Quiet Times in Wellington

You don't need me to tell you how quiet the industry is at the moment. Wellington is as desolate as I've ever known it to be. Running Crew Wellington and Crew Auckland gives me a pretty good idea of what's coming to town, and I can see that there are plenty of searches for crew going on, but there is still very little happening or confirmed to be coming to town in the near future.

I can also report that, as a location scout, the phone has not been ringing much at all these last few months.

The good news, I guess, is that we seem to have some certainty coming back to the Screen Incentive scheme and that the scheme will be more easily accessible to local productions.

It's always seemed to me that a sustainable local industry, not always relying on Hollywood coming to town every year, is still the best way forward for all of us in the long term.

Also, seeing local drama and comedy getting better every year is a great thing. I think we can look over the Tasman to the Aussies to see what a thriving and well-supported local industry looks like. Having a similar volume of work in Aotearoa would be incredible.

But for now, the sun is shining in Wellington for the first time all week. And tomorrow I'll be at the funeral of a great mate from the music industry. There are things out there that matter a lot more than the hours we invoiced this week. Let's never forget that either.

Love your work,

GT and everyone at Crew Wellingto n