Onfilm July 2013

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C ONTENTS

INSIDE 14

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02 EDITORIAL

The new ONFILM editor wonders where all the opinionated filmmakers have gone.

Gina Dellabarca says it’s alright to be a part-timer.

04 ON WITH THE SHOW

05 DIGITAL

Nicci Lock shows how film industry innovation benefits the whole economy.

06 ACROSS THE DITCH

The latest gossip from the other side of the Tasman with undercover James Bondi.

07 COVERAGE

Anna Chisholm remembered by Leanne Pooley.

08 SECOND UNIT

New products, gizmos, promos and services.

10 FROM THE ARCHIVES

ONFILM remembers Utu, and Graeme Cowley tells us about the reborn Utu Redux.

14 NZIFF PREVIEW

Tim van Dammen’s caravan park rock opera, Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song, gets a World Premiere and talks to ONFILM.

16 ROUNDTABLE

ONFILM gets four people who do the same jobs, around a table to chew the fat and sum up the state of the nation.

23 LAW

David McLaughlin and Emily Jackson explain the pitfalls around obtaining rights to screen projects.

24 COVER FEATURE

John Barnett reflects on 40 years in the New Zealand screen industry, and tells ONFILM where he is going next.

28 FACILITIES FEATURE

Avalon Studios look forward to an exciting new chapter of private ownership.

30 LOCATIONS FEATURE

White Lies Production Manager, Catherine Madigan, talks to ONFILM about the challenges of shooting in the isolated Te Urewera—and in a second language for most of the crew.

32 REVIEW

South Pacific Pictures’ White Lies, Desert Road’s gritty TV3 cop drama, Harry, and the Blackmagic Intensity card.

36 FROM THE SET

What you have been up to recently—behind-the-scenes pictures from your locations.

40 SIMON MORRIS

IS INCORRIGIBLE

The “At the Movies” reviewer tells Kiwi publicists where they are going wrong.

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10 1

E DITORIAL

VOLUME 20, NUMBER 1

WELCOME BACK Welcome to the first issue of the new ONFILM magazine, an organ with an illustrious and tempestuous history of almost 30 years spent recording the comings and goings of an illustrious and tempestuous industry.

It’s very late in the day here, and the editorial always seems to be the last piece of the puzzle.

Who knew that editing a magazine would be so hard? I mean, not as hard as making a movie, crikey, we all know that’s the hardest thing there is, but still.

We’ve tried to look a little bit forward as well as a little bit back with the new-look magazine: John Barnett reflects on 40 years in the screen business as he leaves his full-time role with SPP; original ONFILM investor Graeme Cowley tells us how Geoff Murphy’s Kiwi classic Utu has been re-born as Utu Redux and Avalon, a 37-year-old studio institution, starts a new chapter under new/old management as it looks ahead to a bright independent future.

Dana Rotberg’s White Lies arrives in cinemas just after we arrive in your letterboxes and we tell the story of a challenging production in isolated Te Urewera, as well as point new reviewer Hugh Lilly at the finished product. The New Zealand International Film Festival returns to screens across the country in July, featuring the usual wide range of local and international arthouse material—we feature the caravan park rock opera Romeo and Juliet: A Love Story in this issue.

The new ONFILM considers the screen production industry to be a much broader church than we used to and future issues will be looking at the world of digital and online content as well as the flourishing games production sector. To that end, I’m pleased that we have a column from Nicci Lock about New Zealand’s digital future.

Looking back through the very early editions of ONFILM—lovingly bound and preserved by generations of the magazine’s previous owners—I was struck by the volume and velocity of opinion in the magazine and couldn’t help but contrast it with today. In those 1983 and ’84 issues, you can find rambunctious editorialising from the likes of Geoff Murphy, Peter Wells, Larry Parr and Barry Barclay (not to mention Brian Kassler’s recipes). There didn’t seem to be any dirty linen that wasn’t worth airing in public and the magazine—and the industry—was healthier for it.

Last month, almost everyone I approached about writing an opinion piece or column— no matter how vociferous their off-the-record views—replied with some combination of not wanting to rock any boats, burn any bridges, tread on any toes. Luckily, veteran Simon Morris put his hand up but only, as he put it, “because I don’t have any scripts in the bottom drawer.”

I’m assured by the Film Commission that they have absolutely no willingness or desire to “punish” potential clients who express an opinion or two in ONFILM—they appreciate that robust exchanges of opinion are to be encouraged. Who wants to test them out? Contact me at editor@onfilm.co.nz and we’ll help you get a few things off your chest.

Dan Slevin is a Wellington writer, broadcaster and consultant. He was cinema reviewer for the Capital Times from September 2006 until April 2013, seeing and reviewing every film commercially released in Wellington in that time (except, for some reason, Flicka or Beverly Hills Chihuahua) and all these reviews are archived at funeralsandsnakes.net.

Dan is a regular contributor to Radio New Zealand National’s Nine to Noon programme and produces and co-hosts the weekly movie podcast, Cinematica. He has just retired after spending ten years managing the Wellington leg of the Rialto Channel 48 HOURS competition. In addition to being the finest swordsman in all France, he is also the meanest hombre west of the Pecos. He tweets as @danslevin.

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PUBLISHER Mediaweb Limited Printing PMP Print Distribution PMP Mailhouse EDITOR Dan Slevin editor@onfilm.co.nz 64-4-889 2835, 021 442 989 ADVERTISING Lisa Morris admanager@onfilm.co.nz 64-9-529 3000, 021 651 601 DESIGNER Chris Grimstone chrisg@mediaweb.co.nz PRODUCTION MANAGER Fran Marshall franm@mediaweb.co.nz SUBSCRIPTIONS ONFILM is published 6 times a year by Mediaweb Limited, PO Box 5544, Wellesley Street, Auckland, 1141.

Phone 09-529 3000, Fax 09-529 3001 subs@mediaweb.co.nz www.onfilm.co.nz

CREDITS Cover photographer: Jae Frew (www.jaefrew.com) Antonia wears Ingrid Starnes grey Peter Pan collar dress COPYRIGHT The contents of ONFILM are copyright and may not be reproduced without written permission. © 2013: Mediaweb Limited.

While ONFILM welcomes unsolicited contributions addressed to the editor, no responsibility can be accepted for their return unless accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope.

All letters addressed to ONFILM will be assumed to be intended for publication unless clearly marked “not for publication”.

ISSN 0112-2789 (PRINT), 1176-8436 (ONLINE)

ON W ITH THE S HO W

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Festival director Gina Dellabarca on why it’s OK to be a part-timer.

A couple of years ago I was at an industry guild function and I got chatting to Tony Forster. Now this is a guy with shitloads of experience as a writer, director and 1st AD. I have huge respect for him, so I was shocked when after a few minutes, Tony looked around furtively and confessed that he felt a little uncomfortable being there because he wasn’t working full-time in the industry at present. He was teaching in between gigs and that ‘in between’ had been a while now.

I did my best to reassure Tony that there is no shame in that. The incident got me thinking though. How many of us in the screen industry are ‘hobbyists’ who have a day job in another field?

It’s hard to find statistics on screen industry members who also have a day job because employment in our industry is so hard to measure. Many of us are independent contractors hired for each job, some of us work part time and most of us do occasional work for favours or beer.

A Statistics New Zealand survey suggests that the number of contractors and amount of contract work available in the screen industry increased dramatically from 2005 to 2011. The total number of workers of all types stayed fairly static though, at around 16,000 people. So more of us are being hired as independent contractors rather than full-time paid staff members. Employers are increasingly choosing this option.

It’s a trend that has a number of outcomes for us including less job security, more flexibility, less support, more control and less connectivity.

I’m not arguing for or against contract work here, just pointing out a trend. I’m also outing myself as a ‘hobbyist’. Sure, I’ve worked in the screen industry for over a decade, and currently run the Show Me Shorts Film Festival. For the last three years though, I have worked full time in marketing roles in the wider entertainment industry, just not film, TV or advertising. That’s me in the picture with the elephant. My last role was at Auckland Zoo. Through my work outside the screen industry I’ve been able to earn more, learn new skills and meet peo-

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ple that have been useful in my film life too.

When I mention this to colleagues they are often shocked to hear about my day job, but equally often I am rewarded with stories of their own secret other lives.

Many of us are subsidising the industry by working outside it like me, and then investing our remaining time for free, and turning some of our hard earned cash into passion projects. I know that in the short film part of the industry this is rife: Richard Mans has worked in advertising, carefully saving his salary. He then took four years off to make the successful animated short film Abiogenesis, living in his parents’ basement. Michelle Savill has created an oeuvre of successful short films, but is she making any money out of it? Her advice to aspiring first-time filmmakers, at a seminar last year, was to work for a year and save as much as you can, then use that to make your film.

Actors are used to waiting tables in be-

tween acting gigs. An ensemble of wellknown actors staff the Auckland restaurant Tony’s on Wellesley Street. The hospo staff at Q Theatre are mostly actors and dancers. What about the rest of us? Is it OK to work outside the industry? Will they think any less of us? Maybe. But they’ll also understand in a way that no one else will.

That’s what’s so great about identifying yourself as a member of the screen industry and taking part in events and discussions. Whether you’re part-time, full-time, a contractor or volunteer, we’re all part of a connected community with a collective passion for filmed entertainment. I suggest we acknowledge this elephant in the room and dispel the stigma. O Gina Dellabarca has worked in the New Zealand film industry since 2000 and is currently director of the Show Me Shorts Film Festival.

DIG ITA L

A TEXTBOOK STORY OF INNOVATION...

Nicci Lock describes how screen skills fuel innovation in other industries, driving growth for the whole economy.

The following companies, their export income and investment attraction, all have a connection to what was essentially one film project and three years of hard slog.

Massive Software, sold in 2006 for between US$200-400 million; Virtual Katy, the industry standard software for ‘sound to picture conform’, is used on shows such as South Park and Doctor Who; KayneMaille, manufacturers of seamless mesh using a patented moulding process, with its genesis in the chainmaille created for Lord of the Rings; there is the Jig Lab, a boutique research and development company, owned by an Academy Award winning VFX artist Sebastian Marino, who until recently could be found working with Weta Digital on Avatar and Planet of the Apes; Matakina Technology, developers of the world-leading volumetric breast density assessment software, Volpara, was developed with a team of people including visual imaging technicians from the New Zealand screen sector.

Technicians in our sector—experts in their field—realised that their contributions to Lord of the Rings had legs. The inventions they had designed as a matter of necessity were by proxy validated and had demand.

This realised many people’s dreams: a market and a business of their own, selling their IP and expertise internationally. As well as a

breathtaking filming location with gorgeous mountains and friendly Kiwis, NZ is recognised as a burgeoning powerhouse of technology and can do smarts that spawns real and global businesses.

The diversification from our industry into other fields such as clean tech and biotechnology is something to celebrate and admire.

It also represents a sound long term investment on behalf of our government.

Back in 1999, a New Zealand director and his dedicated team attempted what no one else had ever done: the shooting of three epic films simultaneously, in a mostly locationsbased shoot, with a budget of around US$370 million. As well as this, the project was created entirely in New Zealand—from start to finish. This was, and still is, a remarkable feat.

This world first and unique scenario called for some spectacular logistics. The production company became apparel manufacturers, an armoury, a freight logistics company, a catering company, a construction company, an HR company, among many other things.

This required lots of people in one place at one time and many people in many places at many times. As a result, a climate and environment for problem solving was created—a constant state of highly productive anxiety, brought about by the fact that failure was

never an option. This attitude permeates the Kiwi way. We will succeed at all costs and, by hokey, we’ll invent some good stuff on the way. We will innovate. We became masters of our craft.

The three Lord of the Rings films shot to critical acclaim and broke box office records only recently surpassed by the release of The Hobbit. New Zealanders have gone on to win a sum total of 16 Academy Awards for their work, in their creative and technological fields.

Diversity they say occurs at the edge of the forest, on the fringes, and in a gradual fashion and is usually accelerated by an event— the Big Bang, more rainfall, etc. New Zealand is at the edge of the world, at the edge of the metaphorical forest. All we need is a Big Bang sometimes or preferably, a small bang and often in the form of ongoing investment in content, talent and businesses.

As Sir Richard Taylor says, it’s about building a world, where the feature film is a 90-minute part of something far bigger. O Nicci Lock is the manager of Film Wellington, the regional film office, which works to grow screen production in the region through its attraction, sector development and ‘open for business’ strategy.

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A CROS S THE DITC H

CULTURE CLASH

by JAMES BONDI

Our expat spy offers an idiosyncratic take on Aussie screen gossip.

That well-known Kiwi viticulturist Sam Neill is back in Sydney Town working with good mate Bryan Brown on the TV series Old School. It’s an eight-part series for ABC from Matchbox Pictures, and tells the story of Ted McCabe (Neill), a retired cop, and Lennie Cahill (Brown), a retired crim, who get together to solve crimes, unravel scams and make some much-needed cash. Kiwi actress Sarah Peirse also stars as Ted’s feisty and sports-mad wife.

Neill amused a gathering at a Sydney function with news that an ancestor was named “flogger” and that he took “great comfort that my forbears flogged sense into the Brown family … though there’s little evidence of it today!”

All in jest and good spirit, but it made me reflect on more serious events: I wonder if Sam’s ancestors knew the Rev. Samuel Marsden? Despised here as the “flogging priest,” an owner of massive tracts of land and a cruel, unscrupulous exploiter of convict labour in Australia, the Rev. had a much better rap in NZ from what I remember of my school history lessons. Aussies who can trace their descent from convicts transported to do their time in Oz are proud of the connection, and have little respect for that particular man of the cloth.

We were reminded of the legacy of those early days by recent racist comments against star Aboriginal Aussie Rules player Adam Goodes, of the Sydney Swans. During a match against Collingwood, Goodes stopped play and pointed out a young woman in the crowd who had called him an ape. She was escorted from the ground by MCG security staff. And this was during the AFL’s Indigenous Round, which celebrates the achievements of the many indigenous Aboriginal players in the game!

Now, think about this: many early settlers regarded the Aborigines as a race somewhere on the scale of evolution between apes and humans and had no compunction in trying to eliminate them by such unsubtle means as forcibly herding them over cliffs, or lacing gifts of flour with poison. So calling an Aboriginal person an ape is deeply, deeply insulting and hurtful.

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No wonder Goodesy took offence—and when the girl later apologised after the implications of her comment had been pointed out—he graciously accepted her apology.

The end of the matter? Well, no. Just days later Eddie McGuire suggested on his radio programme that Adam Goodes could be used to help promote the musical King Kong, currently playing in Melbourne. Eddie isn’t just yer average gauche radio jock, he’s the presenter of the TV quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and the ex-head of Channel 9.

Oh yes, and the President of the Collingwood Football Club. In the furore that followed Eddie “I’m not racist” McGuire claimed he was “zoned out”, tired and not thinking … oh dear.

While on the subject of indigenous Australians—the Sydney Film Festival opened on Wednesday June 5 with Ivan Sen’s new movie Mystery Road, produced by Kiwi David Jowsey.

part too. Showing himself to be as astute at directing action scenes as he is at making incisive social commentary, the multi-talented Sen’s Mystery Road is all the more remarkable given that he directed, wrote, shot, edited and scored the film.

Next stop for Mystery Road is the Toronto Film Festival in September. The cast includes Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten, Jack Thompson, Tasma Walton, Damien Walsh-Howling, Roy Billing, Tony Barry, Bruce Spence and Samara Weaving.

The film was warmly received by a toughto-please audience of industry folk and film buffs and, with a great buzz of contentment, we all headed for the buses for the aftermatch function. (Never mind that the opening clashed with the first rugby league State of Origin match. The organisers of these events must assume that artie-farties don’t watch sport, but from what I was hearing there were plenty of recorders set on sports TV at home.)

Aaron Pederson in Ivan Sen’s Mystery Road (produced by David Jowsey).

Ivan Sen uses the conventions of the Western and the police procedural in a subtle examination of the social and political context of a small town in the Australian Outback.

Indigenous detective Jay Swan (a very impressive performance from Aaron Pedersen) returns to his remote hometown, where his first case is the murder of a teenage girl.

Sen has made a suspenseful and intelligent mystery aided by terrific performances. The Outback, in all its widescreen glory, plays its

Then we rocked up to a film industry “do” where the organisers got it right for once.

Sure, there was the ubiquitous loud disco music but enough room to escape that and find somewhere to have conversations—Ok, to gossip, pitch, bitch and schmooze—and the dance floor was virtually empty.

I left early to go home and watch the footy where, hallelujah, New South Wales finally won an Origin match. A strange “clash of the cultures” night in Sydney Town. O

C O VERA G E

ANNA MARY CAHILL 1960-2013

Anna Cahill, Executive Director of the Screen Directors Guild passed away suddenly on June 8. Filmmaker and SDG board member, Leanne Pooley, remembers her colleague and friend.

By now most of the New Zealand film and television industry will be aware of the sad passing of Anna Cahill, Executive Director of the Screen Director’s Guild of New Zealand.

When I was asked to write a piece about Anna I struggled to know where to begin. To me Anna was a colleague, a confidante, a mentor and a wonderful friend. She was so many things to so many people, something that became evident this week as condolences poured into the SDG office from around the world. These tributes spoke of Anna’s incredible contribution to the New Zealand screen industry, her commitment to furthering the voice of filmmakers, and her determination to ensure the creative sector wasn’t overlooked in the corridors of power. Perhaps more significantly from Sydney to Dublin, Auckland to LA, every message spoke of Anna’s graciousness and genuine warmth. They all reflected on her unique ability for collegiality and her generous spirit.

Anna’s talent for breaking down barriers and bringing people together

ireless

was legendary. It’s possible her predisposition for collaboration came from her Southland childhood. The youngest of five, Anna grew up with two sisters and two brothers in a loving Irish family in Winton just north of Invercargill. A vibrant and cheeky child, Anna was drawn to the arts early on and she studied Theatre and Law at the University of Otago before going on to act at Centrepoint Theatre, Theatre Corporate and Theatre New Zealand in London.

From her earliest years Anna worked as part of a community of artists, and this collective approach to creativity was intrinsic to Anna’s style and personality. Her ability to make people feel heard was a gift she shared with all of us.

In the 1990s Anna did everything from AD-ing on iconic productions like Peter Jackson’s Brain Dead to floor managing, writing and directing at TVNZ. Her breadth of experience and innate intelligence gave Anna a comprehensive understanding of the screen production business, an understanding that made her an unstoppable force when she began working at the Screen Director’s Guild in 2005.

Anna took the SDGNZ and increased everything from its membership to its influence. She worked tirelessly to build the Guild into an organisation that was at the heart of the New Zealand film and television industry.

She fought to protect the interests of directors with absolute conviction.

Her accomplishments are many and varied. They include the establishment of SINZ (her brainchild), the launching of the NZ Screen Awards (after the demise of AFTA), and improved relationships with overseas guilds, broadcasters, funding bodies and politicians. Anna did all of this with a quiet dignity that defied obstruction.

Wrangling directors (and more recently editors) into a coherent body with a clear vision required someone with enormous patience, pragmatism and courage. It also took a nurturing soul.

While encouraging a familial environment for creative endeavours Anna also nurtured a beautiful family of her own: Sinead and Connor, her two fabulous children and her supportive husband, Greg Fahey, generously shared her with all of us.

Whether I sought her help with a contract dispute or a parenting problem, a creative dilemma or a wardrobe crisis; Anna’s advice was always honest, eloquent and wise. She had a wicked sense of humour and just seemed to know when I needed a laugh. When I lost faith in myself she knew how to inspire me. She made me want to be a better filmmaker, a better mother, a better friend.

Anna was a wonderful ally and a truly beautiful person, she will be sorely missed.

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S E C O ND UNI T

COVERAGE

ULTRA

Dave Cameron (left) collects his ACS Golden Tripod from Australian screen legend Don McAlpine.

AUSSIE GOLDEN TRIPOD FOR CAMERON On the May 25, Kiwi cinematographer Dave Cameron picked up a coveted Golden Tripod for his work on the 2011 television drama Bliss, written and directed by Fiona Samuel. Cameron took home the top TV drama prize at the annual ACS Awards ceremony in Canberra, hosted by Ray Martin.

Cameron—known for his recent work on Go Girls, Agent Anna, Nothing Trivial and Amazing Extraordinary Friends—beat out Aussies like John Brawley (Puberty Blues) and Andrew Commis (The Slap) to take home the top prize.

Bliss is the story of the transformation of Wellington teenager Katie Beauchamp into Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand’s first literary star. It was produced by MF Films for TVNZ with the support of the NZ On Air Platinum Fund, and screened on TV One in August 2011. It is still available on TVNZ On Demand.

While some of us are only just getting used to hi-definition pictures at home, internationally the production industry is keeping a close eye on the next generation of resolution, 4K (also known as Ultra HD). Sony New Zealand recently announced that they will be selling the first consumer 4K panels and, despite the lack of immediately available content, you can be sure that you will be future proofing your studio, post facility or lounge room.

These new screens are LED backlit, wi-fi and app-enabled, and—of course— 3D capable with four pairs of included glasses. The X9004A series is available in two screen sizes, 55-inch and 60-inch and will retail from $7,999.95.

We’ve managed to wangle a special free trial and giveaway out of our friends at Quickflix, so here’s what you need to know: Quickflix is NZ’s first and only online subscription movie service. You can stream blockbuster movies & TV shows instantly and on demand and watch as much as you want for one low monthly fee. They also have a pay per view service for latest release movies—members and non-members alike can watch new release titles for just $6.99. Quickflix is available on a wide range of internet connected devices, including smart TVs, PS3 and Xbox consoles, iPads, Samsung Galaxy and Windows 8 devices and more.

They are also launching an interactive channel on Freeview later in the year.

Here’s the link to the free 1 month trial: www.quickflix.co.nz/onfilm, which also includes a new release credit. Everyone who signs up will go in the draw to win 4 x 3 month subscriptions and we’ll let you know by email if you’re a winner.

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CAMERA THAT THINKS IT’S A PHONE Samsung’s Galaxy camera is a strange and interesting beast—it’s an Android-equipped ‘professional’ quality camera for those people who want a camera that acts likes a phone rather than a phone that acts like a camera. Because it’s Android (4.1), you can connect directly to various social media services (in fact, it pretty much insists you do when you set it up) and download apps to tag and process images live in the camera.

The Galaxy has a 21x zoom lens and a 4.8-inch touch screen on the back—it could be a handy device for location scouts or submitting pictures to our “On the Set” feature (see page 36). It has an RRP of $749.00.

MT ZION Te Arepa Kahi’s crowd-pleasing musical drama Mt. Zion has just been released on DVD. When the film was released in cinemas on Waitangi Day earlier this year, it soon raced to over $1m at the local box office and was quickly rushed into cinemas in Australia.

Winner of the Flicks People’s Choice Award for Best Film at the recent NZMPIC awards, as well as the NZ Box Office Achievement Award, we have a copy of the DVD to give away (courtesy of Sony Pictures).

All you have to do to go into the draw is tweet us (@ONFILM_Mag), Facebook us (www.facebook.com/ NZOnfilm), or email us (editor@onfilm.co.nz) with the hashtag #mtzion somewhere in the message. We’ll make the draw on Friday July 26.

MEDICINE WOMAN To tie-in with the cinema release of Dana Rotberg’s new feature White Lies (see feature article on page 30 and Hugh Lilly’s review on page 32), Random House have published a special edition of the short Witi Ihimaera novella, Medicine Woman, that inspired the film, plus Rotberg’s script and stacks of gorgeous production photos. It’s a very handsome thing, indeed, and thanks to Random House we have one to give away.

Simply tweet us (@ONFILM_Mag), Facebook us (www.facebook.com/NZOnfilm), or email us (editor@onfilm.co.nz) with the hashtag #whitelies somewhere in the message and you’ll go in the draw (not the drawer, that wouldn’t be very effective, would it?). We’ll make the draw on Friday July 26.

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F R OM THE ARCHI V E S

UTU

UTU RETURNS In 1984, a drastically recut version of Utu—the “export” version— was released in the US and Europe and Geoff Murphy’s original edit was lost. You can read the 1984 ONFILM article about the New York adventure at onfilm.co.nz/utu but in the meantime, the film’s cinematographer, Graeme Cowley, tells us about bringing Murphy’s vision back to life in time for the New Zealand International Film Festival—Utu Redux.

★★★

A

bout three years ago I happened to see Utu on Maori television and I just couldn’t recognise it. There was virtually no colour, the format was nothing like what we had shot and I was just shocked, really.

At the time we made the film, it would have been transferred by basic telecine machines to video so it could have the second part of its life: television, VHS, etc. So, for over 30 years the only way that most people have been able to see the film is via that original, flawed video transfer. If you look closely enough, you can get over the jiggly original

transfer (which is how we’ve seen them all this time) and you realise there’s a freshness and an energy to those early films that really has a place today and we should keep them alive.

By coincidence, I happened to bump in to the director Geoff Murphy on the Wellington waterfront a week or so later and I said that I’d seen it and how disappointed I’d been. I said, do you want me to see if we can get it back together again, how it should be seen? He was doubtful whether it could be done because of the two different versions, the difficulties with the ownership and whatever, but I said that I would investigate.

At the time of its original release in 1983, it was the second biggest

Anzac Wallace as Te Wheke in Geoff Murphy’s Utu Redux (A frame grab from the restoration courtesy of NZIFF).

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Kelly Johnson as Lt. Scott in Utu Redux (frame grab from the restoration).

box office success in New Zealand history, second only to Geoff’s other film Goodbye Pork Pie. It was a massive success and it accessed an entirely different market. For the first time a Maori audience could see themselves on film and it arguably started the whole renaissance which we are seeing very much in the films that are being made today.

Internationally, the film gained probably the most prestigious review that a New Zealand film has ever had, by Pauline Kael—five pages in the New Yorker. The irony of that is that she was reviewing producer Don Blakeney’s “export” version and, in fact, the only little bit of criticism in there is about the confusing flashbacks element that she blames on Geoff—but that wasn’t Geoff!

We decided very early on that we would try and restore the first version—Geoff’s original film—but the first thing was was to find out who owned it. That had to be done before I could even get approval to touch the materials.

We’d known that the “export” version had been a lot more than a tune-up, but we didn’t know that the original negative had been disassembled and used for the recut. That meant that shots were cut in half and frames lost—some of those shots were crane shots, tracking shots—anything that was elegant and long (and there had been a few of those in there).

So, the job became a lot bigger and more complicated. Most of that material was in the Film Archive but it had been, in the disassembly, just rolled up into little reels and so had degenerated at an entirely different rate, which caused a problem to join together again. The original Symphony Orchestra stereo tracks took a lot of hunting. We found one copy of those original in a vault on The Terrace!

So, we had the original negative from the the recut version, we had some off-cuts from that (and we were still hunting for lost material of the original negative) and when we analysed the original material it was—according to the report from Park Road Post—“like it had been shot yesterday.” It was pristine, the best they had seen of any negative from that period.

Utu was the first use of Fuji film in New Zealand and it was a technical jump for the chemistry of films generally—high speed, fine grain.

So, the object was to work back to that original negative as much as we could and I think there’s over 90% of it in the film now. And now, we had an opportunity to go from that original negative—to get what we saw on the day and what we were working for.

Obviously, we had to go through it all and work out what was going to get us back to the original, so it was an offline editing process that we put together with Geoff, Mike Horton—the original editor—and Jonathan Woodford-Robinson as the digital editor, which is the way that Mike works.

Very quickly, it became an exercise, not just in recreating the original, but in going beyond that: Geoff seeing how he could improve the original. So it became a process of using Geoff and Mike’s 30 years additional experience since Utu, plus the new technology, that gave us an opportunity to do the original, but better—but all the time considering the spirit of the original film.

That was exciting. All of a sudden were making a new film, but within the constraints of the other one. It was also exciting to sit next to Geoff and Mike because they remembered in detail, every decision of virtually every shot, why they did what they did …

Park Road Post have been amazing. Some of the original negative we scanned at 4K so we could do little movements that we hadn’t had time to do—like a close up at the end of the scene—just little bits that complete what we started 30 years ago. All of that information from the offline edit then went to Park Road and from that they just did a fantastic job of piecing it all together. In fact, one of the people doing all that work told me that there were well over a million “interventions” in their terms, that’s individual touch-ups, spots on the neg, frame creation, etc.

One area that’s important for all restoration projects is the soundtrack. Because the biggest difference between older films and now is the completeness of the track-laying. With Utu, we had a lot of effects, gun shots, things going on, and we were very lucky to have two-time Academy Award-winner, Mike Hopkins, doing it. Mike, even though he dated back a bit, never had a chance to work on the original and was overjoyed that he could work on our soundtrack—admittedly with

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F R OM THE ARCHI V E S

UTU

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constraints compared with the work that he’d done on the Rings films.

Unfortunately, Mike wasn’t able to be there at the end but the film is dedicated to him, and also dedicated to David Carson-Parker who was the original angel investor and was a great ally during the restoration.

Funding is always a difficulty. There wasn’t enough money at the Archive for an exercise like this. Luckily, the remaining owners of the film revealed that they had money in an account that hadn’t been distributed and made some of that available for the offline. So, we went ahead, because I knew that if we did the offline edit— even if Geoff and Mike and no one else was around— there would be a code on how to finish, so it was vital to have that funding very early on.

The Film Commission was the obvious next stop but their mandate is new films, not old ones. There really was a gap between what the Archive does and what the Film Commission does and Utu was a perfect example of something that needed that gap filled, somehow, if we were to work out how to—not only preserve films— but keep them accessible to the public. I put the argument to them about why we needed to do it—and the film itself was very convincing as to why they needed to cover this exercise—and they came to the party.

The other thing that we have done with Utu, as a result of the ownership discussions, is realised the need to have a New Zealand Film Foundation, modelled along the lines of Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation and my proposal—and it’s now enshrined within the management/ownership document—is that Utu will be the first film in it. Hopefully, it clarifies the way forward for any other film that is an orphan as far as ownership is concerned—and there’s an awful lot of those. O Graeme Cowley was the cinematographer on Utu and his New Zealand screen credits are too numerous to list here. We recommend going to http://www.nzonscreen.com/person/graeme-cowley/biography.

A page from the special April/May 1984 Cannes Film Festival edition of ONFILM. Also featured were Among the Cinders, Constance, Heart of the Stag, Pallet on the Floor, The Silent One, Trial Run, War Years (a documentary) and Vigil. All in the same year.

13

N Z IFF PREVIEW

THE BARD STRIPPED BARE The most unusual Kiwi feature in years gets a World Premiere at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival.

Award-winning music video director Tim van Dammen has collaborated with former Screaming Mee Mees, Mike O’Neill and Peter van der Fluit, to produce a jawdropping, captivating and often hilarious musical re-imagining of Shakespeare’s great romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.

Like nothing else you will see this year, Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song deserves to be seen—and heard—on a big screen, with a big audience. Camp in more ways than one, van Dammen’s debut feature showcases his signature visual panache, and he spoke to ONFILM in mid-June, after the World Premiere screening at Auckland’s Civic had been announced.

This is an embarrassingly standard question for a film that is so unusual, but where on Earth did this idea come from?

Mike [O’Neill] and Pete [van der Fluit] had some extra creative energy to spend and began writing scenes from Romeo and Juliet into songs in their spare time. After seeing some of my music videos they approached me with a double CD of 38 songs in the hope that I could turn them into a movie. This is what I came up with …

Did you start with the music or the setting/scenario? Was it always going to be a New Zealand caravan park, for example?

It started with the music. Confronted with Shakespearean dialogue embedded in 80s style rap, gospel and rock ballads, I knew that the film had to be framed with a comic knowingness, so I thought about potential treatments and settings that would lend themselves to this. I also wanted to get as far away from men-in-tights as I could. Initially I thought a Romanian-gypsy setting would be the funniest, but when transposed to a NZ context, a trashy caravan park seemed the best fit.

At what point did the project morph from stage to screen and what were your priorities in making that transition successfully?

The film doesn’t bear any relation to the stage show that was put on at ArtsEd in

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JULY 2013

Derya Parlak and Christopher Landon as the star-crossed lovers in Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song (pic courtesy of NZIFF)

the UK. I really just started with a CD and engaged with the music directly. My priority was to ensure that the story, themes, characters and music were brought to life in a rich and coherent way, and that it didn’t feel like a series of music videos.

Because of the strangeness of the project I knew that I needed to start the film with a comic tone to ease people into the world— and then shift into a more immersive treatment of the love story once the audience had adjusted.

How does something as unusual as this get funding? What was the pitch to NZFC and investors?

There were two “waves” of funding for the film. The first was mostly our families. To secure it, I gathered a key cast and did a photo shoot as well as a visual treatment and written pitch, which was presented to them along with the soundtrack. They liked what they saw so they put in some initial funds, and I went away with my team and began shooting.

The second came when, about six weeks into the shoot, I cut a half hour edit of footage which was submitted as part of a proposal for additional funding from the NZFC. The NZFC made a set visit and a few months later we were excited to find that they were happy to support us.

Production questions now, how long was the development process as opposed to pre-production and the shoot?

I developed the songs into a shootable storyboard-script hybrid based on my caravan park concept over a three month period.

From there I had to budget, cast, crew and schedule the shoot, which took about another three months. The shoot was scheduled over twelve weeks which sounds like a very long time but when shooting an opera to synch, every shot slots together like a piece of a puzzle—this is much more time consuming and difficult than it sounds, and when there are very limited resources it means that you need to spend more time making things how you want them.

What sort of budget was required and how many shooting days?

The shoot lasted about 60 days, and the budget was about the same as an Escalator film. This budget involved me using all my own camera equipment, etc., at no cost to the production, and we also projected that I’d do all the post work myself. Keeping to this tight budget depended on many people’s generosity: my father donated the vehicles, for example, and Mike’s family the house that the crew stayed in and because of our long-term personal and professional relation-

ships, the cast and crew were willing to work for relatively low wages. The production was almost like a camp where a bunch of friends got together to make a film.

Once Jamie Selkirk became interested, however, he introduced new and better opportunities at the post-production end. The budget escalated a bit, but it was still very low—definitely unachievable this way without Jamie’s help. To keep the budget down I did over 300 of the 400 VFX shots myself.

I cast for look—hence many of the actors are people that I approached on the street and asked them to come and audition. Others are friends of the production team, some were found through various casting websites and the more familiar faces through major agencies. I knew I needed trained experienced actors to be able to pull off the more comic roles and was confident that I could get what I needed from non-actors for everything else.

How many of your cast are lip-synching to their own voices and how much of the soundtrack was re-worked and polished after shooting?

What camera/lenses did you shoot on and were there any special technical considerations or concerns on set, to help support the aesthetic (or even just the vibe) of the piece?

None of the cast are synching to their own voices. (I still haven’t even met most of the singers). I cast purely for look, with an eye to the way the actor either complemented or played against the vocal. After we had cut the film down from 150 mins to 96 mins (mostly by removing choruses which was very difficult to judge with something so musically driven) the soundtrack needed smoothing and a few bits rewritten. Some of the original voices were re-sung for various reasons but the core of the music remained the same.

Then we needed to mix the soundtrack to ride the story: too loud and it felt overwhelming, too quiet and we lost the musical element altogether. It took a while to get it just right. Finally, when the atmosphere, foley and loop group tracks were added the whole thing gelled beautifully.

There’s an intriguing mix of veterans and new faces—what was the casting process?

I owned a RedOne at the time which was a bastard to shoot on, constantly over-heating and breaking down. I wanted to shoot much of the film on Steadicam to allow constant fluid movement in lieu of dance numbers.

The whole film was shot on one lens, an 11mm-16mm zoom. We needed this to be able to shoot interiors and also it helped smooth out any imperfections in the camera movement. Shooting on one lens also helps to give the film a cohesive feel and I wanted to go against that extreme shallow-depth-offield look that seems to be so popular since the rise of DSLR film making.

What were your visual inspirations?

Images of Romanian gypsies mixed with things I remember doing on holiday as a kid.

I had a huge database of photographs and videos that I had gathered online during pre-

production. We could never recreate them precisely because of our limited resources, so the film has its own strange flavour. In some ways the camera work was a controlled experiment in choreography, distantly reflecting some of the films that I loved growing up—stuff by Paul Thomas Anderson, John Waters and Todd Solondz.

The music is in so many different styles (hip-hop, R&B, 80s rock ballad, etc.)—how do you go about honouring the different musical styles visually and still maintain a coherent look for an entire feature film?

My crew and I set up a dropbox system where we could pool references and visual ideas for each scene. The contents of the dropbox file for each scene would then be honed down as we slowly consolidated a vision of the scene’s lighting, art department and costume, etc.

Then, before every scene was shot, we’d study our references and make sure that we didn’t stray from them. The most difficult part of making the scenes flow with the music and avoiding the ‘collection of music videos’ feel was to make sure that transitions were precise and that the mix was paced well so the audience had breathing room. Overall I think we found a strange and fresh tone to the film which I’m pretty proud of.

Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song receives its World Premiere at Auckland’s Civic Theatre on Friday July 26 and has been picked up

by UK agents Moviehouse for international sales. O www.romeoandjulietalovesong.com

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15

R OUNDTABLE

AG E N T S

NOT-SO SECRET AGENTS

I

n December 2012, the two local Actors Agents organisations amalgamated under the AAANZ banner. For the first of our regular industry roundtables, ONFILM met with chair of the new body, Graham Dunster (Auckland Actors), and board menbers Sharon Power (Sharon Power Management), Gail Cowan (Gail Cowan Management) and Melissa Phillips (BM Creative Artists) to discuss the state of the agents’ nation.

ONFILM: I guess the first question would be, how do you see your role in the NZ screen industry?

Graham D: Well, it’s a reality check, in a way. People, actors, have dreams, aspirations. Producers have dreams and aspirations, and the two are meant to coincide and they don’t. A large part of our job is to make sure that these different groups can communicate and come away happy with the experience that they’ve had, and create something that other people can participate in.

ONFILM: Has that changed?

Graham D: No, I think it’s always been like that. I think New Zealand, over the last twenty, thirty years has become a lot more like everywhere else. It used to be we’d just do it in the barn here and don’t worry about it, whereas now, it’s a lot more formal, as it has to be. The government money that’s there has to be accounted for in certain ways.

ONFILM: What’s the definition of having a budget nowadays? Is it like you get to a certain level and then different rules apply?

Graham D: There’s so little work around generally, we just take each job on its own merits. A budget means you have money to spend, so you might have $5 or $5million

Graham D: … hopes and dreams.

Melissa P: Their imaginations.

Gail C: Their expectations.

ONFILM: What do we learn from international productions that come to NZ? Sharon P: I think we learn from everything. I’ve been doing this a long time, and things still surprise me and things still come up, and I think “Oh, I haven’t come across that one before.”

Every project, whether it’s international or not, it’s a learning curve, but I think the internationals coming in, particularly over the last probably ten years, have certainly educated us.

Graham D: We were fortunate that Rob Tapert and his crew came in here and invested in New Zealand, and that he wasn’t a predatory producer, that he’s actually an open collaborator and generous producer so he came in here and did a very good job, treating everybody who he employed—whether it was crew or cast or writers— he’s treated everybody very well, very openly, and very transparently. As a result of that, he’s done really well, because people have responded to that sort of treatment. Most people who are successful in business know that they have to collaborate, they can’t be bullies, they can’t just jump on people.

ONFILM: Over the last twenty years, we’ve managed to develop locally grown and locally sustained stars on television, and they now have the ability to actually sell a movie. Do you look at people joining your agency and think, “I can grow this career, I can turn this person into something?”

Graham D: Everybody, hopefully.

Gail C: What seems to be happening though, is that the writing isn’t taking into account the budget, and you’re seeing a lot of special effects and a small budget, so therefore, what’s expendable? The actors’ fee, the director’s fee, the crew fee. I think that they need to rein in their …

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Sharon P: You only accept people that you think you can grow their career, that you think you can make a success story of at some level, because that’s the fun part.

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ONFILM: Do you fight over people? Tussle?

Sharon P: And they’ve also got more restrictions, so they’re less inclined to see a Kiwi, unless they’re really desperate. Do you agree?

Sharon P: All the time.

Graham D: It’s a relationship business, so a performer will connect with an agent or not, and it comes down to that.

Melissa P: I recommend for any clients who meet with us to meet with everyone, because it goes back to what we said earlier, and it being such a personal, transparent relationship. An actor will know if an agent’s right for them, no matter if it be any one of us.

Sharon P: Actors will, if they’re dissatisfied with the service or for whatever reason, moving in a different direction to the agent, will move on. You can’t stop them.

Graham D: Well, you don’t want people on your books who don’t want to be there.

ONFILM: Are there other aspects of the way the industry is constructed, where you feel like you would like to be brought in to consult more?

You were saying earlier on, you see both sides, or you see all sides. I was thinking about all of the drama, over Equity versus The Hobbit, etc.

Now, is that something that you watched from the sidelines, or did you feel like you had a role to play in what was an industrial dispute?

Gail C: It was deeply personal in nature, yes, and it was really divisive at the time. You couldn’t sit on the fence. You had to decide one way or the other.

Graham D: It was a prime example of how not to relate to people within the industry. Although ultimately, funnily enough, the end result has been really constructive in that SPADA who wouldn’t talk to the union before have now sat down with them and are now in the process of finalizing a standard contract, the very thing that they said was impossible before the dispute has now become possible.

ONFILM: What advice do you give your clients in terms of how to build a sustainable range of career?

Melissa P: Well, they’ve got to have their American accent down pat, if they want to keep working. If you don’t have that—

Graham D: Unless the actor is really high profile or Maori, Polynesian or other ethnicities.

ONFILM: You said that we’re training our actors better. Are we training too many?

Graham D: It’s a business. The schools have got to survive.

Sharon P: But the other side of that is that acting is not something that is black and white. Somebody will have a talent in a particular area, or they’ll be fantastically good looking and in LA, for example, fantastically good looking works. The talent isn’t so important. Of course they have to be a great actor but in fact, a Head of Casting at a studio said to me, “I’m not looking for the best actor, I’m looking for the right actor. I’ve hired the best director, so he will get the performance from the right actor.”

Graham D: I don’t think it matters in a way, also. Those people who go through there [drama school], if they’re not going to cut it as an actor, at the very worst, they’ve had good personal development, and maybe they end up being director or a writer or somebody else.

Sharon P: Or an agent.

ONFILM: I’ve got one question, before I go, and that is just are you optimistic?

Graham D: Always.

Sharon P: Absolutely.

Graham D: We couldn’t get up in the morning otherwise, could we?

If you just looked at the downside, and there’s always a downside, then yes, we wouldn’t be having fun. If you don’t enjoy it, you can’t survive in this business, I’m sure of that.

Gail C: You could be optimistic and rose tinted, or you could simply realise that the current business model isn’t necessarily working and how do you adapt? I think we adapt.

Graham D: Up-skilling is essential, if we’re being realistic.

ONFILM: We don’t actually have a culture of classes, do we, like the US. In Hollywood, it’s like, when you’re not working, you’re in class.

Sharon P: That’s right.

Gail C: If you’re a pianist, you don’t put your piano down for a month. You probably don’t pick it up in the first place! We’ve always had a lazy culture, three years of drama school, “I’m here, I don’t need to learn anything else.”

Graham D: Yes. Well, that’s the flexibility that we do have in this country, the lack of those rules and regulations and it allows us to actually reinvent stuff all the time in a constructive way, without necessarily having to be held to account for how and why. “Does the end result work? Yes. Great, let’s do it like that.”

Gail C: And if it doesn’t, your actors move down the road, so you soon know if you’ve made a mistake. O

ONFILM: Do actors still leave the country to find fame and fortune?

Graham D: It’s inevitable. There’s not enough work here to sustain very many people full-time.

Sharon P: It’s tougher for Kiwis in Australia now than it was ten years ago.

Graham D: Yes, it used to be John Bach or Catherine Wilkin would be working across the Tasman all the time. You can’t do that anymore, because they’ve got more actors there. They don’t need us in the way that they did then, really.

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17

C AS TING & TALEN T

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The same criteria apply to introducing the fresh faces that emerge from our drama schools each year. The level of talent and deep-seated commitment of these young actors bode well for the future.

We continue to take pride in the range of successes our artists are achieving on Gabriella Larkin-Bruce stage, television, in musical theatre and international cinema.

Our two lead actors in The Hobbit are flag bearers for that tradition.

The principles of quality, integrity and plain dealing on which The Robert Bruce Agency was founded in 1978 underpin our growth and development.

The Agency has always been selective, choosing to work with artists of professional standing and recognised abilities.

A small number of skilled individuals continue to arrive from the UK, the US and elsewhere, and we welcome the spice they add to the local acting mix.

THE ROBERT BRUCE AGENCY

The growing number and variety of our Voice-over and Voice Acting talents can be previewed on the website, as can the varied roster of multi-talented individuals to be found in RBA Corporate, the newly

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The Agency has also extended its reach geographically, with the appointment of a South Island Representative. The South Island is home to a diverse range of acting and production talent, as well as providing location services and strong infrastructure to both national and international productions.

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Peter Hambleton, is a noted NZ director of theatre and leading actor of Theatre, Television and Film. Peter is currently playing Gloin in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy.

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Tai Berdinner-Blades, straight from James Rolleston, now the face of a major telco began his career with Boy and he has just completed his second feature film, Genesis.

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A L E G A L V IEW

RIGHTS ACQUISITION & RETENTION There are several issues and legal quirks to be aware of when acquiring and retaining rights for screen projects, as David McLaughlin and Emily Jackson explain.

The makers of the 2011 film The Adjustment Bureau, starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, have recently found themselves in hot water over their use of the author Philip K. Dick’s story “The Adjustment Team”, written in 1953. The producers of the film, Media Rights Capital, were sued in 2011 by the estate of the late author, who claimed the production company had not licensed the requisite rights in the work. Media Rights Capital claimed that, following the release of the film, they found that the story was in the public domain, and therefore did not feel they were required to pay any licensing fees to the estate.

A work is in the public domain where the copyright rights in such work have expired, or no longer apply to that work. Where a work is in the public domain, third parties are free to use the work. In this situation, the parties chose to settle the dispute, claiming to want to work together on other projects going forward. However, the lawsuit serves to illustrate that when you are using an older work that you feel may be in the public domain, don’t take the risk of using it without ensuring that all rights and aspects of it you want to utilise really are free of copyright.

Another recent dispute, this time in respect of the new film Olympus Has Fallen starring Gerard Butler, illustrates that if you are part of a co-writing team, and then subsequently wish to proceed with developing a work independently, you must ensure that your co-writer’s contribution and ongoing rights are first clarified. Creighton Rothenberger and John S. Green came up with the idea for Olympus Has Fallen together, and, despite the fact that Green was not listed as an owner on the copyright registration in 2002, the two allegedly spent nearly a decade working on the screenplay together.

When Rothenberger found a new manager, he completed the screenplay independently and was able to successfully sell the rights.

Green then claimed co-ownership in the copyright. The lesson to be learned here is, where another person can prove that they have had input into a copyright work, even if you have done the majority of the work

Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart can see the lawyers on the horizon now that ownership of Olympus Has Fallen is in doubt (pic courtesy of Roadshow Film Distributors).

independently, they could be found to be a joint author of the work, and be entitled to a substantial amount of the income from such work. The rights ownership in this situation will generally be even less clear in New Zealand, as we do not have a copyright register like the US does. The dispute around Olympus Has Fallen really illustrates the fact that, when another writer is involved in developing your work, it is essential to have a written agreement clarifying copyright ownership in place from the outset.

Even if you have properly licensed the works you intend to use, it’s important to be aware that if there has been a delay in production (as frequently happens in the screen industries), the rights that you acquired could potentially lapse or revert to the original owner of the work. This was the case with the planned cinematic adaptation of the game “Dungeons and Dragons” by Sweetpea Entertainment, who were the producers of the original television movie adaptation of the game, which was released in 2000. The company licensed the rights from Hasbro, and such license also included the rights to make a sequel or prequel to the movie. However Hasbro, who is planning an alternative adaptation of the movie with Universal, has recently sued Sweetpea Productions, claim-

ing that the rights the production company were exercising had reverted to Hasbro under the specific terms of the original agreement. The case has not yet been resolved, but no matter what the outcome, it serves as another very good reminder that you should always be very aware of the exact rights that have been granted to you pursuant to any agreement, and any conditions or limits that are attached to any such grant of rights. O • David McLaughlin (david@mclaughlinlaw. co.nz) is the principal of and Emily Jackson (emily@mclaughlinlaw.co.nz) is a solicitor at McLaughlin Law (www.mclaughlinlaw.co.nz).

• Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide a general outline of the law on the subject matter. Further professional advice should be sought before any action is taken in relation to the matters described in the article.

Got a legal issue you’d like examined in an upcoming column? Then email David McLaughlin (david@mclaughlinlaw.co.nz).

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C OVER FEATURE

J O H N BARN E T T

BARNEY LOOKS BACK John Barnett talks to ONFILM about a career putting New Zealand on screen.

THE GAMES AFFAIR In 1973, I sold a graphic design business and I was not quite at a loose end, but it must have been close. Michael Hirschfeld called me up and said, “This bunch of people I know want to start a television company and I suggested that you should go and run it.”

It was a company that didn’t have any money. It was just a lot of interesting people. It was [Michael] Noonan and [Keith] Aberdein and Tony Isaac, although Tony—I think Tony was still working for BCNZ. He wasn’t on the radar yet. There was Brian Edwards and David Beatson. There was Roslyn Noonan. There was a guy called Bruce Clark, who was a Kiwi from Christchurch, who had been in the States and shot three films for Roger Corman. Who else? I think that’s about the lot.

Chris Hampson: This was the genesis of The Games Affair. How the hell did the Broadcasting Corporation ever commission an independent production?­

O

n 5th April this year, John Barnett sold his remaining stake in South Pacific Pictures, the company he joined in 1993 and bought from TVNZ in 1998. In recognition of nearly 40 years in the business, Barnett sat down with great mate and colleague Chris Hampson to talk about his career, the state of the New Zealand screen industry and South Pacific Pictures. The chat was so wide-ranging we ran out of time and had to re-convene a week later. Here are edited highlights (only about 20%!) and they are almost all Barney’s own words (with occasional interruptions from Hampson and ONFILM). The complete interview is online at onfilm.co.nz/barnett-2013.

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This is interesting, because in 1973 things only got made in-house.

There was some brief moment when, I think, the second channel was being planned and somebody said, “We should have an independent commission.” Not a big one, just a small, independent commission. This opportunity opened up, and Michael Hirschfeld’s parents knew the commissioner or something—I don’t remember how that worked—so we could go in and pitch. So we went in and pitched this idea, which Noonan and Isaacs had written, called The Games Affair which was set around the Commonwealth Games.

The budget was $96,000 for six half hours and, when you think of what an hour of television costs today on location, and we made three of them, we had to do it by cutting a lot of corners. Graham McLean was the production manager, and I think lunches were budgeted at a dollar or two dollars a head, which required Mrs Horton and Mrs Elder to be cutting the sandwiches. Geoff Murphy was on it and Andy Grant.

Chris Hampson: Was Michael Horton cutting it?

Michael Horton was the boom operator! And it was a who’s who of people involved in this thing, although at the time, you don’t know that. It’s just a bunch of people who had gone to Christchurch to make something. This six-part series was shot for $93,000 and produced – CH: And it was directed by whom?

By Bruce Clark. John Bach was in it, Tom Poata. It was a very simple, kid’s idea, where a couple of young kids discover someone who’s— this is actually very foresighted—who’s giving athletes drugs and making them perform in a super way. So, we made it for $93,000,

and the BCNZ said to us, “We’re not going to do this again.” We said, “Why not?” “Well, we didn’t give you this commission so you could make a profit.”

CH: How did you get on to John Laing?

I was talking to John Clarke, and I said, “I’m not sure who to go with as a director.” He said, “Have you looked at John Laing’s work? He’s done some of this and some of that.”

CH: There’s an attitude that hasn’t changed! [laughter] CH: In Canada.

MIDDLE AGE SPREAD I went to see Middle Age Spread at the –

In Canada. I called John Laing and we got chatting and he came back and he’s here thirty years later.

CH: At Circa?

CH: Still working for you!

Well, I saw it at the Opera House, and John Reid—did John direct it? No, he was in it.

CH: No, John directed it.

He directed it, and John said to me, “What do you think? It’s a movie.”

He said, “Let’s make a movie.” I said, “Well, that’s a good idea.” Keith Aberdein wrote the script. Of course, there wasn’t a Film Commission.

There was an interim Film Commission. I went to South Pacific Finance, which was run by John Anderson, who was latterly the chair of TVNZ, and they agreed to put up money, and I think, if you pass me one of those books, I think – CH: Oh, the cost?

No, I know what it cost! It was $120,000. [laughter] CH: You’ve always been really good like that.

It was the interim Film Commission that had been established, due to the efforts of Bill Sheat, David Gascoigne, John Reid and a few others. In one of those completely random moments, Allan Highet, who was the Minister of Internal Affairs, which used to look after the arts then, had a good friend—and I don’t know how this had happened—but he had a good friend called Dennis Stanfill, and Dennis ran 20th Century Fox in America.

CH: Really?

So Highet had somebody to ask about the movie business, and he expressed an interest. He was ripe for the lobbying. Which the guys were doing, but I’ll never forget, there was this interim Film Commission and he was it, in a way.

BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT Beyond Reasonable Doubt didn’t have enough money from the Commission. I think we had $240,000 and we needed a lot more.

Wellington was a small place, and the author, David Yallop, had become friendly with Bob Jones and with Mike Bungay, and so I said to Bob, “We’ve got to make this film,” and he said, “Oh shit, I’ll put some money into it.”

I said, “Well, this is what I’m looking for.” He said, “That’s alright, I’ll round everybody up.” He got Ron Brierley and Bruce Judge, John Oakley and Fay and Richwhite, and there may have been some others. They all put up some money and we made this film.

ONFILM: It’s a strange example of social conscience from every single one of them.

Bob pushed them a bit, but they thought this was a story that should be told.

THE TAX BREAK ERA ONFILM: There’s a lot of mythology about the tax breaks era and what that was all about. You were embedded in all of that. Were they set up to lose money, or were they genuine business?

Well, here’s a bit of a context. First of all, the top tax rate at the time was 66 percent, so you had a whole lot of people who were looking to avoid tax. Tax avoidance is not illegal, tax evasion is illegal. Don Blakeney had come back from the UK, was running the Film Commission, and he’d worked in shipping in the UK. One of the ways that ships and aircraft and heavy machinery are funded in the UK, was through non-recourse loans, so that the recourse was only against the asset itself, and it didn’t have any other recourse to the borrower. He said, “I think something like this would work in film,” and in fact, it had been used that way in the UK. Suddenly you saw a whole lot of pictures that had finance beyond the means of the Film Commission. Utu is a good example.

There’s three million dollars that went into that, and that didn’t come from the Film Commission.

We made a film called Dead Kids, which was also called Strange Behavior and also called Shadow Land, which was actually quite an interesting little film, but it cost a million bucks. During those early 80s, all of this stuff was going on. The investor could put in a million bucks and get a $660,000 tax credit straight away, or they could put in two million, in which case they were in profit, but the films weren’t made to make a loss, because that didn’t make any sense to anybody.

Everybody hoped they make money, but if it didn’t, it didn’t.

ONFILM: Risk mitigation?

Absolutely, yes. But now you had a way of financing pictures that didn’t require the Film Commission. It had made a couple of films.

It had a budget, at the time, of $6 million, and so it didn’t have a lot of money.

CH: It’s not much more now.

No, I realize that [laughter], but I think that was all, and so many of the budgets were going up, but you had this influx of new money coming in. So you’ve got about 40 to 45 films, between ’81 to ’85.

You had this burst of activity which I think is the foundation of the film industry, and for the first time, people actually work all the time. Everybody was busy: writers, directors, actors, producers, cast. Everything changed. The kind of equipment changed and postproduction changed. Expectations changed.

You actually had a proper industry because you had—and if you look at some of the films that were made then, Scarecrow, or Utu, or Vigil, Silent One, Came a Hot Friday. These are quintessential Kiwi films, and at the same time, you’ve got Race for the Yankee Zephyr and Savage Islands, Battle Truck. You’ve got actual diversity, and you’ve got all sorts of things being made. If you looked at those

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C OVER FEATURE

J O H N BARN E T T

40 films, you’d find about half of them were financed through nonrecourse loans—and possibly quite aggressive non-recourse—and about half of them were via the Commission or other kinds of finance.

About half of them really worked, and left a lasting legacy; and about half of them didn’t. The origin of the money doesn’t matter at all. It’s about ‘does the thing work?’ and when you think about films like Vigil—which wouldn’t have been made without that kind of investment or certainly wouldn’t be made on the scale—you have to say, “Well, this was a good thing.” And when it came to a halt, and you go to—yes, you’ve got Shaker Run—but out of all of them, you’ve got Mr. Wrong, you’ve got films that really were of value and established faces that we hadn’t seen before.

FOOTROT FLATS It’s a film that returns us money every year. It just keeps repeating.

It’s never off television, it’s never off DVD, and the soundtrack never stops selling. It’s fantastic.

I don’t think enough people in the business understand that its not about the fees you get making the film, it’s about owning a piece of something that just keeps on going. We tried to do it as an AustralianNew Zealand co-production, but actually—well, we weren’t going to get New Zealand status, but the Australians weren’t that keen either.

CH: It was a very interesting local production company. It had had the mantle of TVNZ, and in terms of co-production that also meant cashflow out of TVNZ. It had a whole lot of Canadian co-productions that were essentially run on TVNZ’s overdraft.

I think one of the strong things about TVNZ owning South Pacific was the disciplines that they insisted on at a financial level were considerably greater. It wasn’t in the same ballpark as any other production company. You had to have monthly accounts, you had to have forecasts, you had to have your balance sheet, you had to have a system of checks and balances if you wanted to spend money.

That’s not how the independent production sector was run.

It wasn’t run that way because no one had a cashflow, but equally, a guy would sit there on his own and think, “Do I really need that?

Well, I really do. Can I afford it? No, but I’ll give it a go, because I’ll be able to pay for it in six months’ time if I get the work.”

I can say without a doubt that, over the 20-plus years, it’s one of the key things that set the company apart, because we had got just the most fantastic finance department, and they can tell you today what every show is going to cost: the shooting, and where things are going to go wrong and how to get around them and how much money we’ve got today and how much we’ll have in a week and in two years and three years.

land could change the perception of New Zealand drama and create an industry.

She said, “We’ve got an application from TV2,” which is from South Pacific, “and we’ve got an application from TV3,” which was Communicado and Tom Parkinson. It was called Homeward Bound.

She said, “I don’t know. Whichever way we go, there’s going to be problems. One of them’s a weekly and one of them is daily and they’re different, but I don’t know what to do.” I had no idea I was going to be at South Pacific, but I said to her, “Have you got enough money to fund both to start?”

Because, if you fund both of them, in six months’ time, the audience will tell you which one is the right one. You might get lucky and they both might be fabulous, but if you’ve got two, one will be better than the other, and if you only do one, you’re going to have an audience that says it’s not as good as Neighbours, or it’s not as good as Coro. It’s never going to be as good as Coro, because we’ve had 20 years of Coro, so it’s never going to be that good, but if you’ve got two, people will say “I like New Zealand A better than I like New Zealand B,” and that’s the context in which it will be debated. She said, “Yeah, that sounds a good idea,” and they put the money up for both. Homeward Bound, I think, lasted six months.

It’s an enormous catalyst, and you wouldn’t have Outrageous Fortune, if you didn’t have Shortland Street, and you wouldn’t have a whole bunch of the movies that we’ve made. We wouldn’t have Sione’s Wedding, if we didn’t have Shortland Street. It made stars, which has been important.

Anybody 24 or younger has grown up with Shortland Street as part of their conscious, sentient exposure to life. There it is at 7:00pm, night after night after night, and the numbers that it does are just phenomenal. I’m still in awe of how they bang it out, and it makes about ten percent, certainly more than ten percent of TV2’s revenue. It’s absolutely critical for TV2. The whole night is stacked around Shortland Street.

At the moment, there’s a lot of debate about Seven Sharp, Campbell Live. Well, most nights, Shortland Street beats the two of them, but TVNZ’s got an interesting problem there, because it can’t actually say that, because it actually puts down the other show it’s got.

SHORTLAND STREET Now, I do have one part in that—and it wasn’t at South Pacific.

I wasn’t even involved in television. Ruth Harley from NZ On Air stopped me one day and she said, “We want to put a soap on,” and Ruth, to her credit, had figured out that making a soap in New Zea-

OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE TV3 said “we’re looking for a show that’s female-led,” and our process now is to go to a group of different people and say, we’re looking for an 8.30 show, female lead, come back with the ideas, which we pay for.

CH: An Australian co-production is an Australian production made with someone else’s money, isn’t it?

SPP Des Monaghan and John McRae came to my house in Wellington and said they were thinking of setting up an independent television production company, and I said, “That doesn’t sound like a good idea,” because I didn’t think it did, but here we are.

Later, I got approached by John McRae to come over. I did a deal with Roadshow to sell my distribution business, and went to join South Pacific.

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Rachel [Lang] and James [Griffin] came We don’t do that in New Zealand. We give back with this premise that the median people one shot. All this we’ve had, unforwage for women—we’re talking ten years tunately, as one of the outcomes of Ruth’s ago, now—the median wage for women in long time in the Commission: an enormous New Zealand was $14,000, and you couldn’t amount of emphasis on whether the script live on $14,000. Therefore, you must be doworks or not. ing something at the limit. That’s where it My favourite story is that some of these started. It’s quite possible I would’ve looked scripts got rejected because they didn’t have at those characters and thought, “Shit, how third act turning points or second act turning are we going to get away with this?” points or whatever, but actually, they were Television series tend to have a life of about fucking unpleasant people doing fucking their—not a life of their own, but once they unpleasant things to each other, and no one get up and get momentum, there’s a whole wants to see them even if the third act has lot of elements that play a part. The network got a turning point! There is no interest in the plays a part, the actors that you’ve cast play story, and that, I think, you can tell quickly. a part, because it’s been true since ShortWe get about 300 applications a year for land Street and it’s been true since everypeople to pitch things at us, and our develthing that’s been made. You cast somebody opment team gets together every two weeks Barnett and his heroic moustache featured in a role and you’ve written something for now, and every single thing gets assessed. in a 1983 edition of ONFILM. them and you watch what they do and you The questions you ask are, “Do we like it?” think, “Actually, we could take this somebecause if you don’t like it, it’s never going to where else,” because they’ve got that capaget made by us, because it hasn’t got a chambility, and it would be more interesting and they’d be easy with it. pion, someone who is going to crawl over broken glass to make it.

I think all you have to do is have the environment where that can “Can we make it?” Because if it’s sci-fi, we probably can’t make happen, but I’m not the one. I didn’t cast those people. I think that it—or can’t make it that easily. “Who is going to go and see it?” the casting is mostly done by the show-runners who are thinking Because if you don’t know who is going to go and see it, there’s no about people when they’re writing. They’re thinking about, “So-andpoint in making it, and “do we have confidence in the capability?” so would look good in this.”

We option about eight a year, and if we’re lucky, we might make two.

Now, another advantage that we have at South Pacific, which other companies don’t necessarily have is, if you get into a bit of trouble, nobody else ever knows. We don’t, very often, but we had THE FUTURE a show where there were some assumptions made about what was I’m still at SPP a couple days a week, although I’m not sure what I’m going to happen in production, and the reality was different, but supposed to do there. I’m conscious of the fact that in businesses the producer who was on the show had a vision, and we said we’ll like this, when the person who is the leader retires, or God forbid, go with it, and we went over budget on that show. But we didn’t ask dies, quite often the next day, it closes its doors. A lot of people anybody else for the money. The money comes out of our pocket, have put a lot of effort into SPP so that would be a tragedy. I’ve been and that makes a difference, I think. Also, actually, whether we’re looking for a successor for a while and once Kelly [Martin] came on developing television or film, we can afford to go to several drafts board, I’m faced with the position of either turning up every day and before anybody else will see anything. making her job redundant or ineffectual, or getting out of the way and letting her get on with it.

I’ll continue to do the film development side. I suddenly thought about this the other day: if you think how long it takes to develop, produce, and get a film into the cinema, I might have three more if I’m lucky. That’s a bit sobering, actually. There’s a lot of things I’d like to make, and there’s a lot of books, etc. so I’m a great one for wanting to collaborate with people because I would rather see somebody make it than have it sit on my table.

With the movies, we’ll keep looking for ideas. We’ve got this development in the UK called Spitfire Girls which Paul Davis brought to me, and it is a terrific story about the women who delivered the Spitfires in the Second World War, delivered all the planes. We’re working with Gareth Unwin, who was one of the producers of The King’s Speech, and Liz Trubridge, who is the producer of Downton Abbey, and we have a top UK writer to develop it.

South Pacific isn’t going to do much about that at all, because this thing is going to be shot there in the UK, it’s going to be written there, it’ll be produced there, but we’ll have a piece of it. So you get the satisfaction of having an idea come to you that you think, “That can get made, we can facilitate it, and we can have a small piece of DEVELOPMENT it.” And I’d like to see a lot of that. O Let’s say you’re a young Steven Spielberg turning up at Universal, you’ve got a million bucks and you’ve got ten days to shoot this proChris Hampson has been a key figure in New Zealand film ject, Duel or something like that, and if you do that, we’ll give you and television production for more than 30 years. another one, and if you do that, we’ll give you another one, and if you Credits as producer include Illustrious Energy, Via Satellite do that, we’ll give you another one. You’re going to make some fuck(Exec) and Marlin Bay. He was most recently co-producer of ups, but we’ve got a team of people here who are going to help you.

South Pacific Pictures’ White Lies with John Barnett.

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LOCATIONS & FAC IL IT IE S

AVAL O N

STARS ALIGN AT AVALON Martyn Pepperell visits the new look Avalon Studios and sees an optimistic vision for the future.

I

n September last year, lifelong Hutt Valley boys Paul Mainwaring and Gary Watkins, then the studio managers of the iconic Avalon film and television studios in Lower Hutt, teamed up with Wellington businessmen John Feast and Denis Kirkcaldie to buy the facilities from TVNZ. With the space having been largely unused since TVNZ relocated their Good Morning show to Auckland in 2011, it was time for a change, but not too much of a change.

On a Tuesday morning in June, I spoke with Mainwaring and Richard Lander, Avalon Film and Television Studios’ new studio manager under the Mainwaring-Watson-Feast-Kirkcaldie regime. Genuinely affable guys, they’re deeply committed to a future for Avalon, and in the process, envision it signifying the dawn of a new era for locally produced film and television in New Zealand. As Mainwaring explains, “Myself and Gary [Watson] have worked here for a long time. I’ve been here since the outset, back in 1975. Richard has been here since 1979.

We were committed to a future for Avalon and we were lucky enough to get together with a couple of investors, John Feast and Denis Kirkcaldie, who have a great vision in terms of Wellington in general, and

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essentially saving Avalon as an iconic film and television facility. There was a very real risk of it being closed down. Apart from our own loyalty to the facility and the staff, it was these guys who allowed us to put something together where we can not only save the place, but really make it into a successful business.”

In conversation, Mainwaring and Lander speak about Avalon and New Zealand film and television with passion and conviction. It’s the by-product of lifetimes spent immersed within both the space and the industry. In Mainwaring’s case however, it runs deeper. In fact, it’s a family affair. When Avalon opened in 1975, his father Paul Mainwaring was the Controller of Engineering for TV ONE and a key player in the design and build of the studios. As a result, Mainwaring had the option to work at Avalon during the school holidays. His first job was pulling cables through the floors while they were building the complex. “It was nothing too special,” he says. “Once the production geared up in the studios, the enthusiasm was infectious, and I had the opportunity to stay. Those early years were incredibly exciting.”

In the thirty-eight years since, the Avalon complex has been a ground zero for, and helped breathe life into, highly memorable local

TIMELINE Showreel—Some Highlights from the Avalon Archive.

1975-Present / Country Calendar / Iconic show of the true stories in New Zealand’s rich rural culture.

1975-1983 / Close to Home / New Zealand’s first soap opera.

1975-1990 / Ready to Roll / For three decades, the definitive music video countdown of the pop charts.

1977-1997 / Fair Go / An intrinsic part of Kiwi DNA, the show that ensures consumers are getting a good deal.

1980-1982 / Lynn of Tawa / Before ‘Kath & Kim’ there was Lynn of Tawa, a sit-com parody of suburban life.

1981-1987 / McPhail & Gatsby / Comedy sketches from NZ’s leading comedians of the day, lampooning topics of the day.

1982-2003 / What Now / Children’s variety show.

1987-Present / Lotto, Big Wednesday, Telebingo / The live draw that creates instant millionaires.

1987-1991 / Krypton Factor / The show that searches for the ultimate human being, measuring brain and brawn.

1992-1996 / Wheel of Fortune / Iconic game show. television institutions like Country Calendar, Fair Go, What Now, Lotto, Wheel of Fortune, Good Morning and Dancing with the Stars.

In tandem, the expansive, storied production centre and the surrounding Californian architecture-inspired suburb, has been an origin point of sorts for pivotal film and television industry personalities like Oscarwinning sound engineer Mike Hedges and cameraman Richard Bluck, now the president of the New Zealand Cinematographers Society. “It’s been the grassroots for people,” Lander reflects. “It’s the lead-up. They start here, they seize it, and they continue to go further.”

While Avalon’s past resume is impressive, moving forwards, it’s about the here and now. “There is still so much potential in this building,” Lander elaborates. “We are a one-stop shop,” Mainwaring adds. “Our core business is studio and sound and we have a solid experienced group of talented staff. Right now, we’re concentrating on local and international studio television and film. That’s what we’re about.”

With six different air-conditioned and fully soundproofed studios, all available for full or dry hire, as well as a backlot, utility space, wet swimming pool stage, production rooms, a wardrobe workroom, postproduction facilities, a set and build workshop and numerous other spaces, they have the dynamic flexibility to meet production requirements from small to large. Alongside this, they have the staff, the stateof-the-art equipment, and the ability to provide as required consultation to turn concepts, however elaborate into realities. And should clients require it, Avalon even has a helicopter pad on site. “We have the extras,” Lander says. “Just having those little things around the edges can help out in a lot of different ways.”

In testament, Country Calendar and Praise Be, and The New Zealand Racing Board’s two channels Trackside and TAB TV will continue to be made on-site. Working to build upon this base, they’ve been in serious talks with local and offshore producers and organisations like Martin Baynton and Sir Richard Taylor’s Pukeko Pictures about projects that could be created inside the studios. With an abundance of floor space on-site, they also hope to attract some new permanent tenants into the complex, in the process developing a more integrated

1998-2000 / Backchat / A panel discussion of current affairs.

2005-2011 / Good Morning / Magazine style show with lifestyle features.

2005-2009 / Dancing with the Stars / Where the stars hit the dance floor.

2008-2012 / Paradise Café / A rapid fire discussion about NZ politics, with the public and politicians.

2009-2013 / Small Blacks / A children’s rugby show.

2012-Fresh Meat / A comedy-horror feature film.

and diverse production community, or as Mainwaring phrases it, “A production village.”

Outside of their respective lengths of association with the industry, and loyalties to the individuals and organisations they been involved with for so long though, what is it that Mainwaring and Lander really get off on about film and television? “I like seeing different cultures, backgrounds and personalities come together. That is what film and television is, everyone blending to create a product,” Lander says. “It’s a stimulating and enjoyable industry to work in,” Mainwaring enthuses.

The word stimulating is key here, especially framed under the light of some extended thoughts from Lander. “I have a passion and respect for our creative global ‘media’ industry as it questions, entertains, inspires and informs,” he explains. “I feel fulfilled and I have the belief that Avalon can continue to play a part in supporting, working with and collaborating with broadcasters, distributors and producers whether they be established or aspiring that engage an audience’s emotions to gasp, squint, laugh, cry, nod or smile. Nothing is more satisfying and rewarding.” O Martyn Pepperell is a Wellington journalist.

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LOCATIONS & FAC IL IT IE S

WH IT E L IE S

WHITE LIES GOES OFF THE GRID White Lies spent a month on location in Te Urewera, adapting Witi Ihimaera’s novella Medicine Woman for the big screen. Production Manager, Catherine Madigan, spoke to ONFILM about the challenges of wrangling a feature film in a remote location—and in a second language for most of the crew.

Antonia Prebble in character as Rebecca in White Lies (pic courtesy of SPP)NZIFF).

ONFILM: How did you get involved in South Pacific Pictures?

CM: I was initially called by Chris Bailey who I last worked with in 1993 on The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, in fact that was the last time I had worked with SPP. So I was really pleased to hear from Chris and immediately interested in filming a story based on a Witi Ihimaera novella, set in the 20s, filmed on location in Te Urewera, partially in te reo Maori and with Mexican Director, Dana Rotberg! A week or so later I heard from one of the film’s producers, Chris Hampson, who again I hadn’t worked with since 1994 on the Cover Story series at Gibson Group…(actually that is a long time between calls isn’t it? 20 years!)

ONFILM: When were you brought in to the production process?

CM: Quite late—partly because I was just finishing off another project so it did mean very long, intense hours from the get-go unfortunately. I started one week, on a recce to Te Urewera the following week and shooting about two weeks later so not at all easy.

Pre-production is so critical a part of the process as that is the

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Whirimako Black as Paraiti, the healer, tends to xxxx (SPP)

time that you set up the film and create a solid framework to go forward with. I was fortunate as Hamish Gough (1st AD) had already started working with Dana and Michelle Leaity (Production Co-ordinator) was on, so Hamish and Michelle along with Chris, were able to put quite a few things in place before I arrived.

ONFILM: What did you have to consider on White Lies that you had never come across before?

CM: Part of the film is in te reo Maori and I had never worked on a drama in te reo before. Once the dialogue had been translated, we had to work out the most efficient method in terms of actual filming in a language that few of the crew spoke. The director, the translators, the sound department and script supervisor had to develop a system with the actors so, yes, that was interesting and something new to learn.

I would also have to say we did have to consider how to accommodate a crew on a location where there was no accommodation … oh no, wait , we had to do that in Bougainville on Mr Pip didn’t we…! I have worked in some isolated locations in NZ, and around

the world, and remoteness always presents a huge challenge on a project with limited funds. Not only for the production team who are meant to pull it all together, and continue to keep it together, but also it adds to the level of difficulty for the Art Department and really every single department.

Each department has to be clear about what they need for the shooting period as there is usually no quick, cheap fix if something additional is required or forgotten. So communication as to the requirements is always such a key element of making for a smooth ‘distant’ location shoot.

ONFILM: What balance of location and studio is there in White Lies and how was that balance decided?

CM: Probably about 80% location. We shot some interior house scenes at Studio West as it gave Dana, Albol (Alun Bollinger, DOP) and Tracey Collins (designer) more flexibility. We usually need to do a cost analysis of studio vs actual location and take into consideration everything surrounding that—what is best for the film visually, the schedule and, of course, the budget. We shot in some wonderful Auckland locations like Alberton and we took over Helensville for a couple of days, which was great.

The crew lights the Oputaoa Marae (SPP).

ONFILM: How were locations selected? For authenticity or visual reasons—or both?

CM: Dana, who was also the screenwriter, had been working on the script for a couple of years and became very close with the whanau at Oputao Marae in Ruatahuna, so Dana was very clear on the locations being in Te Urewera, where the story is set, and for the filming to be centred around the marae and the local area. Kararaina Rangihau worked with Dana on the early trips to Te Urewera and Kararaina became an integral part of the team, scouting locations and really becoming the main local production facilitator for us. The ‘town’ locations were all sourced by Charlotte Gardner and, of course, Dana chose her favourites that matched her vision—with some compromises along the way!

ONFILM: What challenges did the location shoot present?

CM: Several really. I just mentioned that Ruatahuna is fairly remote and also the community there isn’t that large. The nearest town, Murapara, is about an hour away on a partially winding narrow road, then Rotorua is another 45 minutes further on. With the involvement of Richard and Meriann White from Oputao Marae we managed to rent four houses in the valley. We also booked out the Ruatahuna four unit motel. As the Oputoa Marae became our main production base and ‘home’ for the film we were invited to accommodate some of us in the wharenui as well as putting caravans on the land. I think we brought in about 10 caravans from Rotorua for the shoot, as well as a couple of crew deciding to bring their own tents! We were also invited to put crew up at Te Umuroa Marae which was right next door, so the crew could just either walk across the paddock or drive around to the Oputao Marae for our breakfast and dinners.

Communications was another challenging aspect. There was no cellphone reception at the marae but we did have a land-line and wi-fi for email and I remember thinking if I had to choose between cellphone reception or email in the production office it would have to be email as we had quite a few coming and goings into the valley; actors, stunt crew, spfx crew, animal trainers, as well as art department and all that arranging is often best done mainly through email.

Luckily we had Michelle, our co-ordinator in the office in Auckland, running a lot of that but it did mean Sarah Banasiak, our pro-

Whirimako Black as Paraiti (SPP).

duction secretary, and I didn’t have her with us which made it a bit difficult to say the least! But we had a great location and unit department to support us and of course we had a really neat team of local crew who we couldn’t have managed without! Everyone on the marae dealt with our schedule changes and the general madness associated with the comings and goings of a film crew so acceptingly—as anyone who has worked on a film crew knows, we don’t quite operate like any other working group … We may look like a travelling circus but I think our schedules end up being more ‘random’ and ‘flexible’ than a circus.

All round, we had such an excellent crew, cast not to mention our hosts and everyone just embraced the challenges and we all got through it together as we always do (I guess…!)

ONFILM: What was the most rewarding aspect of the shoot? (In addition to the finished film of course) CM: Really, having the experience of being welcomed into the Ruatahuna community and being invited to live on the marae for a few weeks. I am sure most of the film crew left the valley thinking that it was quite a special time. Only a very few of the crew had been there before, some having walked around Lake Waikaremoana (one of our locations) but the majority of us had never been to the area. Also the iwi that we were with are of the Ringatu faith so again that was something new for most of us.

That is one of the plusses, well, for me, of being in the film business … We are invited into different communities and we can only learn from those experiences. I find it really enriching and rewarding.

Of course several of us left saying we will be back to ride horseback deep into the rugged, stunning bush for four days with Richard and Meriann … I know a couple of the crew have been back already. O

31

R EVIEW

ECHOES OF PEOPLE ONFILM editor Dan Slevin reviews Harry.

Oscar Kightley is Harry in Desert Road’s gritty cop drama (pic: TV3).

Before joining ONFILM, I spent most of my screen viewing time staring at the big screen as a cinema reviewer. I didn’t have much time left over for broadcast television and my Sky subscription served only to feed my remote addiction to the Premier League and regular disappointment in the Black Caps.

Thanks to some loan DVDs (and Outrageous Fortune on US Netflix), I have been catching up on what I’ve been missing and was stoked to spend the last six weeks in the company of Desert Road’s gritty cop drama Harry, co-written by and starring, Oscar Kightley in his drama debut.

The first thing I want to acknowledge is that, based on Harry, I can report that TV has got really good while I’ve been

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away. The production values, look and feel, acting, direction and editing are all first rate. It’s also got a lot more grownup—the nudity, swearing and violence are all of international standard.

In Harry, Kightley plays Detective Sergeant Harry Anglesea, a recently widowed father of teenage Mele (Hunter Kamuhemu). Sleepwalking through a depressive grief, he throws himself into a murder investigation—a bank teller has been shot dead in a robbery gone wrong and the evidence leads Manukau’s finest to a high level “P” manufacturing outfit led by gang boss Chocka Fahey (Errol Shand looking like he’d be right at home in Game of Thrones). Meanwhile, screen legend Sam Neill remains office-bound as Harry’s boss, DSS “Stocks” Stockton.

While Harry ticks all the right boxes, it often felt a little like it was doing just that—box ticking. There weren’t too many surprises in the plotting or the characters. In fact, pretty much every secondary character turns out to be exactly what you think they are going to be when they first appear: the senior cop with an eye on the Herald front page, the corrupt lawyer, the well-meaning but ineffective school guidance counsellor, the Remuera rich kids with absentee parents, the Chinese gang boss—the list is endless.

The problem with characters like this as they are never more than echoes of people. As my viewing companion said, why are we watching them when they are less interesting than we are? That’s not true of Harry himself, though, even if the depths of his character are buried so far down it took six episodes to fully reveal.

Kightley is an always appealing screen presence, even if he has to dial the charm down so low that it all but disappears.

This might be a fact of life for television these days, but I’m not sure why we needed flashbacks to things we’d seen only fifteen minutes before (back to previous episodes, I understand) and Karl Steven’s insistent electronic score was so annoying it undid all the good work done by his excellent heavy duty theme music.

Harry does so much right that, despite my misgivings, I couldn’t take my eyes off the episode six climax and there’s enough going with the central character that I’d like to see where he goes next. I wonder if we’ll get a chance. O

Harry | Produced by Steven O’Meagher | Series Director: Christopher Dudman | Teleplay: Christopher Dudman, Oscar Kightley and Neil Grimstone | Key Cast: Oscar Kightley, Sam Neill and Errol Shand | Music: Karl Steven | Cinematographer: D. J. Stipson | Production Company: Desert Road Productions | Presented by TV3 and the NZ On Air Platinum Fund

R EV IEW

CAPTURE THE MAGIC Phil Greig gets very excited by a Blackmagic capture card.

I have spent the last seven years building and using prototype 8mm film telecine machines.

The heart of my Mac Pro has really become the Blackmagic Design Decklink HD extreme card, which captures HD via component connectors.

Recently, like a lot of editors, I have found the need to add an HDMI TV for full uncompressed playback. After a looking at various solutions, I found myself looking, once again, at the Blackmagic Design Intensity solutions. At just $306, I purchased the PCIe card version and installed it in my Mac Pro. At that price, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what I was getting, but was more than surprised.

The Intensity series are available in PCIe card versions for Mac or PCs and in selfpowered desktop box versions, with USB 3 or Thunderbolt connectivity, for a fraction more.

Their HDMI monitoring is compatible with Final Cut Pro, Avid, Adobe Premiere, Photoshop and after effects as well as Sony Vegas.

Out of the box, the first difference between the Decklink HD Extreme, is the size. It has less than half the bulk yet still retains the breakout cable connector for analogue and HDMI in and out. The installation software is universal across the Decklink and Intensity series, but only installs the codecs and features relative to your card. It uninstalls just as easily leaving no messy application extensions or left over ‘Setups’ to trip you up.

As a Mac user, the i/o setup is via the application in the system preferences pane. A nice surprise was the ability to set HDMI outputs, to run with the analogue at the same time.

As such, by setting a Final Cut Pro project to capture analogue sources, they are routed through the HDMI in uncompressed real time.

With a bit of experimentation I also found a few other gems. Using the supplied Media Express software, when capturing in HD via the HDMI inputs, with the HDMI monitor running at full steam, the analogue outputs could all become active as well for viewing on analogue colour correction monitors. Additionally, when using my CRT HD monitor component inputs, it ran effortlessly in real time with settings from just 480ish lines, right up to 1080i resolution simultaneously.

I have to stress that in Final Cut Pro, 80 percent of these features work but, sensibly, HD real time capture is not typically backwards compatible with the SD analogue output cables. This is one question a lot of purchasers seem to have. Will it work with my old analogue gear? However, in editing setups, with a bit of playing around, you can achieve almost any combination by carefully choosing the codec for your sequence.

I recommend putting aside an afternoon to be wowed by many features this card enables in your software.

As far as audio depth goes, my Behringer Truth studio monitors obtained the same wow factor that the $800 HD extreme card delivers- which I was not expecting.

Final word: If you are lucky enough to

get one of these, I recommend setting your timeline to Pro res and have a good look at again what you were editing on your last project through the HDMI. Even on an older 1080i Sony 40 inch LCD TV, I had moments of total jaw dropping excitement.

The colour Depth in 4:2:2, even on an old TV were quite mind blowing. If you are toying with the idea of a stand alone HDMI processing system that won’t drop the CPU to ‘Apple Wheel of Death’ speeds, your passion for the art of editing will re-ignite with one of these. Highly recommended and a must have for the pro and wanna-be pro alike! O Phil Greig is a Wellington filmmaker, editor and consultant.

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R EVIEW

NATIVE TONGUE Hugh Lilly reviews Dana Rotberg’s White Lies In 1907, Parliament passed the Tohunga Suppression Act, designed to severely limit the services that traditional Maori healers could provide to their communities.

A century later, the morning after seeing Whale Rider for the first time, the Mexican filmmaker Dana Rotberg bought two one-way tickets to New Zealand. So taken was she by the idyllic landscapes depicted in the film that she decided to leave her native land and move to the bottom of the world to raise her daughter surrounded by a totally unfamiliar culture.­ That same year, Witi Ihimaera—whose 1988 children’s novel was the basis for Niki Caro’s internationally lauded film— released a short-story collection called Ask the Posts of the House. In it was a novella-length story, based on the author’s experiences as a child, called “Medicine Woman,” which writer-director Rotberg has now crafted into her first film in more than a decade. White Lies (Tuakiri Huna) marks the screen début of the singer-songwriter Whirimako Black, who stars alongside Rachel House (Whale Rider, Boy), and Outrageous Fortune’s Antonia Prebble.

Set in 1929 in Ruatahuna, in Te Urewera near Gisborne, the story follows Paraiti, a traditional healer whose facial scars are an ineradicable emblem of colonisation, borne as they were of a conflict in which, as a child, she was forced to watch her father murdered (and her village destroyed) by European soldiers tracking down Te Kooti. Duly (and affectionately) nicknamed “Scarface,” Paraiti grew to be equally at home journeying among her people as she was in the encroaching colonised world; indeed, the story’s catalyst comes after she travels into town to see a Chaplin movie.

A Maori servant (House) approaches Paraiti with a request: her mistress, Rebecca Vickers (Prebble), is more than six months into an unwanted pregnancy.

Her husband, who is not the father, will soon return from overseas. She has already tried seeing Pakeha doctors, but none of them is willing to perform an abortion; Paraiti is her only hope. Paraiti

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Whirimako Black as Paraiti in Dana Rotberg’s White Lies (photo courtesy of SPP).

grudgingly accepts the proposition, but, wanting to aid only the creation of life, struggles both internally and with intermittent displays of outward anger.

As Paraiti, Black’s commanding presence is made all the more forceful by her speaking, for the most part, in her native tongue. House and the rest of the supporting cast—among them Elizabeth Hawthorne in a middling shouting-match cameo—deliver serviceable if necessarily constrained performances. Prebble’s Rebecca, however, is the film’s most glaring fault: she sounds too much like a modern-day Kiwi, and not at all like the story’s upper-class Englishwoman supplanted to the Dominion in the late 1920s.

The most remarkable aspect of the adaptation is that some three-quarters of its script is in te reo—an almost unprecedented level of non-English dialogue for a Kiwi production. It’s a good twenty minutes, at least, before the first nonsubtitled line. Illustrative of the collaborative nature of filmmaking is the added fact that Rotberg drafted her script in Spanish before having it translated; further iterations made use of the ornatesounding Tahoe dialect, often described as birdsong-like. This serves—at least to the ears of this writer, who is not fluent in te reo—to make the English dialogue stand out. Much of it is obtusely arch and stage-y, especially given Prebble’s problematic accent and oftentimes

mannered, borderline-melodramatic line deliveries.

Veteran cinematographer Alun Bollinger’s landscape shots are stunning, as are some gorgeous painterly compositions in the third act, but other sections, such as the prologue, look flat and uninspired.

John Psathas, writing only his second film score, wisely allows those more elemental portions of the story to breathe, incorporating the talents of Richard Nunns on taonga paoro. The other half of Psathas’ score, however—what might be called the Western-European half—is all distractingly boisterous strings and piano.

The film features impressive costume design throughout, but the décor of the Vickers’ palatial household sticks out like a sore thumb. Everything is resplendently art deco: the chaise longue on which Rebecca reclines, tormented; the drapes; the tasselled lampshades; the decorative woodwork on all the bookshelves and

chests of drawers—it’s all brand new and dust-free, unmarked by the ravages of time. This is obviously a comment on Rebecca’s excessive, constructed superficiality, but nothing feels lived-in. It’s as if the production designer seized an opportunity to create a jazz-age fantasia in miniature, not thinking how that would inhibit a viewer’s ability to suspend disbelief.

Rotberg considers White Lies to be “a Mexican film” because it’s filtered, she says, through her own experience. (Its English title in fact comes from a Mexican saying.) This endeavour could be remembered not so much for its powerful storytelling or superlative acting as for its willingness to trust audience sensibilities enough to tell its story mostly in te reo Maori. It may even come to be seen as a turning point in our still-evolving national cinema. O

White Lies (Tuakiri Huna) | Director: Dana Rotberg | Producers: John Barnett and Chris Hampson | Executive Producer: Rosa Bosch | Screenplay: Dana Rotberg, based on the novella Medicine Woman

by Witi Ihimaera | Key Cast: Whirimako Black, Rachel House and Antonia Prebble | Music: John Psathas | Cinematographer: Alun Bollinger | Production Company: South Pacific Pictures | Distribution: Madman NZ/South Pacific Pictures | Financed

by New Zealand Film Commission, Screen Production Incentive Fund, NZ on Air and South Pacific Pictures | Filmed on location in New Zealand in Te Urewera, Ruatahuna, Waikaremoana and Auckland | Colour, 1:1:85, 96 minutes, Dolby Digital, Rated M with violence and nudity

Hugh Lilly is an Auckland reviewer.

Sound Mixing, Gold Class.

Our new mixing theatre is now open.

To hear what we can do for your next film or drama, email steve.f@imagesandsound.co.nz

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B EHIND THE S CEN E S

FROM THE

SET

Welcome to a new feature in ONFILM, which we call From the Set. We’re looking for your favourite moments from recent productions—images that showcase the work you’ve been doing behind-the-scenes to bring New Zealand to our screens.

Send your submissions to: editor@onfilm.co.nz or post them to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram tagged #onfilmmag (Make sure you have permission from everyone in the photo).

A.

B.

B.

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A. Car park in the Wellington central city was filled with extras (and torches which we’re not allowed to show you) for an epic TVC produced by Exit Films. We also can’t show you the helicopters that buzzed around all night. (pic Kevin Spring/Exit Films). B. Matt Barrett sitting at the trestle table containing the fully equipped battlestation that is the Media 3 vision control room at the Villa Dalmacija in New North Road, (owned by the Dalmatian Cultural Society). The system was designed by Dylan Reeve and he’ll be writing us an article later in the year about how he put it all together—and how you can too.

C. Eventual winner of the Wellington 48 HOURS competition, Traces of Nut took out the top prize at the ninth time of asking. Here’s co-writer/director Dean Hewison, Larissa McMillan, Matty Warmington and Warner Emery showing us the view from in front of the camera (pic Vanessa Patea for wellington48.co.nz). D. On stage shooting Toa Fraser’s cinematic adaptation of the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s production of Giselle: Woman bending over: Kirsten Stanners (MU Artist); Sitting down: Ethan and Gillian (RNZB); Man turned away from camera: Simon Ambridge (1st AD); Blonde woman in red sneakers: Amber Dreadon (MU Designer); Man in cap by camera: Ben Rowsell (1st AC); Man by him in red sneakers: Toa Fraser (Director); Man in blue shirt in front of Toa: Leon Narbey (DOP); Red blur: Alan Wilson (GAFFER); Bald guy in black t-shirt is Kayne Asher (GRIP); Blue t-shirt guy with arms behind his back is Kim Thomas (DIT); The dancer in front of the camera is Abigail Boyle as Myrtha E. From Louise Leitch’s new short, Blankets: (l-r) actor Carly Owen is partially obscured, camera assistant Aline Tran, DOP Rob Marsh (behind the Red Epic 5K) and director Louise Leitch. Blankets has just been selected to play at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival. F. The Wellington Police were summoned to investigate some strange noises in the woods during the Rialto Channel 48 HOURS shoot weekend. Instead of villains up to no good, they found Moffilaide shooting their film Kung-Foodoo. The ones not dressed as cops are James Simpson, Hayden Weal, David Brownjohn (pic from Simeon Duncombe’s cellphone).

G. C-Cal 2013 Ep 6, Shazza’s Challenge - Country Calendar cameraman Jeff Aldridge gets a dog’s eye view as he films farm manager Sharon Chart, pic by Vicki Wilkinson-Baker.

F.

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PRODUCTION LIS T IN G S

FILM ★ IN PRODUCTION ★ LONER short prod cos Godwit Films, Ocular Treats writers Wendell Cooke, Mike Yule dir Wendell Cooke prod Jeremy Macey DP Jess Charlton prod mgr Katie Frost prod coord Jordan Harding prod des Tim Holman w/robe Seraphina Tausilia s/prps Alistair van Hattum 1AD Amy Rountree 2AD Elliot Travers gaffer Nani Conforte grip Bret Saunders snd Nic McGowan m/up Sarah Elford caterer Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana ed Mat Fraser cast Jack Sergent-Shadbolt, Dra Mackay, Hayley Sproull, Travers Graham, Simon Shreeve, Alan Palmer

★ POST PRODUCTION ★ ARE YOU STILL HERE? Short film prod co Candlelit Pictures prod Alix Whittaker writer Oliver Page dir Jordan Dodson DP Sean Wallace b cam op Jacob Faga gaffer Matt Johns snd rec Richard Dugdale boom op Josh Finnigan ed Gwen Norcliffe cast Anthea Hill, Oliver Page, Chris Tempest, Rowland Stirling, Bill Gavin and Romy Hooper GHOST SHARK 2: URBAN JAWS Feature prod co Mad Fox Films writers/prods/ dirs Andrew Todd, Johnny Hall line prod Alastair Tye Samson DP Andrew Todd art dir Jasmine Rogers-Scott m/up Kirsten Taiapa snd recs Alastair Tye Samson, Joh Bloomberg, Kirk Pflaum, Richard Lord stills Adam Baines PA Ellie Callahan 2 unit dir Doug Dillaman, Rene Parker eds Andrew Todd, Johnny Hall cmpsr Andrew Todd cast Campbell Cooley, Johnny Hall, Steve Austin, Kathleen Burns, Roberto Nascimento, Isabella Burt, George Hardy, Juliette Danielle, Alan Bagh, David Farrier, Lizzie Tollemache, Stig Eldred, Timothy Bartlett, Helen Moran, Jeff Clark, Leighton Cardno THE CURE Digital action/thriller prod co David Gould Studios sales agents CineTel Films writer/dir David Gould prods Alex Clark, David Gould prod coord Olivia Scott prod asst Amanda Berryman rnnrs Alistair van Hattum, Steven Charles acct Marc Tyron prod des Gim Bon art dir/sby Haley Williams byr/dress Chris Chandler art dept assts Hannah Sutherland, Heather Winship, Josh Cleary set bldr Richard Klinkhamer painter Stine Wassermann gfx Larissa McMillan intern Ruby Fitzgerald 1AD Marc Ashton 2AD Jack Nicol 3AD Keryn Johns cast dir Liz Mullane script sup Marian Angeles DP David Paul equip hire Cameraworks; David Paul, Chris Hiles f/puller Matthew Tuffin 2AC Graham Smout 3rd AC/grip Gene Warriner data wrglr Josh O’Brien 2U cam Ross McWhannell 2U cam asst Manuel Czepok cost des Gabrielle Stevenson byr/sby Estelle Stroud asst/sby Rose McIntyre gaffer Adrian ‘Wookie’ Hebron b/boy Alan Wilson b/boy add Chris Murphy lx asst Jared O’Neale fx m/up lead Naomi Lynch fx m/up art Tanya Barlow m/up intern Sarah Elford snd rec Benoit Hardonniere stunt sups Rodney Cook, Shane Rangi stunts Allan Henry, Luke Hawker spfx sup Paul McInnes sci consult George Slim weapons Paul McLaughlin EPK Brendan Dee unit pub Sian Clement cast Antonia Prebble, Daniel Lissing, John Bach, Stephen Lovatt

THE LIGHT HARVESTER NZFC fresh short prod co Retinae Productions writer/dir Jason Lei Howden prod Sarah Wensley exec prod Debra Kelleher DP David Paul cast dirs Tina Cleary, Miranda Rivers prod mgr/loc Anne Rene Brashier script sup/stills Pete Wellington 1AD Marc Ashton 2AD/cast chaprn Jules Lovelock 3AD Hayley Budulis extra coord Marina Bonofiglio f/puller Matt Tuffin c/ loader Graham Smout split op Tareq Branney data wrglr/stills Paul Wedel gaffer Adrian Hebron b/boy Lee Scott 1st lx asst Sam Wynn 2nd lx asst Oren Graham tech mgr Avalon Studios; Roger Wallan grip Maurice Kapua 1st grip asst Caleb Wharepapa 2nd grip asst Rewi Hudson snd rec Benoit Hardonniere horse wrglrs Carolyn Press McKenzie, Jim McKenzie prod des Wade Cowin art dir John Harding props/mkrs Phil Halasz, Rupert Grobben art dept coord Annabel Graham set builders/dec Rose Petterson, Alistair van Hattum, Charles Fogarty, Tareq Branney, Kyle Collins, Tim Johnson breakdown assts Nick Swain, Holly Cooper cost des/ stby Diana de Mol cost asst Silvie Kirkman stby w/robe Larissa McMillen m/up des Lucy Gargiulo m/up asst Hayley Ness, Lydia Harfield, Rinn Vejsawarn safety Augie Davis traffic Sky Adams unit mgr Josanne Tane unit asst Anthony Faifai ed Jeffrey Hurrell cmpsr Mike Newport equip Cameraworks, Filmtec, Portsmouth key cast Craig Hall, Loren Taylor, John Bach, Beck Taylor, Henry Braude, Sam Hallahan WATERCOOLER short film prod co Candlelit Pictures prod Alix Whittaker prod Anna Duckworth writer/ dir Fergus Burnett 1AD Laura Hutton DP Alan Waddingham f/puller Tom Neunzerling gaffer Matt Kofoed snd rec Chesney McDonald prod asst Andrew Pearson prod asst Peter Gedye prod asst Beatrice Hazelhurst m/up Tanya Barlow cost des Nicole Wesseling editor Kerri Roggio cast Grae Burton, Jess Holly Bates

★ PENDING RELEASE ★ CRACKHEADS 95min feature prod co Crackheads Film writers Andy Sophocleous, Tim Tsiklauri prod Andy Sophocleous dir/exec prod Tim Tsiklauri co prod Nicola Peeperkoorn DP Alex McDonald 1ADs Enny Benzonelli, CJ Withey, Josh Johnston, Nick Miller prod mgr Theo McGrath prod rnnr Rachel Jury prod asst Rohit Pande, Matthew Neary, Anthony Wackrow prod des Henric Matthiesen art dir/ propmster Crystal Ash prps/mkr Alex Resch, Keegan Jansen prps/byrs Crystal Gorham, Eloise Gorham art assts Lisa Ioane, Sarah Beale, Rohit Pande, Shona Tarai gfx Shona Tarai on set spfx Alexx Resch constr mgr Vladimir Tsiklauri f/puller Eoin O’Liddigh, Carita De Jong, Alex Campbell cam 2 Manon Lafitte, Carita De Jong gaffer Alex Jenkins b/boy Sam Brehend lx assts Matt Thomas, James Jefford, Finn McGowan snd Matt Dickens, Jamie Goodwin, CJ Withey, Gabrielle Muller, David Green loc mgr Nick Miller w/robe Vanessa Chester m/up Celeste Strewe, John Howard ed Edward Sampson asst ed Alex Liu unit mgr Rachel Jury online prod mgr Luke Watkinson cont Ben Hobbs, Lydia Moore strybd Meg

Cummins illstrtr Andrew Stanaway p/grphr Ida Larsson cast Preston O’Brien, Kurt Stowers, Jeremy Birchall, Alvin Maharaj, Jamie Robinson, Marjan Gorgani, David Aston, Midge Perez, Rangi Rangitukunoa, Andries Mentz, Stephen Brunton, Luna Rioumina, Denise Snoad, Shannon Claire, Brendan Lovell, Greg Smith, Andy Sophocleous, Amber Rhodes, Coen Falke, Grant Mitchell, Kirsten Pedersen, Dan Pretorius, Greg Goodyear, Sean O’Conner, Rajat Dehl, Kail Huiarangi, Kasia Pollock, Chad Mills, Anita Crisinel, Campbell Cooley, Mark Snoad, Sandra Fischer, Luke Watkinson, Ben Hobbs, Steve Tipane, Daniel Sewell, Brad Gatehouse, Omar Al Sobky, Ryan Lampp, Yvette Harvie-Salter

TV & VIDEO ★ PRE PRODUCTION ★ NOTHING TRIVIAL 3 13x60min drama/comedy prod co SPP (09 839 0999) exec prods John Barnett, Chris Bailey, Kelly Martin, Rachel Lang, Gavin Strawhan prod Chris Bailey, Britta Hawkins line prod Tina Archibald prod mgr Jo Tagg prod coord Jarl Devine prod sec Kylie Newman prod rnnr Julie-Anne Mueller writers Rachel Lang, Gavin Strawhan, Fiona Samuel, Nick Ward, Kate McDermott script coord Rachael McMahon prod acct Stephanie Dahlberg, Lee-Ann Hasson dirs Murray Keane, Mike Smith 1ADs Gene Keelan, Emma Hinton 2ADs Kate Hargreaves, Rebecca Webb 3AD Nic Spry script sups Gabrielle Lynch, Guy Strachan loc mgr Sally Sherratt loc asst Damion Nathan DPs Marty Smith, Rewa Harre cam op Dana Little A f/ puller Blair Ihaka B f/puller Sam Bailey asst cam Fiona Young gaffer Giles Coburn key grip Gary Illingworth snd rec Mark Williams prod des Miro Harre art coord Lia Neilson off set art dir Petelo Vaihu on set art dir George Hamilton set dec Donna Marinkovich set dec asst Domini Calder prps master Patrick Walker art dpt assts Marcel Vidot, Brooke Darlison construct mgr Nigel Tweed cost des Katrina Hodge cost coord Alice Baker cost byr Charlotte Rust cost s/bys Anna Voon, Petra Verweij m/up des Shannon Sinton m/ up artsts Jacinta Driver, Verity Griffiths unit mgr Amy Russo unit asst Deborah Boylan cast dir Annabel Lomas safety Lifeguard & Safety eds Allanah Milne, Jochen Fitzherbert asst ed Kerri Roggio post prod sup Grant Baker snd post sup Steve Finnigan pub Tamar Munch pub asst Fern Sutherland cast Blair Strang, Tandi Wright, Debbie NewbyWard, Shane Cortese, Nicole Whippy, Aaron Ward, Will Hall, Jason Hoyte

★ IN PRODUCTION ★ ABALONE WARS II 3x60min HD doco prod co NHNZ (03 479 9799) for Discovery Network Asia-Pacific exec prod John Hyde asst prod Luke Pike series prod Robin Shingleton prod mgr Jill Soper prod coord Nikki Stirling field dir Max Quinn post dir Simon Fleming eds Simon Coldrick, Josie Haines post snd Errol Samuelson gfx Mediafreaks narrator Mike Rowe COUNTRY CALENDAR 2013 30x30min rural NZ lifestyles prod co TVNZ exec prod Tina McLaren prod Julian O’Brien,

Dan Henry prod mgr Robyn Best dir/reps Carol Archie, Jerome Cvitanovich, Katherine Edmond, Kerryanne Evans, Dan Henry, Richard Langston, Julian O’Brien, Frank Torley, Vicki Wilkinson-Baker rsrchr Vivienne Jeffs GOOD MORNING 2013 prod co TVNZ exec prod Tina McLaren prod Sally-Anne Kerr line-up pres Jeanette Thomas, advt prod Amber Smith advt mgr Donah Bowers-Fleming advt prod asst Isabella Stimpson spnsrship mgr Merril Thompson rsrchrs Cinna Smith, Irene MacArthur, Liana McPherson DA Gretchen Eliott prod coord /2nd floor mgr Giverney Teves stylist/props/ greenrm/floor mgr Anna Clark, Tracy Oliver segment pres Astar Kirkpatrick, Matai Smith LIFE FORCE II 6x60min HD doco prod co NHNZ (03 479 9799) exec prod Andrew Waterworth series prod Lorne Townend prod mgr Jill Soper prods Kyle Murdoch, Quinn Berentson rsrchrs Dr Nigel Dunstone, John Gray, Siddharth Nambiar DPs Mike Single, Riaan Venter and Herbert Brauer, Peter Nearhos, Nallamuthu Subbiah cam assts Chris Mayer-Hohdadl, Hardus Vermaak, Brad Beltramo, music Plan 9 gfx Sauce MITRE 10 DREAMHOME 2013 prod co TVNZ exec prod Tina McLaren prod Gavin Wood host Simon Barnett dir Leon Sefton DP Gavin Stroud cam ops Richard Sutcliff Kirk Pflaum snd Marcus Lawson, Makoto Takaoka asst prod Rachael Cooper prod mgr Terrri MacFarlane prod coord Hannah Luty key grip Toby Conway grip asst James Creevey redcoats Kirsty Bowerman, Gina Broom eds Debbie Mathews, Paul Anderson, Doug Dillaman, Samantha Sperlich, Tory Binoff media assts Rebecca Reid, Lydia Keast media wrangler Thomas Nuthall MY LIFE AS A GANGSTER GIRL 1x60min pilot HD doco prod co NHNZ (03 479 9799) for A&E TV exec prod Alan Hall sup prod Penny Ashbrook prod mgr Dayle Spavins prod asst Shannon Winn rsrchrs/segment producers Stephanie Antosca, Amy Tenowich dir Alan Hall DP Kris Denton prod coord Dwayne Fowler snd op Marla Hettinger post prod Bill Morris ed Cameron Crawford OUR BIG BLUE BACKYARD 6x60min HD doco prod co NHNZ (03 479 9799) for TVNZ, NZOA Platinum Fund exec prod Judith Curran series prod Colette Beaudry prod mgr Robyn Pearson rsrchrs Sophie Fern, Andrew Scott, Sara Kaltz DPs Max Quinn, Lindsey Davidson u/w cam Brady Doak, Kina Scollay, Steve Hudson, Dave Abbott, Steve Hathaway u/w assts Andrew Scott, Ross Funnell, Peter Crabb, Winston Cowie, Crispin Middleton post dirs Rosalind Mason, Job Rustenhoven eds Cameron Crawford, Karen Jackson, Marilyn Copland PRAISE BE 2013 prod co TVNZ Prod Unit exec prod Tina McLaren prod/dir Ron Pledger prod mgr Dawn Bowater pres/rsrchr Chris Nichol mus dir Peter Averi SHORTLAND STREET 5x30min weekly prod co SPP prod Simon Bennett line prod Liz Adams dirs Geoff Cawthorn, Katherine McRae, Richard Barr, Oliver Driver, Kiel McNaughton, Ian Hughes script prod Paul Sonne hd writer Joss King s/

HOW TO GET YOUR PRODUCTION LISTED Because all listing information is voluntarily supplied by the production companies concerned, these pages are indicative of production activity rather than being an exhaustive record. Please see www.onfilm.co.nz or contact crewlists@onfilm.co.nz for everything you need to know about getting your production listings into ONFILM, including deadlines, submitting new entries and updates, and abbreviations.

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liners Joanna Smith, Caroline Bell-Booth, Harry McNaughton, Arthur Meek, Gemma Pascual Avila med adv Sally Geary, Sarah Nevitt script eds Lynette Crawford-Williams, Karen Curtis script eds asst Alistair Boroughs prod coord Kinta Jennings asst pro coord Eva Yang prod acct Diane Boddy acct asst Natalie Millerchen loc mgr Taulua Moimoi 1ADs Michele PriestEdmondson, Moe Hobbs, Flora Woods, Jimmy Scott 2ADs Francis Koon, Katie Dallimore 3AD Cat Henshall AD trainee Lisa Fothergill prod runner Chris Richardson dir assts Kathe Calis, Sarah Brinsdon, Laurel Urban tech prod George Platt tech coord Bryn Collins vis mix Fran Hodgson MST Charlie Adams, Ji Yong Kim loc DP Sean Rundle cam ops Nigel Roberts, Nick Hayward, Ayrton Winitana cam asst Mark Minors snd rec Greg Moon boom ops Andrew Lusk, Nick Whittaker prod des Nick Williams art dirs Andy Currie, Natalie Tsuchiya, James Rennie art dept mgr Ana Miskell stby prps Scott McDowall, Logan Childs art dept assts Katherine Sasse, Bonnie Kells gfx coord Allison Campbell cost des Nicola Newman asst cost des Rebecca Jennings cost standbys Katie Jones, Kurupae Rikihana, Abby Stephens cost maker Alice Hayes laundry asst Jan Beacham hair/m/up sup Rebecca Elliott m/up Ambika Venkataiah, Katie Fell, Sharlene Cassidy, Hannah Barber eds Anna Benedikter, Matthew Allison asst ed Lydia Moore, Blacksand Sound & Video snd mixrs Simon Weir, Graham Wallace cast dirs Andrea Kelland post prod sup Dylan Reeve pub Rachael Keereweer pub asst Annabelle White dialogue coach Bree Peters comp Graham Bollard p/grphrs Jae Frew, Matt Klitscher caterer Zest Catering cast Michael Galvin, Angela Bloomfield, Amanda Billing, Benjamin Mitchell, Matt Chamberlain, Beth Allen, Sally Martin, Jacqueline Nairn, Pearl McGlashan,

Geordie Holibar, Frankie Adams, Tyler Read, Amelia Reid, Teuila Blakely, Pua Magasiva, Chris Tempest, Kerry-Lee Dewing, Amy Usherwood, Sam Bunkall, Shavaughn Ruakere SMART CITIES—ADELAIDE 1x60min doc prod NHNZ (03 479 9799) for NGC Ad Sales exec prod John Hyde dir Mike Piper prod mgr Christina Gerrie rsrchr Marcus Turner post dir Jane Avery ed Sandy Pantall THE ART OF ARCHITECT 44min prod co TVNZ Production Unit exec prod Tina McLaren prod Dana Youngman prod mgr/prod acct Naomi Marsh dir Dean Cornish pres Peter Elliott rsrchrs Sarah Jones, Sue Killian ed Doug Dillaman THE HEALTH STORY DP Scott Mouat cam Scott Mouat, Michael McLeod prod asst Gabby Goldring dirs Paul Trotman, Malcolm Hall prod Paul Trotman n/ wrk exec Sue Woodfield

★ POST PRODUCTION ★ GEM HUNT 7x60min doc prod co NHNZ (03 479 9799) for Travel Channel exec prod/series prod Craig Meade prod mgr Pam Hislop rsrchr Kamani Suppiah, Robbie Bridgman field dir Jeff Avery DP Greg Nelson snd Tony Spear I ESCAPED JAWS 1x60min doc prod co NHNZ (03 479 9799) for Discovery Channel exec prod Judith Curran prod Matt Tomaszewski prod mgr Suzanne Lloyd post dir Job Rustenhoven ed Josi Haines archive Lemuel Lyes

I SURVIVED 5 (EXTENDED SERIES) 6x60min HD doco prod co NHNZ (03 479 9799) for A&E TV exec prod Alan Hall sup prod Penny Ashbrook prod mgr Dayle Spavins prod asst Shannon Winn rsrchrs Stephanie Antosca, Bridget Baylin, Amy Tenowich, Karen Price, Tucker Bowen, Valerie Aburn, Ann Lieber dir Sally Howell DP Kris Denton prod coord Dwayne Fowler TEN DEADLIEST SHARKS 1x60min doc prod co NHNZ/Northern Pictures (03 479 9799) for Discovery Channel exec prod John Hyde prod/dir Mark Orton prod mgr Christina Gerrie ed Mark Orton archive rsrchr Lemuel Lyes rsrchr Adele Bennett snd post Errol Samuelson gpx des Mathew Trbuhovic, Don Ferns THE ALMIGHTY JOHNSONS SERIES 3 13x60min drama series exec prods John Barnett, Chris Bailey, Kelly Martin, James Griffin prod Mark Beesley line prod Tina Archibald s/ liners James Griffin, Tim Balme, Ross Hastings, Natalie Medlock, Helen Searancke, Michael Bennett, Laura Hill, Nick Ward writers James Griffin, Tim Balme, Ross Hastings, Natalie Medlock, Michael Bennett, Nick Ward dirs Murray Keane, Mike Smith, Geoff Cawthorn, Michael Hurst prod mgr Jo Tagg prod coord Jarl Devine prod sec Kylie Newman prod rnnr David Graham prod acc Lee-Ann Hasson DPs Marty Smith, Rewa Harre prod des Clayton Ercolano cost des Sarah Aldridge snd Mark Williams eds Eric de Beus, Gary Hunt asst ed Gwen Norcliffe pub Tamar Munch pub asst Fern Sutherland composers Victoria Kelly, Sean Donnelly post prod sup Grant Baker snd post sup Steve Finnigan cast Emmett Skilton, Tim Balme, Dean O’Gorman, Jared Turner, Ben

Barrington, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Hayden Frost, Fern Sutherland, Rachel Nash, Michelle Langstone, Eve Gordon

★ IN RELEASE ★ GO GIRLS SERIES 5 13x60min drama series exec prods John Barnett, Chris Bailey, Kelly Martin, Gavin Strawhan, Rachel Lang prods Chris Bailey, Britta Hawkins line prod Sharron Jackson prod mgr Linda Fenwick prod coord Kate Olive script/extras coord Bridget BoltonRiley writers Gavin Strawhan, Rachel Lang, Kate McDermott, Sam Shore, Rachel Callinan, Angeline Loo prod acct Elisha Calvert eds Jochen Fitzherbert, Allanah Milne asst ed Kerri Roggio pub Tamar Munch, Rachel Keereweer pub asst Safia van der Zwan post prod Images and Sound cast George Mason, JJ Fong, Tai Berdinner-Blades, Shara Connolly, Leon Wadham, Ingrid Park, Irene Wood, Michelle Langstone, Ian Hughes, Colin Moy WILD ABOUT NEW ZEALAND 6x60min HD doco prod co NHNZ (03 479 9799) for TVNZ, NZOA Platinum Fund exec prod John Hyde series prod Robin Shingleton prod mgr Suzanne Lloyd field dirs Nicky Hammond, Alex Clark, Quinn Berentson, Claire Meech rsrchr Marcus Turner prod assts Michael Henríquez, Claire Clements, Robbie Bridgman, Amy Anderson, Joey Bania, Roland Payne DP Alex Hubert snd Daniel Wardrop, Tim Brott, John Patrick host Gus Roxburgh post dirs Alex Clark, Quinn Berentson, Brendan Withy eds Cameron Crawford, Josi Haines, Doug Dillaman, Marilyn Copland, Brendan Withy

39

SI MON MORRIS IS IN C O RRIG IBL E

WHAT THE HELL IS AN EPK? “At the Movies” reviewer—and screen industry veteran—Simon Morris tells Kiwi publicists how to do their job.

(POINT 1) I’m told that the late President Reagan thought that the scariest words in the English language were “I’m from the Government and I’m here to help”.

(POINT 2) I’m also told—often by disgruntled filmmakers—that film reviewers love putting the boot into movies because a negative review is so much more entertaining than a positive one.

Let me say, first, that nothing is more depressing than slagging off a movie. It’s an indication that I’ve wasted two hours that I’ll never get back. And second … Well I am from the Government—public radio, in my case—and I really would like to help our own film industry, or at least help make it a bit more critic-friendly than it currently is.

When a reviewer is about to devote a chunk of airwaves to a film, he or she is usually assisted by the distributor providing a few clips from it to illustrate any salient points. The technical term for it is an EPK— an Electronic Press Kit—but really it’s just a bunch of useful stuff.

Generally these include a Trailer (very helpful for kicking off a review—wow, look at this!), a few Selected Clips (even more helpful, not least because they indicate which bits of the film the distributor considers are any good), and a few Interviews with “key personnel”.

The reason I’m mentioning this is that New Zealand films generally provide some of the least helpful alleged EPKs around. I got one the other week that provided no clips, not even a trailer, but an hour and a half of badlyrecorded chats with everyone from the director’s Mum to the cleaning crew.

If you think I’m going to wade through an

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hour and a half of chat looking for one coherent, useful thought to bore my already longsuffering listeners with, you’re the one incurable optimist in the New Zealand film industry.

I’ve had EPKs with no sound at all, just dimly heard bush noises. I’ve had EPKs in which every clip is unsuitable for broadcasting—or at least broadcasting to anyone with kids nearby. I’ve had EPKs that no-one could open without a degree in advanced Information Technology.

I realise that I see rather more standard EPKs (thousands) than most of our filmmakers (none), so, in a spirit of being helpful (see POINT 1), and not venting my frustration on well-meaning filmmakers (see POINT 2), this is what an EPK is.

First, a good snappy trailer. New Zealand films don’t generally star huge-name movie stars who conveniently have headline-grabbing affairs with each other on the eve of their movie’s release. They have to rely on the film looking attractive, or at least interesting.

Make sure all the dialogue in it is clear, useful and not too many f-bombs. These latter will get you on edgy youth-oriented radio and TV. You don’t need those. You need everybody.

Second, a few good, short clips—no more than a minute each, and preferably taken from the first part of the film. There’s no point giving away your Big Surprise Twist, assuming the reviewer won’t use it. As if!

And since you’re aiming at both radio and television, make sure there’s plenty of dialogue, preferably spoken by the stars. How many times have I written the line “the star is really good,” or whatever, and then have no clip to prove it with? (It’s a rhetorical

question, don’t bother thinking about it.)

Most EPKs also add what they call B-Roll, which are back-stage shots of the making of the film. I never use them, but TV loves shots of Johnny Depp, Will Ferrell and Dame Judi Dench goofing around, surrounded by greenscreen. So put a bit of that in, I suppose.

And last, interviews. Yes, we want to hear what the director thought he was doing, and what the stars thought of the director.

We want the truth but, in the words of Bilbo Baggins, we don’t want all the truth. Cut it down. An EPK is real life with all the boring bits cut out.

And if you want your EPK to do its job— that is, make your movie appealing, accessible and really easy to make a review out of—hand the job to someone you trust. Like you, for instance.

Don’t give a little camera to the work-experience guy who’s helping with the grip truck.

And don’t get someone who’s come up with a Whole New Way to do it, involving revolutionary formats, surprise Easter Eggs and amusing pop-ups.

Nobody wants any surprises in an EPK. They just want the stuff as quickly and least stressfully delivered as humanly possible. Do this and the reviewer will be your friend. Give them anything else and you’ve made a powerful enemy, Mr Bond. Or worse, somebody who can’t be arsed reviewing the thing at all. O Simon Morris has been involved in the New Zealand film and television industry since before it was an industry. He now produces and presents At the Movies for RNZ National, as well as moonlighting on Matinee Idle every public holiday.

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