Dunedin vampire movie NZ's biggest film deal

A horror film made in Dunedin and partly funded by taxpayers has been tipped as New Zealand's biggest movie deal.

The movie watchers' bible, Empire, says the film Perfect Creature is being bought by 20th Century Fox and is planned for wide release before the end of the year.

With a budget of $20 million, it could bring in huge money for the film's backers, including the NZ Film Fund.

"Forget The Lord of the Rings, forget King Kong, this is apparently the biggest sale ever made of a Kiwi film," Empire said.

The film is directed by New Zealander Glenn Standring and is being shown at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Standring yesterday played down comparisons of success, but he did admit: "We've done pretty well."

Perfect Creature stars British actor Dougray Scott and Saffron Burrows. It is set in an alternate reality - a "retro-futuristic world" - in which humans and vampires coexist.

Standring's previous feature film The Irrefutable Truth About Demons sold strongly internationally.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the deal is "the largest sale ever made of a New Zealand film". It has already been sold in the United Kingdom, Japan, across Europe and in Southeast Asia.

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