Speaker 1: Jelder.
Speaker 2: I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is the Front Page, a
Speaker 2: daily podcast presented by the New Zealand Herald. You meet
Speaker 2: anyone overseas and say New Zealand. The first thing they
Speaker 2: bring up is Hobbits. Lord of the Rings was a
Speaker 2: crowning achievement for film production in Altieroa and opened the
Speaker 2: door for more movies to be filmed here.
Speaker 3: A Minecraft movie is just the latest.
Speaker 2: Overseas blockbuster to be produced on our shores, and that's
Speaker 2: hitting cinemas around the world this weekend, while local film
Speaker 2: Tina has been.
Speaker 3: A box office sensation.
Speaker 2: But as the cost of film production saws around the world,
Speaker 2: what does the future hold for New Zealand and can
Speaker 2: we break out of the shadow of Middle Earth? Today
Speaker 2: on the front Page, we're off to the movies with
Speaker 2: the Chief Executive of the Enzed Film Commission, Annie Murray. Annie,
Speaker 2: can we start with what exactly the Film Commission is?
Speaker 2: Where does it set in the production, commissioning, promotion side
Speaker 2: of our local film industry.
Speaker 1: The New Zealand Film Commission does all of those things
Speaker 1: in relation to film. So we fund New Zealand film
Speaker 1: on the cultural side of our mandate and we are
Speaker 1: funded by the Lottery's Commission and the Ministry for Culture
Speaker 1: inherited to fund film, promote it and participate in its production.
Speaker 1: So that's wonderful. New Zealand films like Tina are which
Speaker 1: is out at the moment. And then on the economic side,
Speaker 1: we administer the New Zealand screen Production Rebate and we
Speaker 1: attract production into New Zealand. And that's the likes of Minecraft,
Speaker 1: which just came out this week, or Sweet Tooth or
Speaker 1: the Brad Pitt movie that's shooting in the South Island soon.
Speaker 1: So we do both the economic and the cultural.
Speaker 2: So there are two big things to celebrate with local
Speaker 2: movies at the moment. Hey, you mentioned Tina as being
Speaker 2: a box office sensation.
Speaker 1: Basically, when you walked in, I thought, here's someone that
Speaker 1: can offer my kids something different.
Speaker 3: The other schools say, we're to Ridget.
Speaker 4: You're probably the first Polynesian woman we've ever had, though.
Speaker 1: Congrats.
Speaker 2: According to Flex, it has made four point two million
Speaker 2: dollars since it came out in February. What do you
Speaker 2: think has led to that success.
Speaker 1: Tina is a beautiful story. It's an authentically told story.
Speaker 1: It's really wonderfully acted. It's well written. It's just a
Speaker 1: premium film and it has really resonated with a broad audience.
Speaker 1: It is about a Sarmon mum who loses her daughter
Speaker 1: in the christ Church earthquakes and burries herself in her work,
Speaker 1: which is to be the mum of a school choir.
Speaker 1: And it's a really beautiful emotional story. But it's also
Speaker 1: a coral film, so the music in it is fantastic.
Speaker 1: It's really hard to watch Tina without crying. I think
Speaker 1: everybody who's seen it has had a cry but also
Speaker 1: a laugh. And it's just a really fantastically warm New
Speaker 1: Zealand film. So it's currently sitting at number six of
Speaker 1: all time New Zealand films. So it's taken a four
Speaker 1: point two million at the box office, which means two
Speaker 1: hundred and seventy five thousand people have been to see
Speaker 1: it so far in its first month, so I think
Speaker 1: we're just into week five now. What that means is
Speaker 1: that that has filled Eden Park more than five times
Speaker 1: over with people who've gone to see Tina. Not even
Speaker 1: Coldplay did that. So this is an incredible success and
Speaker 1: it's the biggest New Zealand film since Hunt for the
Speaker 1: Wilder People. Back in twenty sixteen. We're absolutely delighted with
Speaker 1: the team who've put this together and we're asking them,
Speaker 1: what are you doing next?
Speaker 2: You mentioned Times for the World of People and Tina
Speaker 2: is the highest grossing local movie since then. We seem
Speaker 2: to have a box office hit every few years. But
Speaker 2: it's a little irregular, isn't it. So why do you
Speaker 2: think we are kind of reluctant to celebrate our own movies.
Speaker 1: I don't think we are reluctant to celebrate them. I
Speaker 1: think New Zealanders really do love New Zealand stories, and
Speaker 1: you know, you can see it in ten r. The difference,
Speaker 1: I think is that, you know, if we look back
Speaker 1: over the history of New Zealand film, going to the
Speaker 1: cinema to see it was everything back in the day,
Speaker 1: So Hunt for the Wilder People was probably coming in
Speaker 1: at the tail end of that kind of golden age
Speaker 1: of cinema going ben COVID hit, and we've had a
Speaker 1: complete change in behavior, not only as a result of
Speaker 1: COVID but also the rise of the streamers. So there's
Speaker 1: so many more ways in which to see films. So
Speaker 1: the box office is just the beginning of the story.
Speaker 1: And I really want to emphasize that it's while TENR
Speaker 1: has been a fantastic hit, we haven't yet seen how
Speaker 1: it's going to play around the world, how it will
Speaker 1: sell into various platforms around the world, as all of
Speaker 1: our films do. So we need to stop being so
Speaker 1: focused on that first two, three, four weeks at the
Speaker 1: box office and focus more on the long life cycle
Speaker 1: of films, which means, you know, there might be a
Speaker 1: film that is a quiet release locally, doesn't you know,
Speaker 1: make a big noise at the box office, but sells
Speaker 1: fantastically well around the world and is seen by an
Speaker 1: awfully large number of people, and that's also a success.
Speaker 1: So we need to look at how we judge the
Speaker 1: success in a different way.
Speaker 2: And of course the other thing we can celebrate is
Speaker 2: that Minecraft is hitting cinemas after being filmed here last year.
Speaker 3: Who are you I am, Steve.
Speaker 5: Ok?
Speaker 2: What does it mean for our local film economy that
Speaker 2: these big blockbusters are still coming to shoot in New Zealand.
Speaker 1: It's everything to our local industry. They are coming in
Speaker 1: spend big money, so Minecraft will spend by the time
Speaker 1: it's finished well over one hundred and fifty million dollars
Speaker 1: in New Zealand's economy. So that is benefiting businesses accommodation
Speaker 1: what calls all the crew who work on it. It's
Speaker 1: fantastic for developing careers. So the experience that our crew
Speaker 1: gain on a project like Minecraft is phenomenal and they
Speaker 1: get a credit like that on their CV and they
Speaker 1: go on to bigger and better things. Also, the work
Speaker 1: for our post production industry, so Wetter Affects did a
Speaker 1: lot of the visual effects for Minecraft. It's fantastic work
Speaker 1: for them. And we're talking highly skilled, very well paid jobs.
Speaker 1: These are jobs that set up our people for a
Speaker 1: career in a creative, rewarding, fantastic industry that actually will
Speaker 1: pay them quite well.
Speaker 6: I understand that this is a risk averse industry. I
Speaker 6: get it, But at two hundred million dollar movie are
Speaker 6: also a risk, you know, and it doesn't always work out,
Speaker 6: but you take the risk anyway, and instead of making
Speaker 6: one two hundred million dollar movie, try making twenty ten
Speaker 6: million dollar movies or fifty fifty right, fifty four million
Speaker 6: dollar movies.
Speaker 2: There have been global concerns around the rising cost of
Speaker 2: film production. It's been a topic of conversation at CinemaCon
Speaker 2: in Las Vegas just this week with President of Warner
Speaker 2: Brothers Global Distribution Jeff Goldstein, raising concerns around production, marketing
Speaker 2: and turning a profit. Are we seeing those same concerns
Speaker 2: impact New Zealand.
Speaker 1: I think rising costs are a concern across the board,
Speaker 1: not just for the film industry. Inflation has affected every
Speaker 1: facet of our economy, so film is no exception to that.
Speaker 1: What we are doing here at the Film Commission about
Speaker 1: that is we are taking a fewer and bigger mantra
Speaker 1: to the way that wes. We're seeing a similar mindset
Speaker 1: out of Hollywood two. So there has been a global
Speaker 1: reduction in the number of new titles being commissioned, so
Speaker 1: a bit more money being spent on fewer titles. What
Speaker 1: that means is that we're able to focus on fewer
Speaker 1: things doing them really, really well. What I see there
Speaker 1: is a real uplift and quality. So rather than sprinkling money,
Speaker 1: you know, a little bit across a lot of things,
Speaker 1: consolidating into spending more money on fewer things.
Speaker 2: Our our tax credits enough to entice studios to come
Speaker 2: make their movies at the bottom of the world. I
Speaker 2: know a lot of horror movies like ex Perl and
Speaker 2: Meghan filmed here during COVID and Universal did return here
Speaker 2: to film Megan two point oh as well, Hey, exactly.
Speaker 1: Now, I just want to correct one thing. It's not
Speaker 1: a tax credit. It's a common misconception. The rebate has
Speaker 1: nothing to do with tax It's a cash rebate. So
Speaker 1: if a production comes in and spends one hundred dollars,
Speaker 1: they get a twenty dollars rebate on the spend that
Speaker 1: qualifies in New Zealand. So it's a very efficient and
Speaker 1: fast system. So we are world renowned for having an accurate,
Speaker 1: fast and efficient rebate system and one that has integrity.
Speaker 1: So that is a real selling point for New Zealand
Speaker 1: and I'm very proud of my team that administers the rebate.
Speaker 1: So the rebate, in terms of the amount that's offered,
Speaker 1: the percentage sits around the middle of the pack. There's
Speaker 1: about one hundred places around the world as places, because
Speaker 1: they're not countries. Some countries have several, but there's one
Speaker 1: hundred odd places around the world that offer rebates ours.
Speaker 1: It's around about the middle and it's part of the
Speaker 1: offering that we have for international production. We've also got
Speaker 1: a very flexible labor market. We've got incredible creative crew.
Speaker 1: We've got you know, Oscar winners up the Wazoo in
Speaker 1: New Zealand that we should be incredibly proud of. So
Speaker 1: they come here for premium production, really strong creative, a
Speaker 1: favorable exchange rate. If you're coming this way from America,
Speaker 1: of course, you get very good value on screen, and
Speaker 1: the American companies that we deal with are very quick
Speaker 1: to say that they get the best value for money
Speaker 1: in New Zealand. We're not looking to attract everything to
Speaker 1: New Zealand. We are a premium filmmaking destination. We are
Speaker 1: very very good at it here in New Zealand. I
Speaker 1: think I'd really love New Zealanders to understand that this
Speaker 1: is something that we are incredibly good at and we
Speaker 1: don't want everyone in the world coming here. We want
Speaker 1: the best, so that's what we get with things like
Speaker 1: a Minecraft movie, Sweet Tooth, East of Eden, fantastic series
Speaker 1: that Netflix have been shooting here, Heart of the Beast,
Speaker 1: which is Brad pittsfilm being shot around Queenstown quite soon.
Speaker 1: So we're premium. We do it well.
Speaker 2: What is the process of trying to get studios to
Speaker 2: film in New Zealand. I can imagine that it just
Speaker 2: takes years. I mean, do you know something that's going
Speaker 2: to be filmed here saying five years time, Well.
Speaker 1: We've had Avatar shooting here for a number of years
Speaker 1: and a few more years to come. So Avatar three,
Speaker 1: which I think is called Fire and Ash, will release
Speaker 1: later this year. The Avatar has put about a billion
Speaker 1: dollars into our economy. The wonderful thing about those longer
Speaker 1: running titles is that somebody can come in in terms
Speaker 1: of career development. They can come into the first one
Speaker 1: or series one, whatever you want to call it, as
Speaker 1: a runner or an intern and they can come out
Speaker 1: at the other end of the fifth title in five, six,
Speaker 1: seven years as a head of department. So they're fantastic
Speaker 1: for career development. Wonderful four putting a spotlight on New
Speaker 1: Zealand internationally. So to have a filmmaker of the caliber
Speaker 1: of Jim Cameron now I think almost now a New
Speaker 1: Zealand citizen. He's been very vocal about saying he loves
Speaker 1: New Zealand, he wants to make all his movies here.
Speaker 1: I mean, this is one of the biggest best filmmakers
Speaker 1: of all time, who's chosen to live in Wellington and
Speaker 1: make all his stuff there, So you know, we do
Speaker 1: an incredibly good job. The attraction work starts years earlier,
Speaker 1: and it starts with very strong relationships that my international
Speaker 1: attraction team have built with the decision makers, mostly in
Speaker 1: Los Angeles because that is where the bulk of this
Speaker 1: work comes from. So we have a team who are
Speaker 1: frequently in the LA market. Our head of international Attraction,
Speaker 1: Philippo Mossman, is up there right now. She'll be there
Speaker 1: for a good month or so. She's gathering intel constantly,
Speaker 1: whether she's there or here, and figuring out who to
Speaker 1: talk to, what are they doing next, where are they considering,
Speaker 1: How can we help? And we have a very quick
Speaker 1: responsive attraction team who will provide information to the decision makers,
Speaker 1: whether they want locations, whether they want to look at
Speaker 1: their budgeting, they need to talk to a local line producer,
Speaker 1: what's the crew availability. We help with all of that.
Speaker 5: The one thing I left New Zealand remembering is how
Speaker 5: warm the people were, and how generous and kind and
Speaker 5: welcoming they are. Just they just are very happy people,
Speaker 5: and of course they're happy they live in New Zealand.
Speaker 4: It's an interesting industry because it has a lot of
Speaker 4: offshoots outside of the actual movie that you're making, and
Speaker 4: it has a lot of benefits for the economy, for
Speaker 4: local economies, and especially with something like these movies, they
Speaker 4: generate tourism. You know, there's you know, I can't really
Speaker 4: think of any other industry, in any industry that has
Speaker 4: the reach and the depth.
Speaker 2: I mean, you go overseas, you speak to anyone, they
Speaker 2: find out you live in New Zealand and they ask
Speaker 2: you about Hobbits in terms of the behemoth that the
Speaker 2: Lord of the Rings franchise is to New Zealand and
Speaker 2: how important it is to our tourism. Do you think
Speaker 2: that we're ever going to see something like that replicated?
Speaker 3: Again?
Speaker 1: Absolutely so. Lord of the Rings has been an incredible
Speaker 1: boom to New Zealand tourism and to New Zealand generally
Speaker 1: in terms of putting us on the map. So we're
Speaker 1: more than the all Blacks now and we have been
Speaker 1: for a very long time, and we have to acknowledge
Speaker 1: the incredible work of Sir Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa
Speaker 1: Boyans and others in creating that phenomenon. They're now busy
Speaker 1: making the Hobbit. So the Hobbit film is the next
Speaker 1: in that dynasty, and it will be out in the
Speaker 1: next few years, and just see what an impact that
Speaker 1: has on New Zealand tourism all over again. While you know,
Speaker 1: it's been a while between drinks, though some of you
Speaker 1: may have seen The War of Rahrem, which was the
Speaker 1: really beautiful anime Hobbit story that came out late last year.
Speaker 1: There will be another big boom around the Hobbit film,
Speaker 1: but there also is around Minecraft. You know, the work
Speaker 1: that was done to create a Minecraft game that has
Speaker 1: specific New Zealand downloadable content. So these locations like White
Speaker 1: or More Caves, the able Tasma, National Techapal, Doubtful Sound, Kapit,
Speaker 1: the Island, those are all locations in a Minecraft game now,
Speaker 1: so any Minecraft player can download those locations and play
Speaker 1: in them. So the benefit to New Zealand tourrism of
Speaker 1: that sort of creative content is really hard to put
Speaker 1: a value on. It's just enormous.
Speaker 2: I don't know if you've ever sat through a Marvel
Speaker 2: movie to watch the post credits scene Annie, but it
Speaker 2: can be a surprise sometimes to see the New Zealand
Speaker 2: government logo show up there near the end, and it's
Speaker 2: usually for things like post production or visual effects work
Speaker 2: that's been done here. Is it right though, that we're
Speaker 2: offering those rebates to these multinational studios to make their
Speaker 2: movies here when they've got insane. New Zealand can't even
Speaker 2: comprehend the money behind these studios, right.
Speaker 1: So the thing with that, the rebate, which we call
Speaker 1: it the PDV the post production and Digital visual effects rebate,
Speaker 1: that's all about creating New Zealand jobs. So there are
Speaker 1: jobs behind every one of those names that you see
Speaker 1: up there in the New Zealand section of the credits.
Speaker 1: And for every one hundred dollars that Disney or you know,
Speaker 1: Universal or whoever spends in New Zealand, they get twenty
Speaker 1: dollars back. We get eighty dollars spent in our economy
Speaker 1: that we would not get otherwise. It's a really simple equation.
Speaker 1: If that company doesn't get the rebate, they go elsewhere.
Speaker 1: They go to Australia, they go to Canada, they go
Speaker 1: to the UK and Europe. We must offer the rebate
Speaker 1: in order for our economy to benefit from that eighty
Speaker 1: percent of their spend.
Speaker 3: Any are you optimistic for the future of New Zealand film.
Speaker 1: Oh. Absolutely, We've got fantastic projects coming through. I mean,
Speaker 1: just if we talk for a minute about the international side.
Speaker 1: On the inbound production side, we've got Avatar, Fire and Ash.
Speaker 1: We've got Meghan two, which you mentioned. The cool thing
Speaker 1: about that is that it's directed by a New Zealander
Speaker 1: did a fantastic job with the first one. He's going
Speaker 1: again on Megan two. We've got Spartacus, House of Asher.
Speaker 1: So those are some of the inbound productions that will
Speaker 1: release this year. But on the cultural side, on the
Speaker 1: New Zealand film side, we've got a couple that I'm
Speaker 1: super proud of. So the Marlon Williams documentary, which will
Speaker 1: release in time for Music Month at the beginning of May.
Speaker 1: Really beautiful story, Marlon's story of recording his new album
Speaker 1: interil Maldi, where he's really vulnerable about how he found
Speaker 1: that his anxiety around being a second language learner. It's
Speaker 1: a really lovely story. Then later in the year, we've
Speaker 1: got Pike River, profoundly powerful story with Robin Malcolm and
Speaker 1: Melanie Lynsky starring as two of the women who lost
Speaker 1: their men in the Pike River. Mine tragedy. So, you know,
Speaker 1: very diverse and interesting and powerful stories coming out of
Speaker 1: New Zealand and I'm really super proud of them.
Speaker 3: Thanks for joining us, Annie.
Speaker 1: You're welcome. Thank you, Chelsea.
Speaker 2: That's it for this episode of the Front Page. You
Speaker 2: can read more about today's stories and extensive news coverage
Speaker 2: at enzdhrald dot co dot nz. The Front Page is
Speaker 2: produced by Ethan Sills and Richard Martin, who is also
Speaker 2: our sound engineer.
Speaker 3: I'm Chelsea Daniels.
Speaker 2: Subscribe to the Front Page on iHeartRadio or wherever you
Speaker 2: get your podcasts, and tune in on Monday for another
Speaker 2: look behind the headlines.