Wellington's Film Industry Revival

2015 is going to be remembered, I reckon, as the year we pulled out of the doldrums and reminded ourselves we actually have a viable movie industry again in this city. It’s been a brutal couple of years, with techos and production people leaving either the city or the industry, but 2015 had more good news in it than the previous three years put together.

Pete’s Dragon and Krampus were the two monster (literally) shoots at Miramar. With Pete’s still in town on an apparently exhaustive round of pick-ups. Because Stone Street is fully booked (more on that soon) they’re basing themselves at Avalon studios. The word is that the American producers – some of whom have been coming to New Zealand to make films for years – were amazed that there was a purpose-built studio complex just up the road from central Wellington which they didn’t even know existed. Those old concrete walls are echoing to the sounds of three different productions as I write this.

The year ended with Ghost in the Shell taking over Miramar. It’s a mega-remake of the Japanese cult hit, with Scarlett Johansson due in town any day to take the lead role. Cameras roll in late January or very early February. We’re expecting the Avatar sequels late in 2016 at this point, with solid rumours of another big project to take up the slack between Ghost and Avatar mid-year.

On a more modest scale, Tusi Tamasese’s (The Orator) next feature One Thousand Ropes has just wrapped. And a brilliant shoot it was too. If you’re wondering why the magazine is a few weeks late, blame the location manager’s 75-hour weeks!

We’re looking at 2016 with cheesily optimistic grins on our faces down here in Welly. Long may it continue.

Graeme Tuckett, Wellington branch member