NSW Premier Bob Carr caused a stir last Thursday when he arrived on the set of the film, ‘The Man Who Sued God’, at Bermagui to meet the film crew.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Many locals turned up to watch the high-profile visit, but the highlight of the day was when the Premier caught up with the film’s lead actor Billy Connolly for a chat.
A media frenzy ensued at the film crew’s base camp near the harbour as the Premier met the actor and then moved on to present Gannon Films with a cheque for $50,000.
‘The Man Who Sued God’ is the first film to receive the grant.
Film Producer Ben Gannon thanked the Premier and said one reason Bermagui was chosen was that it was a favourite holiday spot for the film’s director, Mark Joffe.
“We did look at filming this around the Pittwater - Palm Beach area, but we would never have got the production value that we got from coming here,” Mr Gannon said.
“Certainly by being able to use this money to offset the cost of coming here is incredibly helpful,” he said.
“I think it’s also fair to say that by coming here we probably brought a financial benefit to the region of some several hundred thousand dollars, which doesn’t include what the crew has spent in the pub!”
The two-week shooting was estimated to have brought $250,000 to the Bermagui economy, while creating around 200 local jobs.