For a while people mainly knew New Zealand for the scenery. Then Hollywood started showing up, and suddenly those mountains, green hills, forests and coastlines were appearing on cinema screens all over the world. Since then, the country has made a reputation for much more than its breathtaking locations. It’s built experienced crews, specialist companies and production facilities that can handle everything from small local films to huge Hollywood projects.

From Kiwi Films to Global Blockbusters

New Zealand’s film industry didn’t start out with Hollywood money. In the 1970s and 80s, local films such as Sleeping Dogs and Goodbye Pork Pie showed that Kiwi filmmakers could make stories that reached audiences outside the country. Jane Campion’s The Piano was a major success, winning three Academy Awards in 1993. It was the first to truly show what NZ filmmakers were capable of.

Then Peter Jackson brought The Lord of the Rings to the country. The trilogy was filmed in about 150 locations across New Zealand. Green hills became the Shire, while mountains and volcanic landscapes helped create the darker parts of Mordor. In the eyes of many fans, New Zealand became Middle-earth. And for the local industry, the films helped prove that the country could handle huge productions.

Why Filmmakers Keep Coming Back

The scenery gets plenty of attention, but filmmakers have other reasons to work there. New Zealand has developed experienced crews, production facilities and special effects skills. Wellington is at the centre of much of it, with Weta Workshop and a range of production facilities and post-production services based there.

Government incentives have also helped bring international projects in. Since 2014, the New Zealand Screen Production Rebate has offered international productions rebates of between 20% and 25% on goods and services bought in the country.

The screen sector contributes more than NZ$3.5 billion a year and employs over 16,000 people, while tourism, hotels, restaurants and construction businesses also benefit when large productions come to town.

From Middle-Earth to Pandora

The Lord of the Rings was only the beginning. Since it was made, New Zealand has been connected to many blockbusters including The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Mission: Impossible Fallout and Mulan. Avatar brought another fantasy world into the mix. James Cameron’s films showed once again how well New Zealand could fit into ambitious, effects-heavy movies.

Weta Workshop, where special effects for Avatar, LOTR and King Kong were created, has been a big part of that story, especially when it comes to the physical and visual effects needed for films of this size.

When Movie Worlds Move into Games

The popularity of these films hasn’t stopped at the cinema. Big movie franchises often find their way into other forms of entertainment, like games and even slot games online that have taken inspiration from the country and movies made in it.

The Lord of the Rings slot is a good example. Microgaming brought Middle-earth to the reels and used characters and scenes from Peter Jackson’s films, including Frodo, Aragorn, Galadriel, the Ringwraiths and the Eye of Sauron. Movie clips were even used as moving backgrounds during spins.

Avatar also made the move from film to game. IGT’s slot takes inspiration from James Cameron’s movie and uses the world of Pandora throughout the game that has five reels and 25 paylines. It features both the human characters and the Na’vi next to wilds, free spins, bonus rounds and multipliers.

Adaptations like these show how recognisable movie worlds can live even off the big screen.

New Zealand Is Telling Its Own Stories Now

Years of major productions have helped build a strong local pool of actors, directors, technicians and other film workers. Filmmakers such as Taika Waititi have been able to break out and helped bring Kiwi humour to international audiences through films like What We Do in the Shadows.

And there’s more room now for New Zealand stories too. The Dead Lands for example, was created around pre-colonial Māori society and featured a mainly Māori cast.

So while New Zealand will probably always be linked with Middle-earth and its landscapes, the country has built a much bigger film industry. It definitely has the people and experience to create worlds and stories of its own.