Creating More Film Jobs in New Zealand
Mr Key is considering lowering the qualifying threshold for the Government’s Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSPG) to generate more TV work here. I encourage this move and suggest the eligibility limit should be lowered significantly so that smaller movie productions can access the grant as well. If Mr Key wants these productions to use New Zealand workers then he should also look at how the Queensland and British Columbia governments encourage producers to hire local cast and crew by providing rebates on each local resident hired and implement a similar policy here. These are proven policies that work to create local jobs.
I have just returned to New Zealand after working for five years in the Vancouver film industry. This year nine TV pilots were shot in Vancouver and five of these shows were green lit for series production. Each show will bring in $3 to $5 million a week to the Vancouver economy for the next few years. If we lower the $15 million qualifying level for the Government screen production grant to $1.5 million we will attract US TV pilots, TV movies and series work as well as production from other markets. Roughly 95% of movies are shot for less than $15 million and so don’t qualify for the New Zealand Government’s LBSPG. Wouldn’t five $3 million dollar shows provide just as much work as one $15 million dollar show? It does not make sense for New Zealand to only subsidise the productions that have a lot of money.
New Zealand has developed co-production treaties with China, India, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Korea, France, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, and Spain. These countries rarely shoot here because their budgets are too small to qualify for the LBSPG. They only get a government grant here if they have significant New Zealand story content, yet a big movie like Avatar with no New Zealand story content gets funding. Why does Mr Key just focus on attracting big Hollywood movies? Significantly lowering the LBSPG qualifying threshold would bring more TV work here as well as more Bollywood productions and other foreign movies. It would allow us to showcase our country to a much larger global audience but it needs to be done in conjunction with resident rebates to be most effective in creating jobs for Kiwi workers.
I am now back in Vancouver, shooting a $2 million teen vampire pilot for a US Network. With cast and crew 100% Canadian, even though the film is supposedly set in San Francisco. Smaller shows like this depend on the 25% British Columbia labour rebate to get made. The pilot wouldn’t qualify for any assistance from the Government in New Zealand but the series would. However it’s a moot point because if the pilots can’t afford to come to New Zealand the series never will.
Neil Cervin csc, DoP
