Hollywood comes to Australia’s Riviera

Coomera, QLD: Hollywood film stars John Cusack and Thomas Jane put the pedal to the metal in a challenging and thrill-filled Hard Drive through Riviera’s manufacturing facility recently.

The high-speed car chase through Riviera’s 14-hectare state-of-the-art Coomera factory was filmed for an action packed scene in the multi-million dollar feature film Hard Drive which is due for international release in 2014.

Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, Hard Drive, is a film about an American thief (Cusack) who arrives in Brisbane looking for a getaway driver.  He hires ex-Formula One driver turned driving school instructor (Jane), who puts his Formula One driving skills to the test in a thrilling car chase around notable Gold Coast icons including the Q1, Surfers Paradise and Riviera in a bid to outrun the police and the mob. 

The car chase certainly revved up on set at Riviera with Cussack and Jane weaving around and under multi-million dollar luxury boats narrowly missing the massive propellers, zooming through the factory floor, passed boats under construction and with the police in hot pursuit it was time to cut to the next scene with cameras strapped to the car windscreen to take in all the in car action.

Riviera’s director of brand and communications Stephen Milne said it was an honour to have the large film crew on site at the home of Australia’s largest and most awarded luxury boat builder.

“Riviera has previously starred in Australia’s top rating talent show, the X Factor, and has also been seen ferrying The Great Gatsby stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire around Sydney Harbour, so we feel extremely privileged to have the opportunity to star in our first Hollywood film,” Mr Milne said.

“It was an exhilarating experience to see the director, actors, stunt men, and film crew of some 50 people in action right here at Riviera for an entire day.

“We are tremendously fortunate to have such a large and versatile site right on the Coomera River.  It is the largest facility of its type in the Southern Hemisphere and in recent years we have utilised our world-class facility to host the annual Gold Coast International Marine Expo and the Riviera Festival of Boating. 

“We have a large number of boats in production at the moment with upcoming major international boat shows including, Sydney International Boat Show in August where our new 50 Enclosed Flybridge will have her world release, so there was plenty of action on and off the screen during filming and we look forward to seeing Riviera’s luxurious new models on the big screen in 2014.”