1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:02,720 Speaker 1: Heather do for Seela. Nine two ninety two is the 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: text number standard Textee's plan. I'm sure that Barry Soper 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: will be talking. He'll tell us a story about Muldoon, 4 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: won't he It'll be our story about Muldoon when he's 5 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: back with us. Never misses the opportunity. He's with us 6 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: in just over half an hour now. The Taxpayer's Union 7 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: says the government shouldn't be giving out any more film 8 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: subsidies because we're just not getting bang for our buck anymore. 9 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:23,599 Speaker 1: According to numbers compiled by former South Pacific Pictures boss 10 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: John Barnett, the Film Commission has spent get this, eighty 11 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: eight million dollars of taxpayer money on fifty four movies 12 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: over the last few years. How much did those movies 13 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: make in the total New Zealand box office take fourteen 14 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 1: million dollars. The Taxpayer's Union says, will be much better 15 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: just to give the eighty eight million dollars to far 16 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: Mac instead and John Barnett's with us. 17 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 2: Now, Hey, John, oh yeah, I'm very. 18 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: Well, thank you. What do you reckon? Do we ask 19 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: the subsidies? 20 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 2: No, because living in a country, any country, you wanted 21 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 2: to reflect a whole lot of ours speak of yourself, 22 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 2: and included in that is our film and television, our 23 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 2: stories being told by us and to us. 24 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, but what's the point what's but what's the point 25 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: in them telling the stories of absolutely none of us 26 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: are watching the stories. 27 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 2: Well, then I think that's about we should be smarter 28 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 2: about what we put our money into, as opposed to 29 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 2: indulging every idea that comes across the counter. So I 30 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 2: think that's where wisest pending rather than us throwing around 31 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 2: And just as an example, use in and on air 32 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:43,759 Speaker 2: under the Fantastic show which is on the spin off 33 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,919 Speaker 2: called Juggernaut, which is exactly I think at least today, 34 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 2: and it's exactly about the history of the incoming Longy 35 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 2: government and the nineteen eighty four lesson and it's electrified. 36 00:01:57,400 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: Have you watched it? 37 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 2: No, it's actually it's a podcast. 38 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: That was Actually it's going to be my weekend listening. 39 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 2: It should be. Roger Douglas is very funny and quoted 40 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 2: at length, and he's going to the cast of all 41 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 2: the stars of the We're Alive from that time, and 42 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 2: that's part of the thing that funding for film and 43 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 2: television and audio visual stuff goes into Yeah, okay. 44 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: I see what your point. But okay, so the Chloe 45 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: Swarbrick documentary, do you reckon we should be putting money 46 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: into that? Because the Film Commission is well. 47 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 2: I think that there are two essential questions that you 48 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 2: ask before you put money into any film, and that 49 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 2: is who is your audience and how you're going to 50 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 2: reach them? And I think that when you look at 51 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 2: a number of the things that have been made, nobody 52 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 2: asked who is the audience, because if they had, they 53 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 2: would have said, look, we don't think we should spend 54 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 2: as much, or maybe this is better on television and 55 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 2: it make cost less And I think those are the 56 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 2: kind of things that we have to look at. And 57 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 2: the New Zealand Film Commission was set up forty some 58 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 2: years ago Closer You Get Mom for fifty and it 59 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 2: was to enable New Zealanders to see stories about themselves, 60 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:26,359 Speaker 2: to hold by themselves. And the successes include the whole 61 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 2: canon of work that for instance, Peter Jackson made, which 62 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 2: has brought billions into the country, into the tourism and 63 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 2: employment and all of those things. So it's easy for 64 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 2: the Taxpayers Union to say the money should go somewhere else, 65 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 2: because there's always somewhere else it should go. But you 66 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 2: don't achieve that just by wiping out or or support. 67 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: Do the people in the film commission have the expertise 68 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: or the kind of gut and stink to be able 69 00:03:58,160 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: to put money into films that are going to be 70 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: success like that? Are they actually any good at that? 71 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 2: From time to time they have been. But I think 72 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 2: if you look at the chart that I prepared, which 73 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 2: is twenty twenty three to twenty twenty three, you would 74 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 2: look at a number of titles here and say, I 75 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 2: don't know that I would have put money up. I mean, 76 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 2: there are all sorts of ways that you can you 77 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 2: can tell you can ask a local distributor if they're 78 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 2: interested in putting up some money in the hope of 79 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 2: getting it back, and if they say no, then you 80 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 2: wouldn't make it because nobody here. 81 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, fair enough, John, thank you, I really appreciated good 82 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,919 Speaker 1: work on putting that that chat together. That's John Bunnett, 83 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: former South Pacific Picture's chief executive. For more from Hither 84 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd be 85 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,480 Speaker 1: from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio,