Oscar nominations recognise NZ film industry
05 Feb 2010
New Zealand’s prominence in the movie world has been enhanced with a host of 2010 Oscar nominations, including nine for Avatar and nine Kiwis recognised for their work in the film industry.
Some New Zealand nominees are well known veterans like Sir Peter Jackson - nominated for his role as the producer of best picture candidate District 9, while others are talented newcomers.
The teams that worked on 3D blockbuster Avatar and District 9 are the best represented in the Oscars, but New Zealand also features elsewhere on the shortlist.
Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, and fellow New Zealand producer Jane Campion’s Bright Star each have one nomination, and Wellington producer Finola Dwyer is up for three awards for her British film An Education.
Weta Workshops
Wellington’s Weta Workshops digital team gets the biggest pat on the back for having worked on both Avatar and District 9 - the two sci-fi films that will compete against each other in best picture, editing and visual effects categories.
In all, Avatar - partially shot in Wellington and largely constructed on Weta’s mainframe - received nine Oscar nominations including best picture. The James Cameron epic has now surpassed his earlier Titanic as the highest grossing movie of all time.
The Weta Digital team of Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R Jones are collectively nominated for best visual effects for Avatar.
Set director Kim Sinclair is nominated for best art direction, and sound recordist Tony Johnson for best sound mixing. Both were part of team nominations. It's Johnson's second nomination - his first was for work on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).
Sinclair was the supervising art director for Avatar's Wellington film sets, where all live action with actors was filmed. He said the work consisted of much more than digital imagery.
"Not only was the architecture built, but the food, packaging, knives, forks, spoons and vending machines were all designed," Sinclair said.
'District 9'
The best picture nomination for District 9 - produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham - is one of the big surprises in the Oscar announcements.
The film was initiated by Jackson and partner Fran Walsh after production on another planned film fell apart due to Hollywood studio politics.
Critics say the nomination of District 9 - an edgy, violent, low-budget South African-set alien movie - for best picture is likely due to the expansion of the category to include 10 nominations this year.
District 9’s four Oscar nominations include film editing, visual effects - with Weta’s Matt Aitken representing the internationally shared work on the movie - and best adapted screenplay. South African-born director Neill Blomkamp and co-writer Terri Tatchell reworked the idea from a previous Blomkamp short film.
Lovely Bones & Bright Star
Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones gets one Oscar nomination with Stanley Tucci, who played the film’s serial killer, up for best supporting actor.
Jane Campion's Bright Star also receives just one Oscar nomination, in the best costume design category for Australian Janet Patterson.
This year’s most nominated films are Avatar and The Hurt Locker each with nine nominations. Kathryn Bigelow of The Hurt Locker becomes the fourth woman ever to be nominated for directing.
The 82nd Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, 7 March 2010.
More information:
Spotlight on New Zealand film industry
Kiwi star directors
Weta technology inspires 'Avatar'
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