Mayor's Speech - Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum, Hong Kong

Wellington is, it has been observed, a small city in a small country, a long way off the beaten track.

But it is also recognised globally for the expertise of its movie pioneers, making it worthwhile for some of the biggest names in filmmaking to make the long journey to the South Pacific.

Why do they come? Because they know they will find world-beating skills flourishing in an environment tailored to suit them, whether they are making a 30-second TV commercial or a blockbuster movie.

[Peter Jackson / Lord of the Rings video clip]

Wellington is New Zealand's film capital, a title which 20 years ago might not have caused much excitement. But now the world has to take notice.

The city boasts world-class talent and facilities such as Park Road Post Production, Weta Workshop and Weta Digital and Stone Street Studios. It is the only city in the world with four high-capacity fibre-optic networks.

Making it happen for the filmmakers is Film Wellington, New Zealand's longest-established regional film body and part of the regional development agency Grow Wellington.

Film and television production has been a feature of the local economy for decades. Filmmakers have been drawn by Wellington's wealth of potential locations and its compact size.

In the mid 1990s, when New Zealand was facing a recession, a Wellington City Council study identified two potential growth areas - wine and film.

The wine industry was already flourishing in the region but film - worth $62 million to the Wellington economy in 1994-95 - was worth a closer look.

In 1994 the City Council's Capital Development Agency asked the industry what could be done to help. The answer was loud and clear - cut red tape!

The industry wanted to be able to go to one person at the council who understood the film industry rather than a different officer for each inquiry.

In 1996 Wellington City Council employed New Zealand's first local authority film and television co-ordinator. Film Wellington was born. The remit was simple - assist production and promote the region as film maker-friendly.

It was soon put to the test in a huge way. In 1998 New Line Cinema announced that film maker Peter Jackson would bring production of his Lord of the Rings trilogy to his home city.

The release of The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001, and the sequels in the following years, put Wellington on the film world's map.

With ground-breaking effects from Weta Digital and 48,000 items crafted at Weta Workshop, new skills and techniques were developed and the movie world started to beat a path to Wellington.

The momentum could not be lost. In April 2002 Wellington Region strategic plan identified the creative sector, film and television in particular, as a key driver in the local economy.

In August 2002 an independent report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu identified the film industry as a specific opportunity for growth in the region, able to provide attractive, skilled jobs, generate export earnings and call upon an enormous range of support services. The report also found a major piece of infrastructure missing - a large soundstage.

For two years Positively Wellington Business, by then Film Wellington's parent body and the predecessor to Grow Wellington, fought for the new facility, spurred by the monster prospect of Universal Studios bringing King Kong to Stone Street.

[Kong video clip]

Positively Wellington Business won $2 million Government backing to get the project rolling. In April 2004 construction began. In September production of King Kong started on the unfinished soundstage, which was officially opened in April 2005.

Since then the development of facilities and the successes have continued - Black Sheep, Eagle vs Shark, The Water Horse, Bridge to Terabitha to name a few.

Here's a look at some of the amazing movie work of Park Road Post Production, the facility Peter Jackson built in Wellington to meet his own standards.

[Park Road Post showreel video]

The top film makers now come to Wellington for the facilities and expertise - James Cameron, for example, who brought Avatar to Wellington, and Steven Spielberg, whose Tintin movie is getting the post-shooting Weta Digital treatment.

Film Wellington does not claim credit for every triumph - but it has done much to foster a culture in which creative minds can give form to their ideas.

Film Wellington calls itself "the film maker's best friend in the Wellington region". It can aid every step, from accessing central Government grants, initial recces and location-finding, to sorting out filming logistics and permits.

Decisions must be made quickly and plans can change at, or even after, the last minute.

Sometimes roads have to be closed, traffic diverted and signs put up or removed; there are noise control issues, environmental issues. Cars have to be blown up, or buildings burned down. It could be a bureaucratic nightmare.

Film Wellington speeds up the consent processes and helps with parking and traffic management. It has a huge advantage over other regional film offices in having authority to sign off film permits so, for example, a shoot can be quickly moved if necessary.

It liaises between the production company and government agencies, local industry, property owners, media and the public.

It helps production companies find locations. Parts of Wellington can stand in for London. There are corners which could be New York; our hills have the look of San Francisco.

Film Wellington finds things the production companies need, from cars, pigs and statues to houses, buildings, swimming pools and more.

When one company needed a fake grand piano to dangle from a helicopter, Film Wellington manager Delia Shanly was able to ask ‘What colour?' They would have been happy with one - Delia knew where there were two.

If a director needs to walk a flock of sheep through the railway station, as was required for a UK Rail commercial, Film Wellington makes it happen. How do you get a flock of sheep up an escalator? What about the mess?

When a company needed to destroy Wellington in an earthquake for the TV special Aftershock, Film Wellington made the arrangements - and even organised the sweeping up afterwards.

Two satisfied customers write. First, Kiwi film maker Costa Botes: "You guys do a tremendous job and we're very lucky to have you!"

Then Bret Saunders, after shooting of Sensing Murder: "We want to set fire to a car" is not a request you get every day, especially when it needs to be filmed within the city limits. Thanks to Wellington City Council's film-friendly policies, the great people at Film Wellington and Chief Rural Fire Officer, this challenging shoot came together quickly and easily."

Film Wellington markets the region overseas. It talks to international film companies about accommodation, visas, equipment, crew availability, food, studios, transport, post production, grants and other things needed to get them in.

Wellington is established in the film and digital world. Every year the city hosts VES/Animfx, the games, animation and visual effects exposition. It's a great event and we hope to see you at the next one. Last year Film Wellington also hosted AFCI Cineposium 2008, attended by delegates from 20 countries.

The importance of the film and television industry to Wellington cannot be overstated.

According to Statistics NZ, the Screen Industry segment of the Digital Content industry in NZ had $2.44 billion revenue in the 2007 year. Film and gaming, Wellington's speciality, generated more than $450 million regionally.

In 2005 a report by Oxford Economic Forecasting on the Economic Contribution of the UK Film Industry had noted: "One of the most dramatic impacts of film on tourism around the world was the use of locations throughout New Zealand for the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy."

After the release of the first of the trilogy in December 2001, it noted, the number of foreign visitors to New Zealand rose sharply. Visitor spending was up 17%. Tourism New Zealand surveys in 2003 showed 65% of potential visitors were more likely to come because of the films

At Wellington City Council we work hard to foster an atmosphere in which creative people can flourish.

As in the early days of Film Wellington, we are working through a recession. But Film Wellington, which has recently expanded its full-time staff from two to three, is facing the future with confidence.

The Memorandum of Understanding I signed yesterday on behalf of Wellington City Council with New Zealand Institute of Screen Innovation Limited, Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Association and Hong Kong Cyberport Management shows that confidence is well-founded.

With greater co-operation and exchanges of expertise and ideas, the establishment of Wellington's film and digital industry as a Centre of Excellence is a further step toward the transformation of the sector into a billion dollar-plus industry.

I finish with the words of Peter Jackson, talking at the time of the world premiere of Return of the King in Wellington. "I feel incredibly proud that this country, and especially this town, is responsible for what we have done."

Thank you.

(with PowerPoint presentation)

The speech delivered may vary from this text.

Department Details:
Mayor's Office