New Zealand Gets A New Film & TV Studio As Banijay’s Screentime Launches Remarkable Studios NZ In Queenstown
EXCLUSIVE: A new film and TV studio has opened its doors in Queenstown, New Zealand. Screentime New Zealand is behind Remarkable Studios NZ and the Banijay label has already filmed a major drama project there. The studio is now open for business to third parties.
Used as the backdrop to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Queenstown’s landscape is familiar to filmmakers, but Remarkable Studios NZ is its first studio. The hope is the new facility, which is a repurposed and recently vacated department store, makes Queenstown a hub for primary production rather than a location base or second-unit shoot option.
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Screentime New Zealand CEO, Philly de Lacey, is the brains behind the project. Speaking to Deadline from New Zealand, she said the search for a studio space like this has been going on for five years. “The ability to film here and have wet weather cover or indoor sets to give crews a break from filming outside has been a very long challenge for the region,” she said. “And then this department store lease came up and straight away I said: ‘Oh, my God, we’ll take it.’”
From an infrastructure perspective, the Studios are five minutes from Queenstown airport and close to several hotels. The 2,300sqm space has been repurposed and sound-proofed and has offices, construction areas and a loading bay. Screentime christened the Studios by shooting drama series A Remarkable Place to Die there. Banijay is at MIPCOM this week with the series, shopping it to international buyers.
Marco Bassetti, CEO, and Fred Balmary, Chief Business Officer, Banijay Entertainment paid testament to De Lacey for realizing the studios project.
In a joint statement they said: “Standing as our tenth studios globally, but certainly first in a re-purposed department store, the groundbreaking facilities have emerged at the perfect moment – a time where production costs are soaring, and producers everywhere are looking for economical solutions. In Queenstown, producers now have the luxury of a multitude of locations, as well as a reasonable, fully functioning production complex.”
The Banijay top brass also noted the positive economic impact for the region, a message echoed Queenstown Lakes District Council Mayor Glyn Lewers. He told Deadline that the new studios will be a major boost to the area and help Queenstown close ground on more established Kiwi production centers in Auckland and Wellington.
“Film has been an important contributor to our local economy for decades, thanks to our cinematic alpine locations, skilled crew base and welcoming communities,” Lewers said. “But having a dedicated film and television facility to add to that package will unlock more opportunities for our local industry. Screentime is also a key player in the New Zealand production community, so we’re thrilled that they’ve decided to establish a base here.”
New Zealand has a storied film history, and De Lacey hopes the combination of new Studios, scenery, infrastructure and decent tax incentive, will be a shot in the arm for the industry, which weathered a tough time through Covid.
“There’s been a lot of challenges facing the industry, it’s nice that we’re seeing a lot of international dramas coming back here, or in the works, and New Zealand is really ramping up,” she said. “The opportunities for co-production, international filming and looking at this region and New Zealand as a whole is on the increase post-COVID. It feels like it’s the right time to be doing something like this.”
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