Fast & Furious star Jordana Brewster is in Auckland for a new film being shot at locations including the Domain; Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking.
Why the BSA says Mike Hosking’s use of ‘Māorification’ was okay; Shortland Street is set to be saved; An advertising agency is placed in liquidation; Final countdown for Stuff’s new 6pm TV bulletin; Hollywood and a Fast & Furious superstar come to town.
Several Hollywood stars – one especially well-known to Fast & Furious fans – are in New Zealand, filming a new horror-romcom movie at locations around Auckland.
The new movie, Heart Eyes, represents a $10-$20 million investment in Auckland, according to film industry officials.
Roads in and around the Auckland Domain were closed for several nights this week, with the Wintergarden transformed into an eerie, mist-covered scene depicting the US city of Seattle. A carnival carousel and several Seattle police cars were among the elaborate props.
It was a busy and extensive set-up, with more than 160 cast and crew, and a range of film trucks and props. Several cranes were used as huge, makeshift lighting towers – the lighting could be seen across the city and from the North Shore.
The film stars Fast & Furious actress Jordana Brewster, Final Destination star Devon Sawa, as well as Mason Gooding (Scream), Olivia Holt (Cloak & Dagger) and Gigi Zumbado (Bridge and Tunnel). It is directed by Josh Ruben.
The stars all have their legion of fans – Brewster especially, for her appearances in seven of the Fast & Furious films and the others in various horror movies.
Brewster and Sawa have been in Auckland for a number of days but their involvement in the film was announced in the Hollywood press only this week.
“Oooooo VERY excited for this one,” Brewster posted on Instagram this week.
She also posted images of herself strolling on a central Auckland street and views of the Waitematā Harbour from her accommodation.
The film’s plot is outlined in a synopsis: “When the Heart Eyes killer strikes Seattle, a pair of co-workers pulling overtime on Valentine’s Day are mistaken for a couple by the elusive couple-hunting killer. Now they must spend the most romantic night of the year running for their lives.”
The IMDB website adds: “Forced to evade the killer, they navigate the city’s romantic landscape while working together to survive”.
In a memo for Auckland Council’s Domain Committee, Screen Auckland described the movie as an “exciting, international black comedy”.
Several scenes were shot in the Domain, including one in which the couple are pursued around the carousel by the killer; another where they run out of the Fernery in the Wintergarden; and a third at the Wintergarden pond.
According to another report for the Domain Committee, Heart Eyes is being filmed in studios and on location at around a dozen places across the region, with total production investment for the region of between $10m-$20m.
“The Auckland Domain offers architectural elements such as the Wintergardens, which can simulate the style and era of architecture found in Seattle, USA, being the imagined setting for the film,” says the report, which sought, and received, permission to film in the Domain.
Road closures were necessary to allow the Domain to portray the USA, says the Screen Auckland memo.
“The production aims to minimise the possibility of cars and/or headlights on the wrong side of the road being visible in the background of shots. Shooting with the roads open would require waiting for ordinary vehicles to pass and increase the total time needed on site.”
Security guards manning the cordons around the Wintergardens gave a number of interesting explanations as to what was being filmed when approached by a Herald reporter.
One said it was an RNZ documentary about flora and fauna. Another claimed it was a shoot exploring a “colonial issue” centring on the Domain.
A complaint about Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking’s reference to the “Māorification of this country” has been rejected by the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA).
In an interview with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in April, Hosking questioned why Government departments were being so slow to revert to English from their te reo names.
A short time after the interview, and in response to a listener’s text message, Hosking said: “I don’t wanna get too bogged down on these things, I think people get a bit angsty over it all.
“But [the coalition Government] did make a very clear promise and push that the Māorification of this country, uh, is gone too far and it needs to be rectified.”
A listener, Richard Lane, complained to Newstalk ZB’s owner NZME and then the BSA that the broadcast breached two standards of the broadcasting standards code - offensive and disturbing content; and discrimination and denigration.
The authority said it had listened to the Luxon interview and subsequent comment, and as a starting point it considered the right to freedom of expression.
Context was also important, it said. ZB was targeted at adults aged 40-59; the Mike Hosking Breakfast was a radio talk show that discussed news and current affairs; and Hosking was “well known as a broadcaster who frequently offers strong, provocative opinions”.
There were also audience expectations that NZME would, at times, broadcast controversial or unpopular opinions.
The focus of the interview with the Prime Minister was on Government policy initiatives and the discussion of te reo names was a “brief part of the overall conversation”, said the authority.
Hosking’s comment was also brief and a one-off, in response to a text message.
“In light of the above context, we do not consider the broadcast was likely to cause widespread undue offence or distress or undermine widely shared community standards,” said the authority.
“We recognise the phrase ‘Māorification of this country’ will be offensive to some listeners (even in the context of a programme known for its controversial opinions).
“However, the focus of the discussion was the Government’s policy objectives, in particular those concerning the use of te reo Māori names for government departments, with this phrase used once in passing. For these reasons, we do not consider it meets the threshold to constitute a breach of the [offensive and disturbing content] standard.”
The authority also said the discrimination and denigration standard had not been breached.
The complainant argued, “that use of the term ‘Māorification’, in the context of the relevant conversation, implied that being Māori is ‘a bad thing’. Māori are a section of the community to which the standard applies”.
The BSA said: “We accept that ‘Māorification’ was a loaded term to use in the context which... addressed concerns about delay in implementing ‘simple’ Government policy changes.
“We also accept that its use, coupled with ‘is gone too far’ and ‘needs to be rectified’ implies a negative perspective on the use of te reo names by government departments.
“However, noting the broadcast’s focus on Government policy and the brief nature and focus of the particular comment, we consider the comment did not carry the level of invective towards Māori or reach the high threshold necessary to find a breach of the standard.”
The Government is preparing to progress a list of action points to support the New Zealand media industry, including a special move to help save New Zealand’s longest-running soap, Shortland Street.
Cabinet will shortly meet to consider a range of recommendations, including progressing the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill through Parliament.
It is also likely to agree to specific actions, including allowing Shortland Street to be eligible for the 40% domestic screen production rebate and to lift the ban on Sunday morning TV advertising.
The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill has been discussed at Cabinet committee, ahead of its presentation to the full Cabinet in the next week or two.
The bill would force the likes of Meta and Google to pay for the journalism that helps drive their business models.
A source told Media Insider that the Act Party – while still opposed to the bill – may agree to allow it to reach Parliament.
Act leader David Seymour would not confirm this, saying the party had not discussed it. It was, however, “within the constellation of possibilities”.
If it does reach Parliament with National and NZ First’s support, it means it faces a high chance of being passed, given Labour introduced the bill in the first place. It has been tweaked in the meantime, sources say, with firstly the introduction and then the removal/tweaking of a number of clauses related to AI (artificial intelligence).
An Auckland-based advertising agency has been placed into liquidation – a symptom of the depressed retail market, according to its director in a liquidator’s report.
Hyde Agencies Ltd, owner of Hyde Group Advertising, was placed into liquidation earlier this month, with more than 40 creditors listed in an initial liquidator’s report.
Sources say the full-service, independent creative agency employed more than a dozen staff.
A showreel on its website highlights work with advertisers including Super Liquor, Kings Plant Barn, Life Pharmacy and Toyworld.
According to the liquidator’s report, ASB is owed $2.7m. At this stage, another $795,000 has been identified as owed to other creditors, although the liquidator, Grant Reynolds, is still completing his work.
According to Reynolds’ report, creditors include Are Media, Blue Star, EssenceMediacom, the News Publishers Associaton, NZME, Reach Media and Stuff.
Reynolds’ report said the company was incorporated in 2015.
He said director David Harwood had told him that the company was retailer-focused “and retail advertising spending has reduced dramatically over the past year”.
“The company recently lost one of its largest clients,” says the liquidator’s report, and “earlier in 2024, other company clients were lost to competition”.
The report quoted the director’s claims of “employment-related issues” with former management.
The company had ceased trading.
“I am not allowed a discussion at this point in time,” Hyde Group Advertising’s Colin Samson told Media Insider.
“I don’t want to say anything at this stage, it’s all just still very fresh. I do apologise for that.”
Newshub and Warner Bros Discovery staff will be nursing heartbreak and perhaps the odd hangover over the next week, as they mark the final days of delivering TV3 news, after almost 35 years.
Newshub’s final 6pm news bulletin will air on Friday night, followed by an almighty party/wake at Morningside Tavern in Auckland, to which all current Warner Bros Discovery staff have been invited.
The commemorations/commiserations launch earlier in the week, with a similar party, at the same venue, for all current and previous staff on Wednesday evening.
It will be an emotional week and, for some of the staff, one that gives them little rest before their next big challenge.
Broadcasters such as Samantha Hayes, Heather Keats, Jenna Lynch and Laura Tupou are among a good two dozen or so workers who are joining Stuff, which launches its own 6pm bulletin for Three the following night.
With just a week to go, confidence is building within Stuff that its new-look 6pm news bulletin will look pretty special. The costs are also building.
It has been building a whizzy virtual reality set for the bulletin, set to launch in eight days, on Saturday, July 6.
The bulletin will screen, initially, from Three’s existing studios in Flower St, in Auckland’s Eden Tce.
But Stuff has to leave Flower St by October, as Warner Bros. Discovery’s lease comes to an end and it needs to start vacating the property.
Stuff is understood to have now abandoned earlier plans to build a studio at its existing headquarters at Williamson Ave in Ponsonby.
It is understood that the building’s dimensions – specifically, the floor-to-ceiling height – have created some issues and prevented a studio from being built there.
Instead, Stuff is believed to be looking closely at leasing a studio in Boston Rd in Eden Tce – the same venue where The Project and Paddy Gower Has Issues were filmed, and just around the corner from Flower St.
I put all of this to Stuff chief executive Laura Maxwell, along with a range of other questions about the company.
“Good try on our (very dull) office set-up! As a business, if you’re not changing then you’re falling behind an ever-changing landscape. As before, as a privately owned organisation we don’t discuss our business growth plans with competitors. However, I can confirm that your sources are incorrect,” she said.
Stuff continues to be very busy with its PR, announcing this week a new commercial partnership with MediaWorks, alongside a summertime image of executives enjoying a day out at the polo.
Like most other major media firms including NZME, TVNZ and MediaWorks, Stuff has been looking closely at costs. In Stuff’s case, it has initiated a number of staff proposals in recent weeks, including within its sales team.
This week, we catch up with Commercial Communications Council chief executive Simon Lendrum and ask him about his trip to Cannes Lions in France - the festival that celebrates the global advertising industry.
Don’t miss nzherald.co.nz and the Weekend Herald tomorrow for an in-depth news feature on the future of TVNZ.
Among a raft of financial challenges, a relatively new-look TVNZ board and executive team have drawn up a new five-year strategy, which marks the beginning of the end of linear television and a reinvigorated focus on digital audiences and revenue.
But it also comes amid operational challenges for one of our most scrutinised, publicly owned companies.
Act leader and TVNZ shareholding minister David Seymour told the Herald it was “fair to say” the state broadcaster’s board was facing more rigour from shareholding ministers than what they had been used to in the past: “What’s your purpose, what does technology enable?”
The feature uncovers a range of issues for the state broadcaster and we speak to chief executive Jodi O’Donnell about the new five-year strategy and what lies ahead.
Here’s a sneak peek of the start:
“Jesus Christ,” murmured the TVNZ manager to herself as she returned to her seat in the public gallery of the Employment Court.
The manager had just been subject to a forensic legal cross-examination by Simon Mitchell KC, on behalf of the journalists’ union E tū.
It had been an intense experience. At the end of the manager’s appearance, chief Employment Court Judge Christina Inglis advised her that she could leave the witness box, observing she would be likely relieved there would be no further questions.
A few days later, the expressions of angst in TVNZ’s C-suite might have been a little louder and a little stronger...
To read the full feature, see nzherald.co.nz from 5am tomorrow, or the Weekend Herald newspaper.
I enjoyed sitting down with Ryan Bridge to speak to him about his new role at Newstalk ZB.
Bridge has had a tumultuous six months - it’s been almost 200 days since we last saw him on air. He starts on ZB on Monday week, three days after the closure of Newshub.
Yesterday, he married his partner Ferg in a glorious and glamorous wedding in the Bay of Islands. Congratulations to them both!
You can read the full interview here.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
'I can imagine people being outraged that TVNZ signed a deal with me.'