Hollywood director Ron Howard and his wife finish mandatory hotel quarantine in Australia

Hollywood director Ron Howard and his wife finish mandatory hotel quarantine as the Academy Award winner prepares to film big-budget movie on Australia’s Gold Coast

Ron Howard is ready to begin filming his next big-budget movie on Australia’s Gold Coast.

The acclaimed director, 66, completed 14 days of hotel quarantine with his wife Cheryl, last week according to a Screen Queensland spokeswoman, the Courier Mail reported on Saturday. 

He will soon begin filming Thirteen Lives, written by William Nicholson of Gladiator fame, based on the 2018 Thai cave rescue.

Action! Hollywood director Ron Howard (pictured) and his wife completed mandatory 14 day hotel quarantine last week as the Academy Award winner prepares to film big-budget movie, Thirteen Lives, on Australia’s Gold Coast

To celebrate their final day in isolation, Ron shared an Instagram post showing off the couple’s quirky socks, which featured their faces. 

‘We are about to end our 14 day quarantine in #Australia and Cheryl thought we should wear our holiday socks as we hit the streets at long last. What the heck. I’m game,’ he wrote in the caption. 

Production of Thirteen Lives is set to begin in March, with the Gold Coast hinterland doubling for Thailand. 

Finally out of quarantine! Last week, Ron shared an Instagram post to celebrate his final day in isolation with his wife (right)

Finally out of quarantine! Last week, Ron shared an Instagram post to celebrate his final day in isolation with his wife (right) 

Ready to hit the streets: The picture was of the couple's wife's quirky socks with their faces printed on them. He wrote in the caption, 'We are about to end our 14 day quarantine in #Australia and Cheryl thought we should wear our holiday socks as we hit the streets'

Ready to hit the streets: The picture was of the couple’s wife’s quirky socks with their faces printed on them. He wrote in the caption, ‘We are about to end our 14 day quarantine in #Australia and Cheryl thought we should wear our holiday socks as we hit the streets’

The film will tell the story of the dramatic 2018 rescue of 12 young boys and their soccer coach after they ventured deep into a cave which later became flooded. 

Production is also expected to inject more than $96million into the local economy, and create jobs for 435 cast and crew members, as well as an additional 3,400 background actors.

The Federal Government splashed $13 million to lure the project to Queensland while the Palaszczuk Government sweetened the deal with support from its production attraction program, as well as offering locations that could double for the Thai cave system. 

Ron said in a report by the Gold Coast Bulletin, last year, that he is thrilled to bring the production to Down Under and ‘to work with many talented and skilled Australian artists over the coming months.’ 

Exciting times ahead: Ron said that he is thrilled to bring the production to Down Under and 'to work with many talented and skilled Australian artists over the coming months'

Exciting times ahead: Ron said that he is thrilled to bring the production to Down Under and ‘to work with many talented and skilled Australian artists over the coming months’

Dramatic story: The film will tell the story of the dramatic 2018 rescue of 12 young boys and their soccer coach after they ventured deep into a cave which later became flooded

Dramatic story: The film will tell the story of the dramatic 2018 rescue of 12 young boys and their soccer coach after they ventured deep into a cave which later became flooded

‘Over the years, I’ve both enjoyed and creatively benefited from collaborations with Australian artists and technicians in front of and behind the camera, from Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Chris Hemsworth to John Seale, Donald McAlpine and Andrew Rowlands and many others,’ he said.

‘From Thirteen Lives to the animated projected I am directing with Animal Logic in Australia, I am excited about the opportunity to film and work in Australia and dramatically expand on that list of collaborators whose sensibilities and work ethic I have long admired and respected.’

It’s another win for the local film industry, after it was announced that the upcoming Chris Hemsworth thriller, Escape from Spiderhead, would also be filmed on the Gold Coast, with a slew of other projects currently in production around the country. 

Difficult mission: It took two weeks to rescue them, with more than 1,000 divers, soldiers and volunteers helping out

Difficult mission: It took two weeks to rescue them, with more than 1,000 divers, soldiers and volunteers helping out