OPINION: Why NZ is about to fall in love with All Blacks coach Scott Robertson; RNZ explains how it came to broadcast explicit music lyrics; Another prominent TV and film producer questions the returns from Film Commission-funded films - and the commission responds.
The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) has axed 13 roles as part of a major restructuring aimed at ensuring the funding agency supports consistently strong movies.
As terminally ill film and TV producer Steven O’Meagher so eloquently outlined last weekend, New Zealand has not had a major film in eight years - Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople, released in 2016, has been our most successful film ever, drawing in more than $12.2 million at the NZ box office.
O’Meagher pointed his finger squarely at the NZFC for funding some projects that tick politically correct and cultural boxes, but lack creative storytelling to draw audiences. There has been a lot of meddling, he says, and a fair few flops.
Figures compiled by one of New Zealand’s most experienced and respected film and TV producers, South Pacific Pictures founder John Barnett, reveal an even starker picture.
Barnett, who has produced hit movies including Whale Rider and Sione’s Wedding, has compiled a spreadsheet of 54 films the NZFC has supported since 2020.
According to his numbers, from publicly available information and databases, these films have received just over $88m in public funding, including $51.3m in direct funding from the NZFC and $36.7m through the NZFC-administered screen production rebate.
Their total revenue at the NZ box office? Just under $14m, according to Barnett’s figures.
Box office returns aren’t the only measure of success, but they are one of the biggest, particularly for New Zealand taxpayer-funded films reaching a New Zealand audience. The NZFC was set up, after all, to make Kiwi movies for local audiences.
The NZFC says Barnett’s numbers are incomplete, unverified and have not been provided by the commission, while also acknowledging better returns are needed.
“We have been open ... about addressing the issue of return on investment of public funds in the films we fund, and John Barnett has been advised of that,” said NZFC chief executive Annie Murray.
“Mr Barnett previously raised this issue with us and with Shownews and we responded to him at the time. No one disputes that there needs to be a better return on the films funded by NZFC.”
New Zealand cinema attendance fell away during Covid, while the rise of international streaming platforms - with the latest movies at viewers’ fingertips - has continued unabated.
Murray pointed to the impacts of the pandemic and said traditional theatrical and distribution pathways had also been “significantly disrupted”.
We were “unlikely to ever resemble the halcyon days prior to digital streaming and the internet”.
According to Barnett’s figures, three of the 54 NZFC-supported movies since early 2020 have drawn between $1.5m and $1.7m at the local box office; many have collected less than $300,000.
Murray said certain New Zealand films still resonated with audiences on the big screen. She cited a range of movies that had drawn more than $1 million over the past two years including Uproar; Red, White and Brass; Muru and Cousins.
She also said NZFC-funded films were selling consistently to platforms around the world.
“We are ... monitoring the ongoing trend of audiences viewing New Zealand films on a range of platforms, including theatrical. Television ratings are available but there is a challenge with measuring audiences on streamers as those platforms tend not to release data, however NZ documentary Mister Organ sat in the Netflix top 10 for Australia/NZ for many weeks.”
Both Barnett and O’Meagher believe the NZFC has meddled too much in the past, creatively.
“They’re an incredibly arrogant organisation,” said O’Meagher. “They are so politically correct. ‘We know better but it’s ultimately you who carries the can if it doesn’t work’. They are notorious for obsessing over minutiae.”
There’s been a strong, if somewhat cautious, response to O’Meagher’s comments; some people don’t wish to speak publicly.
As one prominent commentator told me, it’s sad that it takes a terminally ill person to call out system failures. Another producer told me of “massive” roadblocks as they tried to work through a feature film.
The NZFC, meanwhile, has announced that it has completed restructuring and its new look structure starts in a little over two weeks, on July 1.
“The final structure has 28 positions disestablished and 15 new roles established, therefore a net reduction of 13 positions,” said Murray in a statement.
“Seven of the disestablished positions were vacant.”
She said the NZFC would be working through redeployment of affected staff and recruitment.
“The next phase for NZFC is about doing things differently so we stay relevant, focused, and use our resources to target how we can best add value to an industry of significant importance to New Zealand and New Zealanders.
“This means thinking differently about every aspect of what we do and making changes that range from granting funding directly to industry for talent and skills development to stopping giving creative feedback on scripts, reviewing our marketing function and how our funds are streamlined.”
She was looking forward with a “great deal of optimism”.
“I see a future where there is a much better understanding of what we will deliver and we are clear on our purpose, which is to fund excellent films.”
O’Meagher has high hopes that things are changing under Murray, who was appointed NZFC chief executive last year.
Barnett is not so sure the NZFC will stop meddling, basing his views on some of the new job descriptions in the organisation’s restructure.
For instance, a new role of “film production lead” has a lengthy job description, including representing the NZFC “in approving that fine cuts deliver on contractual obligations” and “providing insightful, thought-provoking and constructive commercial feedback to filmmakers”.
And critically, he says, citing the JD, “Reviewing and rebalancing the decision-making authority shared between NZFC and the filmmaker with a view to ensuring that the NZFC retains the right balance of control.
“These ‘accountabilities’ make it very clear that the NZFC has total control of the project, yet the NZFC will only be one of the financiers,” said Barnett.
He said the domestic distributor, and the worldwide sales agent, whose advances would be “totally” at risk and who financially committed to the project because they believed in the project’s creative team, would be left in the cold.
“This is a clear attempt to ensure the NZFC controls the film,” said Barnett.
He also said changes had not been discussed with content makers.
“The NZFC have no track record or credibility in this area, and if it goes wrong it’s the filmmakers whose careers are impacted, not the film production lead, or the head of funding, or the CEO, or the board.”
It was, he believed, a “complete negation” of the essential governance mantra, authority is equal to responsibility.
“The NZFC want authority, but no responsibility. The filmmaker, who has all the responsibility, has no authority.”
Murray, from the NZFC, said that assertion was “unhelpful and incorrect”.
“NZFC is stepping back from giving creative feedback on the films we fund, however as you will appreciate, we are responsible for investing public funds so we can’t be entirely hands-off. Our role is to take steps to protect the investment of public money and to ensure that it is spent appropriately.”
Barnett, like O’Meagher, is a huge supporter of bringing the NZFC together with NZ on Air, so New Zealand has one cohesive screen-funding agency, determining support for all projects.
At the moment, they are separated out for film and TV, whereas the behaviour of audiences, armed with smartphones and with access to on-demand digital streaming content, has changed dramatically.
Barnett said the industry was not asking for more subsidies.
“This is a call for a better-informed industry, and for the funding agencies to be able to show leadership, which is almost totally lacking in the film sector – the NZ box office results speak for themselves.”
A briefing paper released this week for new Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith reveals that he has agreed to review the funding agencies’ framework.
“NZ On Air (established in 1989, through the Broadcasting Act 1989) and the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC, established in 1978) were originally set up with a mandate to provide funding for TV and radio, and film content, respectively,” says the briefing document.
“The way content is produced and delivered to meet audience demands, as well as the types of content produced, has shifted, and there is now significant overlap between these entities’ functions.
“NZ on Air and the NZFC already deliver co-funding for some content and industry development initiatives. However, cross-agency collaboration of this nature is reliant upon significant time and resource investment from the entities.
“It is timely to consider opportunities for more formal alignment and collaboration between the entities, including options for possible structural change. The aim is to ensure that content funding arrangements are as efficient and effective as possible, taking into account both the cultural value of local content and the economic value of the local media sector.”
Goldsmith yesterday announced a new chair for NZ on Air - creative sector governance member Andrew Caisley.
Goldsmith’s next job will be to find a new NZFC chair to replace Alastair Carruthers. He has agreed to step down.
There had been some concerns from within the sector about Carruthers’ dual roles as NZFC chair and TVNZ chair, although the two organisations and Carruthers himself were always confident that any conflicts would be handled appropriately.
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson appears to be just the character rugby needs right now. Perhaps New Zealand as a whole.
It takes just 21 eventful minutes - the length of part one of Sky TV’s new three-part series Razor - to start understanding a special human away from the rugby field.
While my colleague Gregor Paul was scathing this week of the new NZR+ series In Their Own Words - featuring a line of All Blacks speaking about the Rugby World Cup but revealing little new information - Sky’s Razor breaks the traditional mould of rugby interviews.
Sky and NZR should be very pleased with the outcome.
It will do wonders for rugby’s image if Robertson maintains this openness, honesty and, of course, his incredible winning record.
Part one unravels the make-up of Robertson’s approach to life - including highlighting specific instances of some uncomfortable but necessary conversations with players; the critical role of communication; growing up at the Mount; and the importance of family in his life and his players’ lives.
He talks openly about the support from his wife Jane and their three children and she features alongside him in some shots.
“I’ve been with Jane since 1996, it’s a long time. I’ve been with her the whole time I’ve been in professional rugby,” says Robertson.
“She’s been through all my injuries. I’ve had 16 operations, 17 now. She’s picked me up from the hospital many times, with a drip coming out of somewhere. A leg out the back window of her car on the way home!
“I’ve been picked for the All Blacks, dropped from the All Blacks. Going to a World Cup, getting limited minutes, thinking I should be playing.
“She understands the cycles of rugby and World Cup rugby. She gets the game.
“And the boys are at a great age. They know who I am. I’m trying to be as consistent as I possibly can around them, and they understand I love them.
“Because of the status of the position, people are going to have opinions. The most important opinion to me is my family’s and that I am consistent and they know I love them.”
There would be some ups and downs as All Blacks coach but “trust Dad, we are going to have some fun, enjoy each other’s company like we always have ... and we love each other.”
Robertson’s public interactions also make for some of the most revealing moments in part one as he meets young and old, big and small, and even the odd Irish fan during a walkabout on the Mt Maunganui beach boardwalk.
Robertson is a natural with the public; it reminded me of the ability of the likes of John Key to relate to people across the board, from a public bar room to a boardroom, to Buckingham Palace.
Of course, all of that might get lost in the wash if the All Blacks go down to England but as Robertson promises fans and family, it’s going to be a fun ride.
Big ups to Sky’s Jim Kayes and producer Sam Harris for a unique series and to Robertson himself for the upfront, thoughtful responses.
We chat to Razor interviewer Jim Kayes, from Sky TV.
RNZ has invoked - sort of - the spirit and much more careful words of Billy Joel to explain how it came to broadcast a set of explicit song lyrics on two separate occasions this week.
Afternoons host Jesse Mulligan had to hastily halt the song Paper Planes by MIA after the word m*****f***** was broadcast as part of the lyrics.
Mulligan apologised for broadcasting the song “during school hours”, according to the Spinoff.
Later that evening, Nights host Emile Donovan played the song Good Lookin’ by Dixon Dallas, apparently requested by a regular listener in Sydney.
Unbeknown to Donovan, the song comes complete with lyrics focused on anal sex.
At the conclusion of the song, reported the Spinoff, Donovan “let out a breathy, nervous laugh. A laugh that can only be described as an audible tremble”.
“That was a song called Good Lookin’ by Dixon Dallas. And um, perhaps a good lesson for us to, uh, lyric check songs.”
A few minutes later, Donovan returned to the matter.
“Some texts [are] coming through from people saying, did I hear correctly those lyrics in that last song?
“I think it is fair to say that after dodging a couple, I have been stitched up on the Jukebox this evening.
“And so I can assure you, I will be paying much closer attention to the lyrical content of the song. Normally ... we’ll get a song up and go to the full lyrics and search up the main swear words and see if a song has those.
“Perhaps listening through and paying close attention to the lyrical content of the songs is a sensible thing to do in spite of the time poverty in putting this show together. Hey, we live, we learn, don’t we?”
The broadcasts have certainly caused some mirth around media traps, but RNZ was very serious in its explanation yesterday.
RNZ chief content officer Megan Whelan said: “RNZ broadcasts 24 hours a day and much of that is live radio, straight to air. Over the course of a month, RNZ National features on average over 1800 songs. While we have robust systems in place around song selection and checking of lyrics, we acknowledge that in this environment, mistakes can occasionally happen.”
And then she invoked Billy Joel. “We are, after all, only human.”
“In this case, the mistakes were swiftly acknowledged and corrected by the teams involved. Those teams will be reminded about the importance of the processes that support our editorial standards.”
RNZ has also been in the spotlight again this week over its policies involving the publication and editing of international content.
ZB Plus editor and prominent blogger Philip Crump, aka Thomas Cranmer, showcased this week RNZ’s publication of a Reuters article on the Gaza conflict and the rescue of four Israeli hostages.
RNZ published an early version of the Reuters story - the international news agency later updated the article, inserting comment from the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) and United States President Joe Biden.
RNZ stuck with its original version, as it is entitled to do, under its agreement.
International stories, such as breaking and developing stories like this, are often updated by international agencies, and news organisations might not always have the most up-to-date version.
There could be any one of several reasons for that. Sometimes it comes down to resources, with staff having moved on to higher-priority stories.
RNZ chief news officer Mark Stevens said in an emailed response: “There was no lapse in editorial judgment on RNZ’s part, with it running the version of the Reuters story that was available at the time it was published, essentially word for word. It is common practice across news organisations here and overseas to do this. As Reuters has confirmed, the story published complies with our agreement with them.”
I asked RNZ if it had considered updating the article in light of being alerted to the fresh take.
“We are satisfied that we have provided comprehensive coverage of the Gaza conflict from a range of sources. This includes rnz.co.nz publishing close to 550 stories relating to the conflict this year.”
Cranmer also pointed out the RNZ headline - ‘Real massacre’ in Gaza as Israel rescues four hostages - was different to Reuters’ headline: Israel rescues four hostages in Gaza raids that Hamas says kills 210 Palestinians.
RNZ is entitled to write its own headline on international copy just like other media organisations including the NZ Herald and Stuff.
“RNZ decides on all headlines that run on its platforms and in doing so considers the requirements of our agreements with content providers,” said Stevens.
“In this case, we are confident that the headline does not alter or distort editorial meaning as per our agreement with Reuters.”
Reuters told Cranmer: “We can confirm that while there may be updates to a Reuters story after initial publication, customers are not always required to publish all updates to that story or remove an earlier version of the story published on their site unless Reuters issues a subsequent correction or withdrawal.”
The latest instalment of a highly successful series of speaking events has been cancelled, following “negative feedback”.
M9 event organisers have cancelled an event - Ngāti Pae Pāpori - Māori Influencing Social Media - that had been scheduled for June 27.
Nine speakers were due to line up for the event: Nicola Adams (Nix); Paaka Davis; Makaia Carr; Millie Elder-Holmes; Aroha Tamihana; Te Kahukura Boynton; Te Rawhitiroa Bosch; Jordan Vaha’akolo and Raukura Huata.
“The reason for deciding to cancel the June 27 edition of M9 is that M9 received quite a bit of negative feedback around some of the kaikōrero [speakers] who were to be presenting at this event,” said a spokeswoman for event organisers Janda Productions.
“We listened to our community and made the difficult decision to cancel in order to protect the enormous positivity around the M9 kaupapa.
“All participants were disappointed about the cancellation but were understanding and many remain on our radar for future M9 kaupapa.”
M9 organisers have not been specific about the negative feedback.
Te Ao Māori News - the website for Whakaata Māori (Māori Television) - earlier reported that Nix and Elder-Holmes had been among influencers promoting an online gambling game to followers. “If it’s not your thing, just tap pass,” Elder-Holmes told her followers in one video post.
Hāpai te Hauora general manager Jessikha Leatham-Vlasic told Te Ao that the rise of online gambling was creating huge concerns for Māori communities.
“I think our social media influencers have to be really critical for what they choose to put out to our whānau.”
The Janda Productions spokeswoman said 1500 people had been expected to attend the event at the St James Theatre. All tickets had now been refunded by Ticketmaster.
“M9 has enjoyed overwhelming support since its inception in 2022 and organisers are excited to continue to build on this success and positivity. We are in the early planning stages of the next M9 kaupapa scheduled for November. We are now focused on this event and continuing to build this platform for Māori voices.”
A number of roles at Stuff are understood to be impacted by proposals in its commercial and motoring editorial teams.
The digital publishing company launched - amid much fanfare - its “strategic creative and editorial studio” Harakeke studio team less than a year ago.
Stuff said last week there was no change proposal for its Harakeke team.
What it didn’t reveal, but has done so now upon further questions, is that the integration sales team - which originally reported to the director of Harakeke - now reports to the company’s head of agency.
It is understood that members of the team are being consulted on a change proposal, with sources suggesting at least four roles affected.
A Stuff spokesman would not confirm that, or a separate proposal to axe what is understood to be at least one role from the company’s motoring editorial team.
The spokesman said: ”As with all media organisations, change and innovation are required as audience and market needs evolve. Any staff proposals are confidential to the individuals involved.”
The Stuff restructuring comes at the same time as NZME proposes to reduce roles in its regional newsrooms and reorganises itself with more resources in metropolitan centres as well as the business and political teams. The company says this is a cost-neutral move, designed to build digital audiences.
A unique newspaper advertisement - infused with a special scent - has won this year’s NZME Imprint competition for best print advertisement.
The Purina ad, dubbed ‘News-pee-per’ and printed in the NZ Herald, was infused with a special pheromone attractive to dogs.
The ad had a clear call to action for pet owners – place it in your puppy’s toilet spot to encourage them to pee in the right place.
Judges said the ad was compelling and practical.
They said they admired the amount of time and effort put into the ad, which was “people-safe, puppy-safe, and extremely clever”.
NZME chief commercial officer James Butcher said the calibre of entries this year was impressive, and FCB’s was a standout.
“This is the second year we’ve run the Imprint Competition at NZME and it’s been a real success. Not only does it encourage agencies and advertisers to get creative around the use of print as an advertising medium, but it also provides talkability and interaction for our print readers.
“We are really pleased to award the grand prize to FCB for their truly innovative campaign with Purina and we are thrilled to be sending them to New York to attend Advertising Week New York this October,” he said.
FCB Media chief strategy officer Anne Lipsham said the ad was fun and “such a good example of that collision between media, creativity and innovation”.
The Imprint judging panel featured well-known advertising and marketing experts: Federation chief creative officer Brad Collett, Tracksuit head of marketing Mikayla Hopkins, Kiwibank brand and marketing general manager Simon Hofmann, The Monkeys creative director Christie Cooper and NZME group creative director Graham Dolan.
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.'