Read this article today. Very interesting.
I like that the head of the Australian film commission can’t see any difference between Australia and New Zealand’s film industry except for one teeny, tiny, widdle difference, ……massive (his word) government support in New Zealand for LOTR.
Just a little difference.
But as long as they can crow about all the Aussie actors getting the supporting roles, they’ll continue to be happy.
Cheers
Dave.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/business-of-film-the-nz-way/2005/12/07/1133829652539.htmlDecember 8, 2005
New Zealand filmmaking's savvy business model has given it global significance, writes Garry Maddox.
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Across the Tasman, it seems a filmmaking miracle is taking place. After The Lord of the Rings brought New Zealand to the world's attention, two of Hollywood's biggest Christmas 2005 movies have been shot there by New Zealand directors: Peter Jackson's King Kong and Andrew Adamson's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
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There is also vitality at other levels of the film industry, with a home-grown hit in The World's Fastest Indian, an upbeat tale about eccentric motorcycle rider Burt Munro.
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And there are big Hollywood projects for directors Martin Campbell, who is following the two Zorro movies with the next James Bond, and Niki Caro, who has gone from Whale Rider to the Charlize Theron drama North Country.
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All this activity from a country of 4.1 million people that only produces about five of its own features a year. So why the boom in Hollywood movies for its own directors? And what can Australia's film industry learn?
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In Auckland, Adamson is quick to highlight all the Australians who worked on Narnia including cinematographer Don McAlpine and production designer Roger Ford. He believes Lord of the Rings has also created opportunities for other Kiwi filmmakers.
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"A lot of the reason the industry is thriving here can be attributed to Peter's desire to make those films here," he says. "The industry becomes self-propagating. At some point with a lot of films, people gain film experience and then go off and do their own thing. Then they'll hire more people."
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Believing Australia is doing a lot right itself, Adamson considered shooting Narnia in Melbourne before being swayed by the locations in New Zealand and the Czech Republic. There were also family attractions for coming back from Los Angeles after two Shrek movies.
The chief executive of the New Zealand Film Commission, Ruth Harley, says the country's vibrancy largely comes down to "the big gorilla".
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"The fact that Peter Jackson stayed here and made his businesses here made all the difference in the world to the New Zealand film industry. It put it on the map in the way that nothing else could possibly have done, made infrastructure that nobody ever dreamed of having and created a demand for a level of skill which has permeated the whole industry."
Jackson's businesses include a studio, post-production facility and a stake in the Weta effects operations.
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Harley says Lord of the Rings has inspired more international interest in New Zealand's locations, especially by such expatriates as director Roger Donaldson, who made The World's Fastest Indian, and "new patriots" such as American producer Barrie Osborne, who is finalising another big Hollywood movie for Auckland.
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"The scale of work that Peter has done here and maintained with Kong has meant that people like Andrew Adamson know it's possible," she says. "The studio could see that 'Yeah, those guys can do that'."
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One of the backers of Narnia, Walden Media, was also impressed enough to shoot a smaller family movie, Bridge to Terabithia, in Auckland.
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"Nobody is going to fund a film just because it comes from New Zealand," says Harley. "But they're going to take the call from the filmmaker."
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Australia has its own directors who have attracted international finance, with George Miller making the animated penguin movie Happy Feet, Wolf Creek's Greg McLean shooting the killer croc film Rogue, with backing from the Weinstein brothers, and Baz Luhrmann planning an Australian epic starring Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman.
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But most of the big Hollywood-backed movies have been directed by Americans: Bryan Singer (Superman Returns), George Lucas (two Star Wars episodes) and the Wachowski brothers (the Matrix trilogy).
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The chief executive of the Australian Film Commission, Kim Dalton, believes what's taking place is the melding of talents from the two countries. It's a case backed by Jackson using cinematographer Andrew Lesnie and numerous actors on his movies as well as such cross-Tasman talents as Crowe and Jane Campion. "In a way, the spotlight on films across the Tasman assists Australia's profile," he says. "It highlights the creative and technical talent and infrastructure in the antipodes.
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"Our industries are so interconnected in many ways that there's no doubt there are benefits from having Australians working on Peter Jackson's movies."
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Dalton cannot see any policies or incentives that New Zealand has over Australia - other than the massive government support for Lord of the Rings - and cites Miller, McLean, Luhrmann and Phil Noyce as directors looking to make larger-scale movies here with international finance.
The chief executive of the Pacific Film and Television Commission, Robin James, believes one of New Zealand's successes is the number of directors who are also very business-savvy producers. In this country, only Miller fits into the same category. James thinks Australian filmmakers could aim more globally with their projects and, like Jackson, build businesses around infrastructure.
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"There are individuals in New Zealand who have developed a business model which is clearly very successful," James says.
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"If you're engaged in development, production, post-production and distribution, you're getting benefits ultimately from all levels of the value chain."
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Jackson's businesses include a studio, post-production facility and a stake in the Weta effects operations.
.
Harley says Lord of the Rings has inspired more international interest in New Zealand's locations, especially by such expatriates as director Roger Donaldson, who made The World's Fastest Indian, and "new patriots" such as American producer Barrie Osborne, who is finalising another big Hollywood movie for Auckland.
.
"The scale of work that Peter has done here and maintained with Kong has meant that people like Andrew Adamson know it's possible," she says. "The studio could see that 'Yeah, those guys can do that'."
.
One of the backers of Narnia, Walden Media, was also impressed enough to shoot a smaller family movie, Bridge to Terabithia, in Auckland.
.
"Nobody is going to fund a film just because it comes from New Zealand," says Harley. "But they're going to take the call from the filmmaker."
.
Australia has its own directors who have attracted international finance, with George Miller making the animated penguin movie Happy Feet, Wolf Creek's Greg McLean shooting the killer croc film Rogue, with backing from the Weinstein brothers, and Baz Luhrmann planning an Australian epic starring Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman.
.
But most of the big Hollywood-backed movies have been directed by Americans: Bryan Singer (Superman Returns), George Lucas (two Star Wars episodes) and the Wachowski brothers (the Matrix trilogy).
.
The chief executive of the Australian Film Commission, Kim Dalton, believes what's taking place is the melding of talents from the two countries. It's a case backed by Jackson using cinematographer Andrew Lesnie and numerous actors on his movies as well as such cross-Tasman talents as Crowe and Jane Campion. "In a way, the spotlight on films across the Tasman assists Australia's profile," he says. "It highlights the creative and technical talent and infrastructure in the antipodes.
.
"Our industries are so interconnected in many ways that there's no doubt there are benefits from having Australians working on Peter Jackson's movies."
.
Dalton cannot see any policies or incentives that New Zealand has over Australia - other than the massive government support for Lord of the Rings - and cites Miller, McLean, Luhrmann and Phil Noyce as directors looking to make larger-scale movies here with international finance.
The chief executive of the Pacific Film and Television Commission, Robin James, believes one of New Zealand's successes is the number of directors who are also very business-savvy producers. In this country, only Miller fits into the same category. James thinks Australian filmmakers could aim more globally with their projects and, like Jackson, build businesses around infrastructure.
.
"There are individuals in New Zealand who have developed a business model which is clearly very successful," James says.
.
"If you're engaged in development, production, post-production and distribution, you're getting benefits ultimately from all levels of the value chain."
