Hon Steven Joyce

Minister for Economic Development

Hon Christopher Finlayson

Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage

20 June 2014 Media Statement
Screen Advisory Board members announced

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Christopher Finlayson today announced the formation of the Screen Advisory Board.

The Screen Advisory Board, announced by the Government in December 2013, will help the New Zealand screen sector create the skills and connections to be able to generate their own intellectual property, compete internationally and attract overseas finance.

The six-member Board will also assist the New Zealand Film Commission, Film New Zealand, and the New Zealand screen sector to market and promote the New Zealand screen industry overseas.

“We are very pleased that such an eminent panel of screen professionals has agreed to contribute their time and expertise to support the New Zealand screen sector on a pro-bono basis,” Mr Joyce says.

The Screen Advisory Board comprises: James Cameron, Jon Landau, Sir Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Andrew Adamson and Jane Campion.

James Cameron is an Academy Award-winning Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor who has directed the two biggest box office films of all time Titanic and Avatar.

Jon Landau is an American film producer. He is best known for producing Titanic, a film which won him an Academy Award, and most recently, Avatar.

Sir Peter Jackson is an Academy Award-winning New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the director, producer and screenwriter of The Lord of the Ringstrilogy (2001–2003) and its prequel The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014).

Fran Walsh is an Academy Award-winning New Zealand screenwriter, film producer and lyricist. She is best known for her work as producer and screenwriter on The Lord of the Rings trilogy andThe Hobbit trilogy.

Andrew Adamson is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter based mainly in Los Angeles. His animation films, Shrek and Shrek 2, received an Academy Award nomination. He was director, executive producer, and scriptwriter for C. S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Jane Campion is an Academy Award-winning New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director. She is the second of four women ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and is also the first female filmmaker in history to receive the Palme d'Or, which she received in 1993 for directing The Piano, for which she also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

James Cameron and Jon Landau made a commitment to serve as inaugural members of the Screen Advisory Board under the memorandum of understanding signed last year between the Crown, Lightstorm Entertainment Inc. and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in relation to the next threeAvatar movies.

“The commitment by such high-profile New Zealand and international luminaries to help grow the local industry is significant. Their contribution will help promote a thriving screen sector and underpin its sustainability in the longer term,” Mr Finlayson says.

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