Wellington's Film Future

By the time you’re reading this there should be several big announcements either imminent or already out. Suffice to say we’re sitting on a couple of really good-sized projects down here. Spring is in the air and the birds are singing!

But, even though Wellington might be heading into a good year or two, that still doesn’t mean we have a sustainable or reliable industry down here.

It’s impossible to not be aware that TVNZ has little or no interest in any long-running projects that are not set in Auckland. And, more often than not, within a couple of kilometres of the TVNZ building.

You could call this efficient. Or you could call it lazy and unimaginative.

There seems to be a belief that since Auckland is the largest single market in the country, that it’s not worth taking the risk on making a show that isn’t set there.

Seems to me that misses the point of TV programme making. Take a look at the Poms for a start. London is a similarly dominant economic powerhouse in England to what Auckland is here. But every night the Londoners sit down to watch dramas and comedies set in every corner of their country. Some of their most beloved and successful series have been set in Yorkshire, The Channel Islands and Glasgow.

Making a TV show is a pricy proposition, and plenty of people would argue the whole business model is on the verge of extinction. But as long as there is money in the kitty for (yet) another Auckland-set series, then what about a show based in Wellington, Christchurch, or Stewart Island?

What you’ll spend in airfares and accommodation, we promise you’ll save in studio hireage. And think of all those shooting hours you’ll save not sitting in the bloody traffic trying to get across town.

Onya.

Graeme Tuckett, Wellington branch member