In the way of Smaug, Jake Sully and Sleeping Beauty, Marlborough’s screen office is being placed into a long slumber.
The rise of AI, political changes, economic conditions and the fickle nature of movie-making are all being blamed for the move.
The Marlborough District Council voted to make Screen Marlborough “dormant” last Thursday, as the council’s economic development team undergoes restructuring.
Economic development manager Dorien Vermaas told council that the office had been instrumental in promoting Marlborough as an attractive screen production destination.
Screen Marlborough supported seven productions from outside the region in 2023-24, including a feature film, and an international Volkswagon commercial filmed at Cape Campbell lighthouse.
In 2022, an old sawmill in Blenheim was the site of a scouting trip by Taika Waititi’s business partner as a potential film studio for an upcoming film.
A council spokesperson told Local Democracy Reporting they did not know what project Waititi’s associate was considering the site for.
That sawmill later became home to the Sawmill Studios Charitable Trust, which was supported by Screen Marlborough.
The studio hosted screen workshops, screen capability trainings, and a highly successful school programme with Marlborough Girls’ and Boys’ colleges on how to produce a short movie, Vermaas said.
Vermaas said economic factors were the main reason she was recommending dormancy for Screen Marlborough.
“It’s been a fantastic journey.”
With changes both internally in the team, and externally in the screen environment, both here and overseas, it made sense to make the call now, she said.
Vermaas said that major technological and political changes, particularly the rise of AI, had left Marlborough with few opportunities to attract medium- to large-sized productions.
“Technology is changing the screen sector to a large extent,” Vermaas said.
“The region is best off … to put the screen office dormant and see what’s happening in the country, and in the world, in the next 12 months.”
Vermaas reported to council that the Sawmill Studio’s trust had also made the tough decision to go dormant.
“I was at the Sawmill Creative Society meeting last [Wednesday] night … they have decided to put their trust dormant [too]. Last night was the last meeting.”
Councillor Gerald Hope said the decision to dormant the office was just a reality of the cyclical nature of the film industry.
“This happens all the time,” Hope said. “It’s not a failure, it’s a reality of just where this activity is at.
“It’s just lying there having a little bit of a rest.”
Councillor and former chairperson of Sawmill Studios Matt Flight said the film industry could be “very, very fickle”.
“Lord of the Rings is 21 years ago now, makes us feel a little bit old, and they disappeared out of that region, but then they come north,” Flight said, referring to the revival of Wellington’s film industry.
“I think it is certainly the best option [to] just have that button ready, just in case somebody comes along and says we want to get involved.”
“You don’t want to audition Matt,” Hope said, bringing a laugh to the room.
Sawmill Studios down, not out
Treasurer of the Sawmill Studios Charitable Trust Stuart McCormick told Local Democracy Reporting on Wednesday, that the trust’s decision to go dormant was simply “a sign of the times”.
“The state of the film industry at the moment, [we were] offering a really good price for people to come in, but even the studios in Auckland [haven’t] been cutting that.
“As a studio, it’s just a sign of the times. It’s just because there’s no film work in New Zealand at the moment.”
McCormick said the studio itself was still open to filmmakers to use for shorts and other projects but the site would not be staffed.
“We’ve decided to put the trust on hold for a little while, and the offices which were open to filmmakers will now be offered out for commercial use,” McCormick said.
“The space is still available to be used… for the next year or so.
“It can be used for special effects because it’s blacked out now. But we still have those little remaining issues [because] we’re not a dedicated studio, we are a garage studio, and we do have some sound problems because we’re in town.”
McCormick said he believed film in Marlborough would eventually make a comeback.
By Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporter
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
