Pitt and Jolie headed Down Under

Coming Down Under ... Brangelina. Source: The Daily Telegraph

BRAD Pitt and Angelina Jolie could soon be calling Australia home, with Hollywood executives expected to finalise a deal with the federal government this morning for the biggest blockbuster ever to be made in Australia.

The Daily Telegraph has learned executives from Disney in the US have been scouting locations in NSW and the Gold Coast over the past two weeks, for the final stages of a deal to shoot a mega-production remake of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo.

Arts Minister Simon Crean, who has been working with Hollywood to secure the film, last night confirmed he would be meeting Disney executives this morning at Parliament House in the hope of finalising the deal.

Shooting would be expected to begin in the next few months on the first remake of the the 1954 film, which starred Kirk Douglas, based on the 1870 science fiction classic written by French novelist Jules Verne. Sources said Disney was ready to go into pre-production as soon as the deal was done.

Pitt has been keenly sought to play the role of the story's hero Ned Land, with industry sources claiming that, if secured, he and his family - wife Jolie and their six children - would relocate to Australia for the shoot.

The film would be the largest production in Australian history and is expected to exceed the 2000 local jobs created during the recent filming of The Wolverine, which generated $80 million in local investment and contracted 850 local companies. Mr Crean has confirmed federal government approval and support for the film.

The Queensland and NSW governments are expected to offer similar incentives to support commencement of the project.

Sources have said much of the fi! lming would be shot on location on the Gold Coast but Disney producers have also scouted locations in NSW and Victoria.

It is understood the Gillard government has offered a one-off incentive to the producers to secure the film for Australia. A $12 million incentive payment was made to the makers of Wolverine to ensure it was made here.

The high Australian dollar has made it harder to lure foreign films to Australia without government sweeteners because the 16 per cent tax offset for foreign films offered by the state government is seen as internationally uncompetitive.

Director David Fincher, of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo fame, who has worked with Pitt before - in the cult film Fight Club - is reported to have offered the role of the iconic harpooner Ned Land to Pitt late last year.