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. 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 int.
