Sydney is quickly becoming THE place to film WWII movies.
The first, of course, was Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, which took great pleasure in shutting down half of Sydney more than once; partially due to filming, but mostly due to four thousand people and their smartphones.
The second is the just-announced US WWII pic Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson and starring Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, and Vince Vaughn.
Gibson [who will henceforth be referred to the more appropriate Gibbo] announced he’ll be tapping Sydney as its primary filming location, joining NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant who is understandably frothing at the news given Hacksaw Ridge is set to bring 720 jobs and $26 million to the area.
Mel Gibson tells #media that NSW was a clear choice to film his next #movie Hacksaw Ridge. pic.twitter.com/M4xF5yGVBZ
— troygrant (@troygrant) July 30, 2015
Filming here was “a clear choice”, Gibson said at the press conference, stressing that our cooperation was a big part of it.
“This isn’t a big Hollywood Studio film, this is an independent film. It’s a large one, but that makes the cooperation that much more meaningful to me.”
Come September, they’ll be filming at both Fox Studios and various locations across NSW. (Need a warehouse office in Surry Hills, Gibbo? Asking for a friend.)
Hacksaw Ridge is the true story of Desmond Dross (Garfield), a WWII soldier who became the first Conscientious Objector in American history to be awarded the Medal of Honour, for single-handedly moving 75 injured soldiers under enemy fire during the 1945 battle of Okinawa.
Vaughn will play Sgt. Howell, who’s charged with getting the soldiers ready for war but – according to Deadline, who first reported the casting news – “really cares about them and will do whatever it takes to keep them alive.”
Photo: Jason Merritt / Frazer Harrison via Getty Images
