Docklands Studios Melbourne and South Gippsland will stand in for WWII-era Belgium for the film Play Dead, a survival thriller that is expected to inject more than $24 million into the Victorian economy and create more than 300 jobs for the state's screen workers.
The Nocturnal Entertainment production is currently filming at NantStudios’ LED in-camera VFX stages at Docklands Studios Melbourne, the largest permanent LED volume in the world, recreating the 1940s Belgium countryside around WWII.
The project is set to provide jobs for 160 on-set crew, 40 cast and extras, 100 for post-production and digital effects, and 10 skills development opportunities for emerging screen practitioners in stunts and virtual production.
Around 100 local businesses are anticipated to be engaged for Play Dead as well, from armourers and special effects technicians to prosthetics artists, LED engineers, real-time compositors, and virtual production crews, among many others.
Several well-established and rising European film stars will act in the film, directed by renowned Spanish-American film director Jaume Collet-Serra who directed the 2024 film Carry-On, which according to Netflix is the second-most popular English-language movie of all time on the platform with 172 million views.
German actor Andreas Pietschmann, who played the adult version of the protagonist Jonas in the cult Netflix series Dark - ranked by IMDb as the seventh-best Netflix series of all time - will star in Play Dead alongside fellow German Matthias Schweighöfer (Army of Thieves, Oppenheimer), Irish actor Patrick Gibson (Dexter: Original Sin), rising British actor Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place, Franklin), and Canadian award-winning actor Juliette Gariépy (Red Rooms).
Australian actors Joel Jackson (Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries), Sean Keenan (Barons), Harrison Quast (Ten Pound Poms) and Don Hany (Ali’s Wedding) have also been cast.
Play Dead is produced by Akiva Nemetsky and Keaton Heinrichs, alongside Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Crawl) and Rob Tapert (Evil Dead Rise) for Ghost House Pictures, JD Lifshitz and Raphael Margules (Barbarian) for BoulderLight, and Dane Eckerle (Last Straw) for Bad Grey. The screenplay is by Peter Stanley-Ward and Natalie Conway.
"Working on Play Dead here in Melbourne has been an incredible experience," says Nocturnal Entertainment’s Akiva Nemetsky.
"The support from VicScreen has been invaluable, and what truly sets Victoria apart are the exceptional crews, talented cast, and stunning locations just a short drive from the city.
"Being able to shoot the majority of our film at NantStudios in Docklands, within a world-class facility like Docklands Studios Melbourne, has elevated this production in every way. It’s a testament to what’s possible when great infrastructure meets local talent."
The production was attracted to the state by VicScreen, the Victorian Government’s creative and economic screen development agency through its Victorian Screen Rebate. The production is also accessing the Federal Government’s Location Offset.
Play Dead joins a raft of major projects filming in the state, including psychological drama series The Dispatcher, gridiron drama feature ‘the Untitled John Tuggle Project’ and Liam Neeson action feature The Mongoose.
Recent productions which have been filmed on the volume screens at Docklands Studios Melbourne include the soon to be released Netflix series The Survivors, the upcoming Sarah Snook series All Her Fault and Ice Road 2: Road To The Sky starring Liam Neeson.
"Play Dead is yet another screen production to utilise Melbourne’s LED in-camera volume screens at Docklands Studios Melbourne, engaging our world-class technicians and demonstrating Victoria’s capability for high end virtual production," says VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher.
Victoria's Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks says the latest production shows that screen is a "serious business" for the state, building its skilled workforce, generating millions for the economy and showcasing Victorian innovation to the world.
"Our investment in cutting-edge screen technology is also paying dividends, and when combined with our stunning locations and expert crews and screen talent, it is a winning combination that keeps productions from across the globe coming to our creative state," Brooks says.
Help us deliver quality journalism to you.
As a free and independent news site providing daily updates
during a period of unprecedented challenges for businesses everywhere
we call on your support