George Clooney and Julia Roberts rom-com doubles Queensland for Bali

Filming is underway on Universal Pictures’ Ticket To Paradise in Queensland, which is being used as a stand-in for Bali.

OI Parker (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) is directing and co-writing the project, which stars George Clooney and Julia Roberas a divorced couple who head to Bali to stop their lovestruck daughter from making the same mistake they did.

Filming will take place in the popular state of Queensland, including at the Whitsundays, the Gold Coast and in Brisbane.

Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title will produce, alongside Sarah Harvey and Deborah Balderstone. Clooney and Grant Heslov will also produce for their label Smokehouse Pictures, with Red Om Films’ Roberts, Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill.

“We are making a movie about paradise, and Queensland certainly offers up many stunning locations. We are looking forward to working with fantastic Queensland crews, and to enjoying some famous Queensland hospitality," said Bevan.

Ticket to Paradise has secured a A$6.4m ($4.92m) grant from the federal government’s A$540m ($415m) Location Incentive Program and will access funding from Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy package.

In return, “it is estimated the film will pump $32.7m into the Queensland economy and create more than 1,000 jobs for local cast, crew and extras,” according to Annastacia Palaszczuk, premier and minister for trade. “This is huge news for Queensland and further evidence of our global reputation as the place to be for TV and film production.”

Screen Queensland recently pledged $6.8m into constructing a new studio in Cairns, Queensland next year. This year the state has seen the arrival of Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives, Escape from Spiderhead, Universal Studios Group’s Joe Exotic, Amazon Prime The Wilds season two and True Spirit. Matchbox Pictures’ drama series Irreverant for Universal Studios Group is also underway at Mission Beach, south of Cairns. The country has also housed the production of Russell Crowe thriller Poker Face in Sydney.