NZDF dismantles 'Kingdom Come' set

A set built for Kingdom Come near Oamaru last year. Photo / Oamaru Mail

The abandoned Wellington set for the stalled biblical film Kingdom Come has been dismantled and removed by the Defence Force at a cost to taxpayers of $70,000.

The $180 million film about the life of Jesus was due to be shot in early 2009 before financial problems put an end to it.

The set, which was built in 2008 on Wellington's Miramar Peninsula, was rotting and covered in graffiti by the time it was pulled down, the Dominion Post reported.

Lawyer for South Vineyard production company Stephen Brown said they had handed the site back to the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), which was removing the spray-painted polystyrene structures from the site.

However, he said the company was continuing to get the appropriate funding in place to get things up and moving again.

"The company has deliberately decided to abandon that set. It was much too lavish for what was required and we can do the same thing on an indoor set," Mr Brown said.

NZDF director of housing and property Peter Bollmann said removal work started just before Christmas, at an estimated cost of $70,000.

"Nobody agreed to contribute to the cost but it became a bit of a health and safety issue... it was a very large, light-weight structure which we thought had to come down."

Some of the money may be recouped from those involved with the production, he said.

The NZDF is planning to sell land on Miramar Peninsula.

Kingdom Come owed about $40,000 in unpaid rent, Mr Bollmann said.

The collapse of the film cost creditors $5.8m.

- NZPA