Mini-interview with Michael Hurst (director of “Denna”) and Rob Tapert (Exec. Producer)
Granted, there aren’t any “Denna” spoilers in this interview, but it’s an interesting snippet about New Zealand and its film/TV industry.
Film industry boost from new show
At a time when many industries are letting staff go those in Auckland’s film and TV industry are getting a boost.
A new big budget American TV series, Legend of the Seeker, is being shot in Henderson, injecting more than $10 million into the local economy.
New Zealand is a fantasy location, the perfect place to shoot the new series. There’s an array of landscapes within a stones throw of the Waitakere City studio, all at a down to earth budget.
“The beauty is these people know how to stretch a dollar so although the production looks very big, by American television standards this would be a low budget television production,” says Rob Tapert, producer.
Tapert knows all about shooting in New Zealand. He spent most of the 1990s in the country making Hercules and Xena and married Lucy Lawless.
Two leads in Legend of the Seeker are played by an American and an Australian but nearly everyone else working on the series is a Kiwi.
Legend of the Seeker is providing hundreds of jobs for the local industry from film crew to actors, to prop makers. All five directors working on the show are also Kiwis.
It is a homecoming of sorts for Michael Hurst. He is directing several episodes and working with many of the same people he worked with when he co-starred on Hercules.
“The stunties, all the stunt people are the same, we’re just all older or greyer. I know all the shortcuts with those guys. I’ve done and been in so many of their fights in the past,” Hurst says.
Hollywood based entertainment reporter Sam Rubin was in Auckland to cover the show before it’s US premiere last month. He says it’s producers are hoping to replicate the success they had with Xena and Hercules.
“Very, very big money makers and a lot of money spend in New Zealand where they were produced. I think it’s possible the same thing will happen here. They’re certainly spending money on this initial 22 episodes,” says Rubin.
Shooting for the first season ends in April and it’s likely to be on New Zealand screens next year.
Source: tvnz.co.nz (TV New Zealand) via ausxip.com
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