The red carpet is being rolled out to attract Hollywood A-listers and blockbuster movies with a cool $100 million being set aside to build home-grown, world class studios.
The NSW government has committed to help build a massive, multi-use production space in Sydney that can be used for making local films and international hits to complement the existing Disney Studios at Moore Park.
It's part of a $380 million package in the 2025-26 budget, to be delivered later in June, to support the screen and digital games sector.
Sporting a pair of red-laced Air Jordans matching the red carpet of the Sydney Film Festival as it comes to a close, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey pitched the state as an attractive destination for film-makers and animation creators.
"If you want to make movies, do it here in NSW, if you want to make games, do it here in NSW. NSW provides great locations with incredibly talented people," he told reporters on Sunday.
Since 2021, studio films made in Sydney include Thor: Love & Thunder, Mad Max Furiosa, The Fall Guy and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Arts Minister John Graham said the package would be complemented by cutting red tape, including tripling the time frame from 30 to 90 days for when filming takes place on private land without a development approval.
But he also took aim at the ushering of tariffs by US President Donald Trump who in May announced a 100 per cent tariff on films produced outside the country.
The tariffs are yet to be imposed but if rolled out they could prove a major disincentive to US studios sending productions to offshore locations like Australia.
"This highly vital industry hasn't been disturbed yet, but if the US is going down this path it would not only damage activity here in NSW - it would damage it in Hollywood," Mr Graham said.
"This would be self-defeating if the US presses ahead but that's a matter for them."
He affirmed his commitment to the domestic film industry despite any potential economic fallout.
"When filming happens, when screen production happens in Australia, half the time it happens NSW. This is the powerhouse. We're determined to keep that lead."
NSW is not the only state opening its coffers to lure screen productions, with WA spending $290 million on a 16-hectare studio complex in Perth.
Claudia Karvan, star of hit shows such as Bump and The Secret Life of Us, explained how it would help film-makers get projects off the ground with a dedicated, fit-for-purpose studio lot to call their own.
"When we're shooting an episode of Bump, we're stopping every time a plane flies over or when we shot Doctor, Doctor you're dealing with parking trucks so you're open to the elements," she said.
"If you're in a studio, you've got more creative control so you can have high productions values."
