Wellington's Production Boom
I can't remember a quarter of a year in Wellington this busy since 'Rings wrapped nearly twenty years ago. Everyone who can work has been, with many people holding down back-to-back, and even overlapping contracts. I've found myself bundling up two or more location scouts into consecutive days a couple of times in the last few months, and managed to fit in two different jobs in the ten-day stand-down from Loren Taylor's feature Going Going.
Out in the region, the much-discussed Project X took everybody with a pair of work boots out of town for a month, to Otaki and Whanganui. And as soon as it was wrapped, the sequel (or prequel. Stories vary!) was announced. All I know is, after weeks of night shoots, I've never seen such a shattered looking crew as I ran into them at various spots in the days after they got back to Wellington.
The A24 shoot at Avalon is done and dusted for a while, but the studios are still booked on other projects, not all of which can be talked about! And the mighty Avatar machine has stopped for a while, but the smart money is already circling a date for pick-ups, re-shoots and whatever else is needed.
Looking ahead, a new series of Wellington Paranormal is already underway, while numerous TVC's and other projects are all looking for space, crew and locations, even as winter starts to bite. The phone at Crew Wellington has literally never rung more often in a day than it has been this week.
Love your work,
GT
