John Barnett

It is hard to imagine a credit roll for the New Zealand film and TV industry without the name John Barnett being high on the titles.  

The South Pacific Pictures boss has produced, or executive produced, four of New Zealand's six top grossing films (to August 2010); Whale Rider, Sione's Wedding, Footrot Flats and What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?

That Whale Rider even reached the screen is largely down to Barnett's passion for the story, and his commitment to stick to the project like a dog with a bone for over a decade.

The art and craft of John Barnett's success seems to be in recognising a good idea, then helping ensure there's the resource to bring it to fruition. One of his strengths is in picking good creatives to helm his projects, then letting them do what they're good at. Examples include Niki Caro on Whale Rider, Vanessa Alexander on the Emmy-nominated, Being Eve (2001), and Simon Bennett on the popular Maddigans Quest (2005).

Barnett's career began as a producer of New Zealand's first children's television serial, The Games Affair (1975). The six-part thriller fantasy was shot on location around the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch. 

The crew included such future luminaries as Don Reynolds (sound mixer), Alun Bollinger (lighting and 2nd Unit Camera), Leon Narbey (assistant cameraman) and Geoff Murphy (set construction and special effects).

Barnett then went on to manage John Clarke and his alter ego, Kiwi cultural phenomenon, Fred Dagg.

His first incursion into the movie theatres was when Geoff Murphy approached him with Wild Man; a 50 minute version of part of the Blerta series. The footage was 12 minutes short of the 72 required for a theatrical release.

Taking the No. 8 wire approach, they shot some extra footage for Wild Man and devised a Fred Dagg short. Filming started in Wellington on the Monday and finished in Auckland on the Friday - with the script being written as they went. The end product was Dagg Day Afternoon, Fred's one and only big screen appearance.

Continuing the stage to screen habit, John Barnett produced Middle Age Spread.  About 20,000 people had seen the Roger Hall play so there was a built-in audience for the film. Indicative of Barnett's successes is a canny ability to pick projects for which there is a likely market demand.

Barnett's next project was Beyond Reasonable Doubt; a feature film about the controversial arrest of Arthur Allen Thomas for the murders of Harvey and Jeanette Crewe. The screenplay was written by David Yallop and based upon his book of the same name. Beyond Reasonable Doubt marked the feature film debut of director John Laing, currently producer of Outrageous Fortune.

Financing came from the Film Commission, but also from prominent business people who wanted the story told. These included Michael Fay and David Richwhite, Ron Brierley, Bruce Judge and Bob Jones. Barnett calls it a film "I'm still really proud of."

In early 1998, Barnett led a management buy-out of New Zealand's largest film and television production company, South Pacific Pictures. Barnett is now Chief Executive of South Pacific Pictures; a company whose annual output represents about 40 percent of local television production, (including Shortland Street and Outrageous Fortune). 

Barnett also played a hand in the launch of New Zealand's screen industry magazine, Onfilm, alongside editor Sue May and cinematographer Graeme Cowley. He has also been actively involved in film, television and video distribution, and in the development of multiplex cinemas in New Zealand.

In 2002 Barnett received the SPADA/Onfilm Industry Champion award and, in 2003, was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

More recently he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Commerce at Victoria University for his contribution to New Zealand film and television.