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Speaker 1: Oscar winning director James Cameron says New Zealand needs to

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Speaker 1: get serious about attracting overseas film productions because the subsidies

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Speaker 1: aren't big enough. They reckon. Earlier this year, you'll know

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Speaker 1: we changed it the film rebate scheme, allowing more productions

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Speaker 1: to claim back up to twenty five percent of what

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Speaker 1: they spend here, Cameron says, still not enough.

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Speaker 2: I think that the little incremental change to the rebate

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Speaker 2: scheme recently is it's an effort in the right direction,

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Speaker 2: but it's far from sufficient to do that.

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Speaker 1: And he marries with us from the Film Commission Chief

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Speaker 1: Executive good evening, Good evening, Annie Sure to Ryan, Now,

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Speaker 1: is so twenty five to twenty five percent? How does

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Speaker 1: that compare with the rest of the world.

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Speaker 3: Well, we're still sitting around about the middle of the pack,

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Speaker 3: which we have been for more than ten years, and

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Speaker 3: we have built an industry on that. It's not all

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Speaker 3: about that headline rate. There's so much more that New

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Speaker 3: Zealand brings to the table. That is the reason that

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Speaker 3: we've attracted such enormous production to New Zealand over all

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Speaker 3: this time. I have to say, though, that Jim Cameron

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Speaker 3: is right there are some territories in most noticeably Australia,

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Speaker 3: which is a lot more competitive than us. They went

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Speaker 3: from a sixteen percent rebate to thirty so they nearly doubled,

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Speaker 3: and then you can add state rebates on top of that.

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Speaker 3: So they are very very busy. And I think what

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Speaker 3: our industry is feeling is the comparison between us and there.

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Speaker 1: And that's see. The problem is because all they've got

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Speaker 1: is dirt. I mean, and they read dirt and then

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Speaker 1: they've got a bigger subsidy. So I mean, we are

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Speaker 1: clearly the more beautiful country. If we up the subsidy,

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Speaker 1: we'd get more films, wouldn't we.

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Speaker 3: Well it's not quite as simple as that. Yes, there

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Speaker 3: would be some more films, absolutely, But what they're coming

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Speaker 3: for too is our world class people who are very

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Speaker 3: very experienced at delivering at scale and at very very

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Speaker 3: high tech and also just being fantastic people to work with.

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Speaker 3: You'll see every interview that is done with those Hollywood producers,

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Speaker 3: they say that they love coming here, they love working

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Speaker 3: with New Zealanders. Yes, they are looking for the best

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Speaker 3: for their bottom line, but they're also looking first and

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Speaker 3: foremost for a creative fit. And they're certainly finding that here.

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Speaker 1: Any is the risk that though, that if we don't

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Speaker 1: up the subsidies, that that talent is taken out from

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Speaker 1: underneath us by the Aussies.

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Speaker 3: There's always that risk. And what we have done is

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Speaker 3: up to the subsidies about six weeks ago, so we

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Speaker 3: have yet to see the results of that.

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Speaker 1: Not enough for Gym, not enough for well.

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Speaker 3: You know, Gym's at the top end of town. He's

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Speaker 3: making the most expensive film in the world, and you

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Speaker 3: know he is the first to admit to that. So

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Speaker 3: that is a very challenged business model. We've got to

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Speaker 3: be realistic about that. You know, when you're making very

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Speaker 3: high budget films, you've got to bring in a massive

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Speaker 3: audience worldwide to make the revenue to justify that. So

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Speaker 3: you know, there is pressure on that model. There's no

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Speaker 3: denying that streamers have made an enormous difference to the

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Speaker 3: cinema attendance. We all know that everybody's happy to sit

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Speaker 3: at home and watch movies on the Telly rather than

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Speaker 3: go to the movies. So you know, things have to

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Speaker 3: change and.

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Speaker 1: A whole new world. And I really appreciate you coming

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Speaker 1: on the show tonight. Thank you, Annie. Murray Film Commission

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Speaker 1: Chief Executive. For more from Heather Duplessy, Allen Drive, Listen

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