LITHGOW has hit the small screen with family movie My Pet Dinosaur released on Netflix on Sunday.
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The movie was initially released in April 2017 and the trailer has had more than six million views, but with it now available on a streaming service, which has 11.2 million Australian subscribers, Lithgow has definitely been put on the map.
Blue Mountains-based director Matt Drummond said Lithgow was the perfect place to set his adventurous film about a boy and his friendship with a dinosaur, despite it being set in current-day North America.
"I chose Lithgow because going down the main street is like being in a town in America's Midwest," he said.
"I love Lithgow, it's very cinematic. When I got to Lithgow it's like stepping into a movie."
Mr Drummond said Lithgow had always reminded him of the towns in the movies of his childhood.
"It's like being on the set of ET. I wanted to capture the childhood wonder of those earlier Spielberg films," he said.
"Lithgow gave us a diversity of industrial sites we wouldn't otherwise have access to.
"We are putting Lithgow on the map."
A glimpse of the film's trailer is like a tour through Lithgow's industrial past - the State Mine Museum, Lithgow Small Arms Factory and the Blast Furnace feature, while Main Street, Mount Vic Flicks and Harltey are also noticeable.
Scenery from Rydal, Portland and Lithgow's residential streets is also abundant with the main character living in Ordnance Avenue.
The classroom scene was filmed in La Salle Academy's science block in lab three, the quad also makes an appearance with plenty of computer generated imagery and if you watch closely some of the school's past students feature in the film.
The people of Lithgow were just so great. They weren't jaded by the street closures and they seemed to be quite interested in what was happening.
- Blue Mountains-based director Matt Drummond
Mr Drummond said the people of Lithgow were certainly fascinated during the filming process.
"The people of Lithgow were just so great. They weren't jaded by the street closures and they seemed to be quite interested in what was happening," he said.
Mr Drummond said the film has enjoyed popularity with Australian, New Zealand and US distributors.
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