‘‘We're targeting a massive film ... with at least one, if not two, of the top stars in Hollywood,'' Film Otago Southland executive manager Kevin Jennings told the Central Otago District Council yesterday.
If the deal came off, it would have major benefits for the district, he said.
Highlands was proving to be advantageous to the film industry, he said. He visited there about five months ago with two location scouts, and a montage of video clips was being prepared to promote the park as a filming venue.
There was much interest in filming on public roads, but it was costly for production companies to get roads closed.
At Highlands, a section of road could be hired for filming, without the worry of road-closure processes.
Mr Jennings was updating the council on the film organisation's past financial year, as the council is one of the funders.
It has budgeted $5000 to support the organisation's activities in the coming year.
One hundred and eighty-five film productions, including 83 television commercials and eight feature films, were shot in Otago and Southland in the past financial year, he said.
He expected the strong growth in the Central Otago film industry to continue.
‘‘One of the key things is making it easy to shoot here.''
The historic buildings and structures such as old suspension bridges were a drawcard.
Film tourism was worth about $3.1million annually to the district and that would continue to grow.
Film work also brought direct benefits to the region.
When The Light Between Oceans was filmed, about $62,000 was spent just on accommodation.
Although the wider district lacked studio space, Central Otago fruit coolstores could double as studios in the off-season.
The district housed probably $8million-$10million worth of film equipment, Mr Jennings said.
The ‘‘cutting edge'' equipment meant filming could be done in all conditions, from a Poolburn windstorm through to snowy weather.
Asked about the potential movie at Highlands, its chief operating officer Josie Spillane said she was excited at the prospect.
However, she had to remain discreet and was reluctant to speculate on the type of movie, or the stars who could be featuring.
The park had been used several times for film projects, including commercials, ‘‘and considering we've only been open for two and a-half years, we're punching above our weight''.
The film work was an important part of the business and showed Highlands ‘‘was so much more than a motorsport venue''. And an Auckland film company is seeking people for roles in a feature film to be partly shot in Roxburgh.
Shooting will take place in late April.
YR Casting posted a callout on a Central Otago Facebook page for six roles in the unnamed film.
It wanted people for three non-speaking roles, a ‘‘grumpy farmer'', ‘‘kid on scooter'' and ‘‘smiley mum'', and three speaking roles, a ‘‘youth protester'', ‘‘Naseby constable'' and ‘‘young nervous cop''.
Producer Tom Hern said he would release more information in the coming weeks, but until then his ‘‘lips are sealed''.
The website of his production company, Four Knights Film, shows four films in development, including a sequel to Goodbye Pork Pie and a film about shearing called Shearing the Love.
Footage would also be filmed in Invercargill and Gore and a similar advertisement was posted for auditions in those areas.
Casting applications close on March 3. - Additional reporting Jono Edwards
