A small community with a population of just nine people in outback South Australia has been transformed into an unlikely Hollywood setting where big stars like Hugo Weaving and Julia Garner have made their home.
Ozark and Inventing Anna star Garner and Matrix Weaving legend star in The Royal Hotel, about backpacking buddies who take jobs at a pub in a remote mining town before their adventure takes off. takes a dark and bloody turn.
The disused pub in the remote town of Yatina, 222km north of Adelaide, has been turned into the centerpiece of the eponymous film. Neighbor Ken Cowery told 7NEWS he was surprised when around 100 cast and crew set up shop next to his home.
Watch the latest news on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >>
“I heard all these cars stop and I thought what the hell was that?” he said. “They are great people, nobody makes noise or anything. They were very calm.”
Filming is expected to take place in multiple locations across the state over the next month, with the South Australian Film Corporation saying the project will create more than 200 jobs and contribute $4.6 million to the local economy.
Among these jobs are extras for scenes inside the pub. The local council put out an advert for people to play drinkers with ‘no experience required’.
Peterborough Mayor Ruth Whittle said she did not expect the pub, which was built in 1874 but has not been open for years, to be the backdrop for a film of horror.
“(It’s) a bit of the wild west in South Australia,” she added.
