Reprinted from ABC.NET.AU
By Tom Forbes
He is not a super hero, but film location scout Duncan Jones has the power to shut down city streets so Hollywood superstars can shoot their blockbuster movies.
In 2016, the Gold Coast-based location manager orchestrated the closure of part of Brisbane’s CBD for Thor: Ragnarok.
The 44-year-old started as a dolphin trainer before moving into the film industry as a location scout 16 years ago.
“I used to work at Sea World and worked on Flipper for many years when they were filming that at Sea World, and through that I got to know locations managers and thought that was the way to go,” he added.
His job is to help facilitate film makers and deal with councils, property owners and community groups.
“Whoever it is that wants to make a film comes to me with a script,” he said. “We then break it down from a locations prospective and then it’s a matter of going out and finding options that will fit that script’s needs.”
Mr Jones said he had developed strong working relationships with councils, but there were a few tense moments during filming of the $160 million Aquaman move in June this year.
The filmmakers were granted approval to construct a temporary lighthouse on Hastings Point in far northern New South Wales, but some locals felt they were not properly consulted.
“All good and well to bring Hollywood to the coast or to a city, but unless you can leave on a positive footing there’s no point in going there, because all we’ll end up doing is eroding our locations if we keep knocking them about,” he said.
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