Z for Zachariah to be shot in NZ
Another film involving Hollywood stars will have a Kiwi feel, albeit an post-apocalyptic one, after Tobey Maguire agreed to shoot his latest flick in New Zealand.
Z for Zachariah, which will star Chris Pine and Amanda Seyfried, will be shot on Kiwi soil from early next year.
The film will be directed by Craig Zobel and produced by “Spiderman” Tobey Maguire, his production company Material Pictures, Palomar Pictures and Zik Zak Filmworks.
The post-apocalyptic thriller, set in a remote valley which survives a nuclear holocaust, will be filmed in the Canterbury region of the South Island.
It’s based on the 1974 science fiction children’s novel by Robert O’Brien.
“New Zealand offers a great variety of options for this type of film, in particular we needed to match some of the more beautiful parts of the US,” Zobel said.
“New Zealand is epic and picturesque, with the lush and vibrant nature this story requires. There are so many different looks close together that you can only get in a place like this.”
Z for Zachariah, written by Robert O'Brien in 1974, is a post-apocalyptic novel for young adults.
The announcement follows one worth at least $NZ500 million ($A466.94 million), which will bring James Cameron’s Avatar to New Zealand.
Cameron has agreed to make the next three Avatar films in New Zealand following the government bumping up rebates for big budget films from 15 per cent to 20 per cent.
Z for Zachariah will not be eligible for the rebates because is is of a much smaller scale.
