Edition 42
April 22, 2021
NorthernRiversTimes
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HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD? FOR years these Alstonville residents have lived across the road from a quiet country showground. Annually, at show time, they were treated to the bellowing of cows and crowing of roosters – and front row seats for the fireworks. What they didn’t expect was to wake up one day and find that a film studio, making a US blockbuster, had moved into their showground with an army of trucks. “It’s such an eyesore and it’s brought noise and traffic,” said Alstonville
resident Peter Coggan. “If their trucks were heading to a site, they started rolling past at 5.20am and sometimes they sit outside and idle for 10 minutes and the cars of staff start arriving at around 6am.” His wife Jenny said she initially supported the arrival of the film studio, reported to be filming in Alstonville between March and August, because she was told it would generate local jobs, but months later she is sceptical. “Our street has been choked with
parked cars and most of them have Queensland number plates, not New South Wales plates” she said. “Also, this is a residential street, but it is now being used for an industrial purpose. We are not an industrial estate.” The couple said with so much traffic in a residential street, they also feared for the safety of children playing outside and no longer let their granddaughter outdoors. The company that’s taken over the showgrounds, Byron Studios, stress
that this is temporary arrangement, and the initial lease of the showgrounds is only for two years and the site was not always in use. Byron Studios’ general manager Charlotte Brigel says the Covid19 pandemic has resulted in more US productions coming to Australia and the opportunity to produce this series arrived quickly, hence they are using the showground while a new studio is being refurbished. Continued on page 4 ➤