Zac Efron is ready to give back to Australia as he’s signed on to lead a new film shooting in South Australia.
As per 7news, Efron will be starring in Gold, a film commissioned by streaming giant Stan. Filming will begin in South Australia this month and it’s a massive win for the local film industry, suffering as it is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s the least Efron can do as he’s clearly been loving life in Australia over the past year. The Greatest Showman star shacked up in Byron Bay for most of the COVID-19 lockdown. He’s seemingly had a great time, enjoying the freedom and slower pace of life away from Los Angeles.
The paparazzi have barely given him time to sneeze though, following the Hollywood star’s every move. Rumours have been swirling recently about his relationship status. He was first spotted with Byron Bay waitress Vanessa Valladares back in July after they met when she was working at the Byron Bay General Store cafe, Light Years.
As the romance blossomed, Valladares, 25, is rumoured to have left her job as a waitress and be living with the actor at Belongil Beach (what is it with this guy and girls called Vanessa?).
Stan’s investment in Gold follows the announcement of its plan to make as many as 30 local productions a year over the next five years. Other recently announced projects for the streamer include Eden, Bump, Dom and Adrian: 2020, After The Night, and A Sunburnt Christmas (the latter of which is also shot in SA).
Gold is a thriller film and centres on two men who find an enormous gold nugget while travelling through the outback. While one of them leaves to fetch the tools to dig up the bounty, the other stays behind to protect it.
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The notorious isolation of the harsh arid climate, and with predators circling, starts to prey on his mental state though.
The film is directed by Anthony Hayes, who will be familiar for his acting roles in Animal Kingdom and Mystery Road. Susie Porter (Wentworth) will co-star alongside Efron.
Hayes said in a statement: “This is an exciting, gripping and timely tale about greed, humanity, who we are, what we’ve done to the world and where we are heading if we aren’t careful.
“To have Zac Efron as my main man on this film is an absolute gift and to see what he is creating already is like nothing we’ve seen from him before.”
Gold is the first local production Efron has signed up for. Now to just convince Efron to make a new High School Musical and somehow get it set in Australia.
Check out the trailer for Zac Efron’s Netflix documentary Down to Earth:
