Film Commission Gives Details Of 1982 Productions (Press, 14 January 1982)

On 14 January 1982, The Film Commission of New Zealand disclosed an array of film projects planned for that year, including several currently in production. Notably, Auckland producer-director Roger Donaldson is finalising the script for "The World's Fastest Indian," a film inspired by the true story of a New Zealander who pursued speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the USA during his 60s and 70s. This film is anticipated to be a co-production with the United States and is set for filming in the latter half of 1982. The Film Commission has also invested in another project by Donaldson titled "The Doomsday Machine," which revolves around UFO sightings in Kaikoura that occurred three years prior. In addition, Rob Whitehouse and Lloyd Phillips are developing an adventure film titled "Savage Island," set in the 1880s South Pacific, during a period notorious for piracy. This feature will incorporate a storyline about legendary figure Bully Hayes assisting a young Englishman to save a missionary's daughter from white slavers, complete with naval battles using period ships, and is slated for mid-1982. Phase Three Films in Auckland is working on a feature about Amy Bock, who gained notoriety in the early 1900s for living as a man and marrying a minor heiress. Directed by Geoff Steven and Robert Williams, the film is to be produced by John Maynard with filming expected in 1983. John O'Shea of Pacific Films is producing a film based on Selina Sutherland, who dedicated her life to aiding the underprivileged in New Zealand and Australia. This feature is planned as an Australian co-production and is supported by a Film Commission grant. Sutherland, originally from Scotland, arrived in New Zealand in the 1860s and played a significant role in developing medical services and caring for the poor in Melbourne. Screenwriter Graham Billing is penning an original screenplay that explores the intricate business and personal lives of a New Zealand family. Auckland producer Larry Parr has two feature films in development, both inspired by New Zealand novels and backed by Film Commission grants. One of these, “Sydney: Bridge Upside Down,” adapted by Bill Baer, depicts a teenage boy drawn to murder in a 1930s East Coast beach town. The other, based on M. K. Joseph's “A Soldier's Tale,” tells the story of a young soldier's romance with a French woman during the Normandy campaign in World War II. Bruce Morrison's debut feature, "Constance," co-produced by Aucklanders Larry Parr and Tom Finlayson, is expected to begin shooting in the latter half of 1982 with backing from the Film Commission and Television New Zealand. This tragic love story, set in Auckland during the 1930s and 1940s, features a protagonist heavily influenced by American films of the time. Finally, Auckland director Sam Pillsbury is working on adaptations of two novels, "The Quiet Earth" and "In My Father's Den," while filmmaker David Blyth readies to shoot “A Woman of Good Character," a drama about a young English immigrant's life on a remote New Zealand farm in the 1860s, which was written by Elizabeth Gowans.

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