22 June 2006

© 2005 River Queen productions Ltd & RQ Film Production (UK) Ltd. All Rights Reserved

The New Zealand film industry continues to expand with a slate of large scale offshore productions currently filming in the country at the same time as the local industry maintains its own solid production schedule.

New Zealand’s capacity to host large productions came to the attention of the world with the epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy and productions like The Last Samurai.

That new wave of massive films with a high international profile culminated in 2005 with the release of King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

King Kong was entirely produced in New Zealand, while Part I of The Chronicles of Narnia was largely shot in this country at around the same period.

In the aftermath of such high-value and newsworthy productions some in the local industry had worried that it would be hard to fill the space they had occupied.

But, according to Investment New Zealand’s Paul Voigt, the level of production continues to be high over the whole budget spectrum, at the same time as the country’s production capacity is increasing to meet the demand for New Zealand locations and crew.

“What’s significant is that New Zealand remains very busy even at a time of the year when production is traditionally expected to be quieter,” Paul Voigt says.

One of the largest films currently shooting is 10,000 BC, a Roland Emmerich-directed Warner Bros production.

The film, which is to be released in 2007, has a six-week shooting period in the Cardrona Valley – a location in the Queenstown Lakes District of New Zealand’s South Island. As well as New Zealand, 10,000 BC also has locations in southern Africa.

Family oriented films have been a feature of recent production. The Bridge to Terebithia, a fantasy in which two children explore a magical other world, has recently completed shooting in Auckland. This is another Walden Media/Walt Disney Pictures production.

Still in production is the Revolution Studios/ Beacon Pictures/ Walden Media-backed The Water Horse, which has been shooting in locations around the Queenstown area and will also spend several months on sound stages at Wellington’s Stone Street Studios. The Water Horse will be released in North America at the end of 2007, positioned as a key family-oriented Christmas movie.

Another offshore film about to begin production is the horror film, 30 Days of Night, which will shoot in Auckland and Central Otago in the South Island, starting mid-year. This is being made by Ghost House Pictures (The Grudge, Boogeyman) and is being distributed by Sony Pictures.

Paul Voigt says the level of production and the wide range of locations are pointers to New Zealand’s capacity to provide crews and technical support for multiple productions.

“With films shooting in the South Island and around Auckland and Wellington it’s possible to see the diversity that’s available in the New Zealand industry,” Paul Voigt says.

At the same time as international production is booming, New Zealand film shoots are also building on the industry’s recent successes.

Recently shooting in the Auckland area was The Ferryman, a horror film starring John Rhys Davies and Kerry Fox, and directed by Chris Graham, whose Sione’s Wedding is still a top performer at the New Zealand box office.

New Zealand films currently in post-production include Black Sheep, a black comedy shot around Wellington that realises New Zealanders’ worst nightmare – the possibility of its overwhelming population of 40-million sheep running amok; and Eagle vs Shark, the quirky first feature from Oscar-nominated short film director Taika Waititi.

“Local feature production is building on a highly successful period, with New Zealand films staging a major resurgence at the country’s box office,” Paul Voigt says.

At the end of 2005, New Zealand saw the release of The World’s Fastest Indian, which stars Anthony Hopkins and has become the country’s top box office earner. Since then there has been River Queen, the epic tale of love and war in colonial New Zealand from director Vincent Ward. Also hot at the box office has been No 2, the story of a Fijian family in Auckland, which won the Sundance Festival audience award in January. That was followed into cinemas by the hugely popular rollicking comedy Sione’s Wedding, which is still performing strongly.

“It’s a great cap to a wave that took particular strength from Whale Rider and we believe will continue to grow alongside New Zealand’s strong overseas production,” Paul Voigt says.

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