sense of relief following the completion of the film” states Jeffrey, as the entire production took place during pandemic lockdown measures, with international cast members being required to undergo two-week quarantines.
Not dissuaded by the challenges surrounding the pandemic, there was a distinct impression of potential to expand on the Gold Coast film production industry.
“Often it’s just a matter of scale of investment in the film industry, with the US being as enormous as it is, there is an opportunity to build on the Australian market in this new world of streaming services competing against major cinematic production companies.”
Comparing the US and streaming services with current Australian production capacity, Jeffrey had this to say.
“We don’t have the budget of the big companies, but we are definitely starting to have the ambition. If we could bring those budget levels up to make those projects at a level competitive to the US market, we’ve got the talent and the motivation to make it a success.”
As a film produced by the Jim Henson Company - producer of such terrifying epics as ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘The Muppet Show’ - with an all-star cast, ‘The Portable Door’ is not to be missed. A magical adventure following Patrick Gibson’s, Paul Carpenter into the inner workings of the company responsible for and specialising in supernatural coincidence. Available in cinemas and steaming service, Stan.
