A year-long dream was fulfilled for a group of local film makers on Sunday when their miniature explosion was staged at Trentham Army Base for their upcoming action short film Hot Rob. “If any one of the people along the way hadn’t agreed to help us, none of this could have happened,” says director/co-writer/co-producer Andy Campion. “It’s why Wellington is such an amazing place to make films. Some of the world’s best went out of their way and invested a lot of time so that this film could be a reality.”

Shooting will start later this month on The Most Fun You Can Have Dying, a rebellious drama written and directed by debut feature filmmaker Kirstin Marcon. Adapted from the novel Seraphim Blues by Steven Gannaway, The Most Fun You Can Have Dying will be shot in Europe and New Zealand. Marcon says “I am really thrilled to be making this film after six years of planning – we’re shooting in London, Paris, Berlin – and Hamilton – and we’ll be taking the cast, the crew, and eventually the audience on an amazing ride.”

The four successful Escalator low budget feature film teams greenlit for production were announced this evening via live stream from Wellington and Auckland. Each team has been offered production finance of up to NZ$250,000.
The four greenlit films are…

Script to Screen is delighted to announce the 2011 US Screenwriting Internship Scholarship to Killer Films. The winning applicant will be flown to New York and have their living costs for three months while they work as an intern in the busy script department of Killer Films, a company at the forefront of independent American cinema that’s responsible features including Kids, Happiness, Boys Don’t Cry, Far from Heaven and I’m Not There.
Applications close at 5pm, Wednesday 10 November, 2010

Up and coming film makers are invited to apply for New Zealand Film Commission sponsorship to attend this year’s annual industry conference, held in Auckland on 11-12 November.
All applications must be received by 5pm on Wednesday 27 October.

All NZ filmmakers are invited to attend a meeting with NZFC Chair Patsy Reddy and CEO Graeme Mason to discuss the Jackson/Court Review and its influence on the direction of the NZFC.

New Zealand Film Commission CEO, Graeme Mason, today expressed concern about the impact the current industry dispute involving The Hobbit will have on the New Zealand film industry community.
“New Zealand crew, actors and filmmaking facilities currently enjoy a high international profile and reputation,” he said. “This is due in no small way to the production in NZ of films such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, Avatar, Wolverine, and TinTin…”

Producer and director Chris Hampson and production house general manager Cameron Harland have been appointed to the board of the New Zealand Film Commission, Minister for Arts and Culture Christopher Finlayson announced today.

A Government response to the NZFC review undertaken by Peter Jackson and Australian academic David Court is expected by the end of November, according to Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Chris Finlayson in a letter in response to a joint submission on the NZFC review from five industry guilds.