Farewell from GT

Hi all,

‍And welcome to issue 100 of NZTECHO. After nine years and 35 issues, it'll also be my last. I've decidedin the last couple of weeks that it's time for a new direction in my life, and I'm heading back to school, to study for a degree in counselling. I'll still be the guy who owns and operates Crew Wellington and Crew Auckland, and I'll still be location scouting for the mighty Wellington film industry when the call comes, but I need to put the hours and effort it takes to put the magazine together, into other projects right now.

For this issue, I figured it might be nice to go back through the archives and rerun some of our favourite pieces from the last 35 issues. There's only room for a few, unfortunately, but there's been a lot of funny and happy memories jogged by going back and looking. Thanks everyone. This job has been a real privilege to do. Every issue has had a few surprises, and every article I've commissioned has taught me something new. And, of course, we have tried our best to remember the people we have lost along the way. Writing and editing the obituaries for NZTECHO has been heart-breaking at times, but also humbling.

So, thank you for reading, thank you for contributing - and most of all, thank you for being a part of this industry. Aotearoa/New Zealand is an incredible place to live in so many ways - especially when there's been a decent summer - but being a part of a community that regularly produces some of the biggest and best films in the world, from a handful of tiny islands at the very bottom of the Pacific, is always a delight.

I've travelled a bit in the last five or six years, and spent plenty of time hanging out in the USA especially. And I learned that if you mention over a beer to someone in Denver, LA or New York that you work in the New Zealand film industry, they'll often take a step back and look at you like you're some sort of mythical being. What we do here is regarded with awe around the world.

The next time you're digging the crane weights out of the mud at 4am somewhere out the back of Timaru or Bethells and wondering how long it'll take transport to get you back to the motel, try to remember that.

All best, love your work,

GT

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