Meanwhile on to the news....Which is blasted out of Bruno's Shotgun!!! Here you'll read about Peter Jackson and some other New Zealand filmmakers. And looks like we got a spy that'll be filling us in on all that happens there!!! Cool.
First-time spy Bruno's Shotgun here reporting in from New Zealand. I got some first hand Peter Jackson skinny, plus some interesting stuff from the local press, with wide-ranging implications (I'm surprised nobody's reported it yet).
Ok, so I'm at a party with some film academic nerd types (Harrys with degrees, you could say), and one of them name drops a certain up-and-coming NZ director. I pretend to be impressed by this and start pumping them for gossip. Here's what I dug up:
PJ's next project is a Tolkien and not Kong. Connery first choice for Gandalf. You had rumours to that effect already, but this was from someone very close to Jackson. Still no word as to whether its the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, (I'm on it!) but commercial logic (i.e. sequel potential) would suggest the former, unless he does LOTR as 3 separate films, which my sources hinted at. Is Warwick Davis a dead cert for Bilbo or will all the Hobbits be CGI? I'm on that one too. (More Jackson stuff below)
They had some interesting skinny also about Costa Botes, PJ's collaborator on the mock doco Forgotten Silver, which is probably hen's teeth outside New Zealand - too bad, its brilliant. Anyway, Costa's nearly done with his debut feature, a "metaphysical love story". There's a weird story to be told about this one - The NZ Film Commission, a bunch of lawyers and accountants who fund virtually all NZ films and for some sick reason have final cut on them - leaned on Botes to film a new, 'nicer' ending, which he did. Then, they changed their minds and decided to let Botes have final cut. Now we get to the weird bit - seems Botes has become attached to the new commercial sell-out ending and can't decide between that and the original one! He's so stressed over it that he consulted my sources for advice! (Oh yeah - word is that Botes is very reluctant to discuss Jackson - not sure if he's being protective or if they've fallen out).
A short press tidbit - the New Zealand Listener for 29/11/97 has a nice long interview with NZ born Hollywood based composer Graeme Revell (Dead Calm, Until The End Of The World, The Crow). In it he laments the fact that he narrowly missed out on scoring his countryman Vincent Ward's "What Dreams May Come". The reason - Ward was offered somebody he's dreamt about hiring since he was 12 - Ennio Morricone! Fingers crossed that Ward's shamelessly self-indulgent visuals will coax a nice BIG score out of Il Maestro, not that I dislike his recent, more 'intimate' stuff, but y'know...
Now we get to the dirt. Major filth here that could impact on Peter Jackson's future projects:
New Zealand Metro magazine's December issue has a lengthy feature entitled "Horror Story". The opening 2 page spread has a cool photo of Mr Jackson glaring out from behind the guns of his replica Sopwith Camel(!). Just another puff-piece profile then? Nope. Maybe some big dirt on the Tolkien flick? Sorry. Here's a synopsis:
Its the 20th Anniversary of the aforementioned New Zealand Film Commission, and NZ film rag OnFilm is putting out a special supplement with its November issue. The editor writes to Peter Jackson requesting "maybe some anecdotes from over the years, and his thoughts on the future of the commission." They asked for 200-300 words.
What they got was 1800 words with a note from Jackson asking that it be printed in its entirety. Jackson's contribution to the anniversary 'celebration' begins thusly:
"For 20 years our feature film industry has produced great movies [...] Many of our movies have won awards and made money. And yet morale today is at an all-time low. The Australian and UK film industries are flourishing . These are exciting times for the film makers in those countries. The world is applauding them as they produce original, stimulating pieces of cinema. And yet we [The NZ film industry] are floundering in a sea of depression and inactivity.
The blame for this must sit squarely with the New Zealand Film Commission. Just as they are using this anniversary to congratulate themselves, they must also take responsibility for the mess we now find ourselves in."
It goes on (and on), getting into meticulous detail about exactly why the film commission sucks the big one. Ouch.
Of course, there's yet another twist to the story - guess who was paying for the anniversary supplement? You guessed it. Which is why the first appearance of the letter was in the Metro article.
The upshot of all this? The film commission already had a problem with Jackson - he started off making splatter flicks that didn't gel with their anal preconceptions of "proper" cinema, so he's been constantly fighting them for funding right from the get go. Legend has it that he had to go to extreme lengths to get Meet the Feebles finished, once the Film Commission took a squiz at the rushes!
Jackson apparently wanted to speak out earlier, but he waited to hear a yea or nay on a project headed by himself and Harry "Topless Women Talk About Their Lives" Sinclair. The Project's name is "Pink Frost" (pop culture note - Pink Frost is an old NZ pop song by the Chills about a guy whose girlfriend is bleeding to death, hence the title). Good old auntie film commission said "Sorry Peter" to that one. We must now pray for foreign funding if we ever want to see Peter's take on the Urban Gothic Tragedy genre.
Want to know what films the commission IS funding? How about "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted" AKA "Once Were Warriors II"? Tem "Jake the Mus" Morrison is a definite starter, but director Lee Tamahori is NOT, because he had a huge public feud over royalties with Alan Duff, the author of both novels. The novel has received equal acclaim to its predecessor, and it deals with the redemption of Jake the Mus.
Let me know if you give a shit about the non Peter Jackson stuff and I'll try to keep it coming.
I'm interested in any and everything happening in the film industry of any and all countries... just so long as it is... cool. Send away my friend.
