WOOLYWOOD

New Zealand is trying to get some sort of a film industry off the ground and it seems as though they are doing a pretty good job of it. Although once Sir Peter Jackson hangs up his view finder one wonders what will happen to the industry in this country.

Sir Peter has single handedly put NZ on the film making map, or perhaps more accurately its just about the only place he will make a film. The Kiwi born film producer has so far notched up three oscars along with a number of other awards. From humble beginning's producing art house type horror films he hit the big time. Of course his most famous films are the three Lord of the Rings epics, which were all filmed in and around NZ. To be honest having seen a lot of NZ by now, I am beginning to think the film is not a fantasy film, but a documentary on Kiwi life., that's how far back in time this country seems to be stuck. Interestingly the Lord of the Ring films are his adaption of the JRR Tolkien stories of middle earth and hobbit's. Now JRR just happened to be born in South Africa, in fact he was born in the centre of Bloemfontein in a home above the bank his father was the manager of. JRR's father had been sent out to South Africa to run the bank. JRR was a sickly child and his mother took him back to England at an early age and sadly his father died in Bloemfontein a few years later never having seen his son since the date he left for England. JRR was bought up in Hall Green and area of Birmingham and then lived in Moseley, another area of Birmingham as a young man. Moseley has a famous park area known as Moseley Bog and it is thought that this was JRR's inspiration for Middle Earth.

But Sir Peter has other contacts with South Africa, because one of his other films was King Kong, about a big monkey from Africa. Okay that is not a very good link to South Africa, but one of his other films is, District 9 set in a futuristic Johannesburg following the countries invasion by alien prawns. Other films of Sir Peter include The Last Samurai, with Mount Taranaki near New plymouth doubling for Mount Fuji.

StartFragmentComing back to Lord of the Rings, you can see why the films were made here. They must have saved a fortune on set building, because here was everything the needed, already assembled and ready for shooting.

Okay they did shoot The Last Samurai here, but that's also not so strange the place seems to be full of Japanese and Chinese and okay yes they did shoot Nania here. But its hard to think of many other films that could be made here. For example anything that required a lot of people, or busy city streets would be virtually impossible to film here. Anything set in hot or even just dry countries could not be filmed here. It would be hard to imagine a spy film crammed with up to date gadgets being filmed here, it just wouldn't seem right. Car chases also would be out, unless they could make them look exciting with the cars going at 40 kph. Then there is the expense, this place is bloody expensive, just imagine the cost of filming a block buster film here.

So they have done well to get as far as they have with a film industry based here in NZ, but what comes next is anyone's guess.EndFragment

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