Wellington Set to Bounce Back as Global Production Resumes

Hi all, Well, nobody is going to pretend it hasn't been a tough winter, with some of even our most experienced crew looking over the Tasman—and further—to pick up work and pay the bills. There have been a few TVCs and smaller budget TV bits and pieces around, but not enough to call the Wellington industry really sustainable.

As a location scout, my phone has been ringing, which is always a good sign. And, as the person who runs Crew Wellington and Crew Auckland, I can see that visits to both websites are higher this month than they were earlier in the year, which usually means that people are intending to start shooting as soon as they can.

My gut feeling is that New Zealand, and Wellington especially, are in a good position as soon as Hollywood starts working again. The strikes in the USA began while we were still waiting for the government to announce any changes to the rebate scheme, and now that work is done, overseas and local productions can budget to shoot here again.

If we are right, the new year could start with a bang.

In the meantime, hang in there and look out for each other.

GT