Tinseltown may be behind bids for a film studio in Auckland.
Hollywood interests are believed to be behind at least one of the two contenders to develop an Auckland Council-backed film studio at Hobsonville, west Auckland.
The council's economic growth agency, Ateed, and the Auckland Investment Office have whittled eight interested parties down to a shortlist of two. It is not clear whether either of them is a New Zealand firm.
The agencies' final recommendation is expected at the end of the month, to be considered by the council in November.
The initial contenders were expected to demonstrate their ability to meet a number of criteria, such as expertise in studio management and industry support, and offer their thoughts on various commercial aspects of the proposed precinct.
The eight were ranked on the suitability of their proposed model, financial resources, and experience in studio management, said Ateed spokesman Steve Armitage.
The council's contribution to the joint venture will be providing the land. But like everything about the screen industry, the studio is a risk whose future value goes up and down with exchange rates. One previous private-sector venture came unstuck and a studio in the old Waitakere City was rescued by ratepayers.
A Hobsonville studio is said to have a bright future, but the private sector has been unwilling to take on the risk without council backing.
The Auckland Investment Office began discussions with the two preferred parties last week "to understand the exact nature of any transaction that may be successfully developed". In theory at least, the council's investment is not about cash. But Ateed will not be the first government agency to be seduced by the appeal of working on the edges of a glamour industry.
Once any studio is established, I believe there is a danger council agencies may be drawn further into an industry which provides work for Aucklanders, but which also receives generous subsidies from taxpayers.
XENA REDUX
A reboot of Xena: Warrior Princess may become an early production at any new Hobsonville studio. Original producer Rob Tapert and his partner Sam Raimi of production firm Ghost House Pictures have been working on a new series for NBC International.
Tapert - the husband of Xena star Lucy Lawless - was in New Zealand yesterday, leading to rumours that Ghost House Pictures may be involved in the joint venture.
He could not be reached to clarify his business interests, whether the new Xena - if it goes ahead - will be filmed here, and whether he is involved in a bid for the Hobsonville studio joint venture.
Rob Tapert. Photo / Supplied
Tapert's last New Zealand production to be screened here was the third and last series of Spartacus, which appeared on the US Starz network in 2012.
He has been involved in several other NZ-based productions for US television, such as Legend of the Seeker and Hercules.
More recently Tapert has made Ash vs Evil Dead, an American horror series which will begin soon on Starz and Sky TV.
As for Lawless, it seems she will not be considered to reprise her superhero role in any new series of Xena. After all, the TV industry demands young faces.
In pursuing the studio venture, Ateed has been encouraged by the NZ Film Commission, which sees it as valuable in developing relationships between the Chinese and New Zealand film industries. The big question is whether the council is being drawn into the film role to promote local business, or if it feeds into the Government's national strategy, or both.
In the meantime, the Film Commission has been developing relationships with the Chinese sector, which commission chief executive Dave Gibson says has a genuine rapport with the local industry.
Two feature film collaborations with China are preparing for production in that country. The 3D fantasy The Wonder is a China-NZ-UK production that will be shot in Qingdao and Auckland, with Richard Fletcher as New Zealand producer.
The second, Beast of Burden, is a collaboration between New Zealand animation company Huhu Studios and China Film Animation, part of the state-owned China Film Group. Huhu Studios chief executive Trevor Yaxley is the lead NZ producer on Beast of Burden, the first of 17 proposed co-productions.
The commission's Gibson says projects now in late development include the documentaries The Colours of China, with producer James Heyward, and Angel of Lotus Hill, director Bryn Evans and producer Paula Jones. That will be the story of nurse Kathleen Hall, who went to China in the 1930s and has been variously described as an "angel", a "communist collaborator" and "the first barefoot doctor".
Colours of China is intended as both an Imax feature film and multi-part television production, and Angel of Lotus Hill as a feature film.
At the Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival in early December, there will be a spotlight on New Zealand women documentary makers. As well as Guangzhou, additional screenings are being planned for Beijing and Shanghai.
In another NZ-China link, Beijing-based New Zealand film-maker Han Niu has been announced as one of only 12 film-makers accepted into the prestigious Venice Biennale College - Cinema, starting tomorrow. He is also the first New Zealander selected for the acclaimed Taipei Golden Horse Film Academy. Christchurch-based screenwriter/producer Seungsik Shin has earned selection for the Busan and Taipei co-production markets.
