Mortal Kombat

Mr MURRAY (Davenport) (14:35): I have a Mortal Kombat question which I would like to direct to the Minister for Innovation and Skills. Could the minister please update the house—

Members interjecting:

Mr MURRAY: Listen up! Can the minister update the house on the recent success of the production of Mortal Kombat and its impact on the South Australian screen industry?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley—Minister for Innovation and Skills) (14:36): Yes, I can, and I thank the member for Davenport for his question. I have to say I didn't see him in the line-up for the extras, but I did see a few people who looked like him in the line-up. Mortal Kombat is the largest production in the South Australian Film Corporation's history right here in South Australia. The principal production finished late last year, and the movie is now in preproduction here again in South Australia; and 675 businesses and vendors were beneficiaries of the money—

Mr Boyer interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Wright!

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: —that was being spent here in South Australia coming in from overseas.

Mr Boyer interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Wright is warned.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: Despite the deputy leader's urgency to try to talk down the announcement of Mortal Kombat coming to South Australia—

The SPEAKER: I think it was the member for Wright, but anyway.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: —early in the piece when she raised concerns about the number of South Australians who would be getting opportunities in this film, 619 South Australians were paid to work as crew on the set, already superseding the 580 person estimate that was made by the South Australian Film Corporation. Five companies, 180 more jobs, are working on postproduction as we speak. In addition, there were 1,500 extras jobs on Mortal Kombat. I was out there on the Saturday morning and the line was infinite. I was there extremely early. It was 3,000 people, I am told—it looked infinite; 3,000 people were there before 10am. It was a cold, frosty morning. I remember it well. It was such a sight to see because some people came in character and it was a bit cold to be exposing that much character, I can tell you.

It is not just those faces you see on the screen who are part of making a movie but, of course, it's all those things that need to be done off screen, all those hundreds of names you see on the credits when the movie is finishing—the carpenters, the electricians, the painters, the leather workers, the metalworkers—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: —and many of them are South Australians who are benefiting from the opportunity from Warner Brothers to produce that movie here in South Australia. The producer has reported that they are extremely pleased with the results that they have been able to achieve here in South Australia and I believe it was on time and on budget. It's a terrific outcome. Of course, post-production is occurring, now throughout January right through to October this year, with Warner Brothers confirming a 15 January release date next year. This is important because 15 January is the Martin Luther King Jr long weekend holiday in the United States and it is when production houses release the movies that they expect to be big hits. We are very excited about the fact that Mortal Kombat has been chosen to be released on this weekend.

We are also delighted, of course, that five South Australian companies—Rising Sun Pictures, KOJO, Resin, Artisan Post Group and Mill Film—will be out doing the bulk of the production work right here in South Australia.