Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece has high hopes for Australia’s cultural capital, and says it can become the “movie capital” of the Southern Hemisphere.
UK pop singer Robbie Williams’ biopic, Better Man, was filmed in Melbourne and was directed, co-produced, and co-written by Victorian filmmaker Michael Gracey.
It follows the rise, fall, and resurgence of one of the world’s great entertainers.
The production of Better Man created more than 2,900 jobs, including 420 in regional Victoria, and engaged more than 840 local businesses such as caterers, accommodation providers, metal workers, and sign writers.
This injected over $142 million into the state’s economy, something that delighted Reece.
He is planning for more large-scale movie productions in Melbourne in 2025.
“We are the events capital of the world. And now with the success of Better Man, we’ll also become a movie capital,” he told The Epoch Times.
“Better Man is a great movie; it’s going to do really well at the box office, and it shows that Melbourne is a brilliant location for filmmaking.
“And we can make films here which can really draw international audiences, and obviously for Melburnians it’s great watching a film made in Melbourne.
“You can look around and spot all these places you know while you’re watching the film. So I really encourage all Melburnians to go check out Better Man.”
Reece was on hand to present Williams with the keys to the city after the singer made a special appearance at Federation Square on Jan. 2, where he shared insights about the film and performed some of his biggest hits featured in the movie.
“It was amazing. It was a truly magical Melbourne moment. The sun was shining, it was a summer’s day and Robbie Williams was putting on a free concert in our main street,” Reece said.
“It doesn’t get any better.”
Mayor to Introduce Winter Festival to Try Spur Activity
In light of rising social tensions stemming from the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, Reece has continued prioritising the safety of city residents.He has committed to installing an extra 200 CCTV cameras in the CBD, as well as introducing more city safety officers to be an additional presence on the streets.
One of Reece’s main rivals for the City of Melbourne Lord Mayor role, legendary Carlton footballer Anthony Koutoufides, pledged a permit system for rallies to limit demonstrations.
“I don’t care if it’s international businesses–we need businesses back in this city,” he said.
Reece said he was confident of bringing large numbers of people into the Melbourne CBD during colder months by introducing a winter festival which would provide financial benefit for struggling small businesses.
“One of the things we’re working on is a new major winter festival to bring people into the city during those winter months,” Reece said.
“That’s because businesses do really well during spring and summer, but then from end of March-April though to September it can be a hard slog.
“So we’re trying to lift patronage into the city through the middle of the year to really keep the cash registers turning over.
‘A Cleaner, Greener Melbourne’: Reece
Melbourne – once crowned the world’s most liveable city for seven years in a row due to its living standards, cleanliness and entertainment – has recently slumped on the Global Liveability Index.A combination of rising crime, graffiti and businesses closing due to cost-of-living pressures caused the drop in the index.
But Reece has big plans to revitalise the city by building new parks, and adding designer lighting “similar to London and Paris.”
“The biggest election commitment I made was making Melbourne a ‘garden city,’ building 28 new parks across Melbourne,” he said.
“When I was a kid growing up, Victoria used to be known as the garden state. I want to make us the garden city.
“So new parks, green walls, green laneways—just really making this a beautiful garden city where people can be really proud of it.”
