To hear celebrated production designer Grant Major tell it, New Zealand’s film industry was reborn in the last years of the 20th century, thanks to “The Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson, who pioneered, agitated and doggedly got on with things.
Today, the industry has grown far beyond its leading practitioner into one that is capable of simultaneously working on the next “Avatar” franchise movies, Amazon’s massive “The Lord of the Rings” TV series, as well as Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.”
Despite its 4.5 million people, who are heavily outnumbered by sheep, New Zealand has also launched major talent such as Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit,” “Thor: Ragnarok”) and Niki Caro (“Whale Rider,” “Mulan”). And at the same time, it is also building structures to nurture newer names such as Madeline Sami, Jackie van Beek and Tom Hern.
Because of its limitations, which include a small population, a geographic location far from North America or Europe and the lack of a public broadcaster, New Zealanders have learned to overcompensate. “We need to pedal very hard, keep inventing,” says Major, whose credits include “Lord of the Rings,” “Emperor” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.”
It is a view that is shared by Judd “Chip” Lynn, executive producer of long-running Saban TV show “Power Rangers,” and by “Avatar” producer Jon Landau.
“I can write anything and here they will find a way to shoot it … locations, forest, VFX. Anything,” says Lynn, an American who has been based in Auckland for the past six years, and produces an impressive 44 “Power Ranger” episodes per two-year cycle.
“There is something here in New Zealand that is inviting. It starts with people. You can have all the technology and equipment in the world, but you need people who want to embrace what you want to do with the film,” says Landau. “We are not doing anything traditional on the ‘Avatar’ series, but our crew is committed to doing whatever it takes to get it done.”
Major adds: “New Zealand film was embryonic in the days when I worked on Jane Campion’s ‘An Angel at My Table.’ There were a couple of American films [that shot in New Zealand] but they would always bring their own heads of department,” says Major. “I connected with Peter Jackson in the 1990s and worked on ‘Heavenly Creatures.’ Jackson and his mates were ambitious and hands-on. He broke the mold, by showing faith in New Zealand, and spending his money here.”
That film, for which Weta provided 14 effects shots, also brought global attention to Weta Workshop, the creatures, costumes and concept design firm that Jackson co-founded in 1987 with Richard Taylor and Jamie Selkirk. (The company name is a reference to the giant cave-dwelling crickets that are endemic to New Zealand, and the segment of the business that is open to the public is known as the Weta Cave.)
Weta has since provided armor and weapons for “Thor: Ragnarok,” miniatures and design for “Bladerunner 2049,” and exoskeletons, suits and molds for recent Chinese space hit “Wandering Earth” — as well as a lot of kit for “Mulan” that it cannot yet disclose.
Weta Digital has provided digital effects for “Avengers: Infinity War,” “War for the Planet of the Apes” and of course Jackson’s own “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Creating a younger version of Will Smith for Ang Lee’s recent “Gemini Man” was another feat of Kiwi digital engineering.
While the Weta companies, and Park Road Post, garner headlines for Wellington, filmmaking in New Zealand has become a nationwide activity.
“In fact, there are lots of smaller, really capable VFX companies here in Auckland,” says Lisa Chatfield, a veteran of Working Title, who is in an advanced stage of post-production as producer on “The Luminaries” at Auckland’s Images and Sound. The series is a lush six-part literary adaptation backed by Fremantle and the BBC, with stars including Eva Green, Eve Hewson and Himesh Patel. “It really helps us to work with smaller, TV-friendly companies. New Zealand has amazing post people. ”
Set in 1865, the series shot all of its 17 weeks in and around Auckland. With a story rooted enough in New Zealand history, the series qualified for the maximum 40% cash refund from the New Zealand Grant.
New Zealand operates a simple and generous rebate scheme that is designed to support foreign films and TV series at the mid-sized independent and studio levels. The New Zealand Screen Production Grant is a 20% rebate on a wide range of qualifying spend, including overseas talent who work for more than 14 days. Significantly, it is a grant scheme, with no upper limit, and comes with provisional certificates and government backing that ensure good transparency. Half a dozen foreign movies to date have also qualified for an extra 5% “uplift,” though these are exceptions such as “Avatar” and “The Meg.”
Other productions are facilitated in their trip to New Zealand through a growing web of co-production treaties. These are giving the country greater connections with Asian neighbors, not just the far-flung English-language partners.
“Even though 22% of the population is Asian, it has taken New Zealand time to think of itself as part of Asia,” says producer, educator and advocacy campaigner Shuchi Kothari.
Foreign productions are encouraged to come for the post-production and visual effects facilities, and those spending NZ$25 million ($16 million) on post-production services can qualify for a 20% rebate through the PDV Scheme.
Together with a recently weak New Zealand dollar, these add up to a package that puts country in direct competition with the U.K., Australia, Canada and certain U.S. states, such as Georgia.
What has proved the clincher in several cases has been New Zealand’s stunning variety of locations available for shooting. These range from the Auckland coastline to the cold deserts of Otago, to the snow-coated Alpine scenery at Queenstown (“Mission: Impossible — Fallout”), to the volcanoes of Rotorua, to the gentle, almost English, rolling hills inland from Hamilton, where Hobbits made their homes.
Even without making use of the country’s locations, there is enough of a business, studio and talent for James Cameron to call New Zealand home and bring with him the “Avatar” series and “Alita: Battle Angel.” “We do not have a single day of outdoor filming in New Zealand in five movies. When you see the Pandoran Jungle, Weta creates that. Pandora does not exist,” says Landau. “We are not like ‘Lord of the Rings.’”