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Paramount thriller ‘Monster Problems’ to shoot in Queensland

Dylan O’Brien (Photo credit: Marc Piasecki/WireImage)

Dylan O’Brien (Maze Runner, American Assassin) will star in Monster Problems, a Paramount Pictures’ post-apocalyptic thriller/romance which will shoot in Queensland.

The production will receive $7.7 million from the federal government’s four-year, $140 million Location Incentive Program and will be the first to use the new $12 million Screen Queensland Studios in the Brisbane bayside suburb of Hemmant.

Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps will produce the film directed by South African Michael Matthews, who made his debut with Five Fingers for Marseilles, a Western about a young lion who kills two corrupt policemen in a South African shanty town.

Matt Robinson rewrote the script by Brian Duffield, described as a coming-of-age tale about a young man in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by monsters. He must overcome the monsters to be with the girl of his dreams.

Minister for Communications and the Arts Mitch Fifield said the production will create more than 700 new jobs and directly benefit over 220 local businesses, including making use of Australia’s world-class visual effects studios.

Lee Rosenthal, Paramount’s president of physical production, said: “We had a truly exemplary experience filming Dora the Explorer in Queensland last year and are delighted to continue this symbiotic relationship with Australia, the Queensland community and the Australian government.”

The fourth season of Sony Pictures Television’s Preacher, which received $8.6 million from the Location Incentive Program, will shoot in Melbourne and regional Victoria, injecting $50 million into the state’s economy.

Playmaker Media will co-produce with SPT the 10-part series which stars Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer, a conflicted preacher who, during a crisis of faith, gains extraordinary power.