John Barnett: A life in NZ film and television...

Interview – 2009

Producer John Barnett has been instrumental in bringing a host of uniquely local stories to screens in New Zealand and overseas — from Whale Rider to Sione’s Wedding and What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?, from iconic soap Shortland Street to wildly successful Westie saga Outrageous Fortune.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Barnett talks about:

His beginnings in the screen industry in the 1970s, from children’s series The Games Affair, and interviews with authors Janet Frame, Ngaio Marsh and Sylvia Aston-Warner, to managing legendary comedic talent John Clarke
Branching out into film production with Dagg Day Afternoon, Middle Age Spread and Beyond Reasonable Doubt
Helping lobby for the formation of the NZ Film Commission
His motivation: making films that "people understand immediately", and telling universal stories (like Whale Rider and Sione’s Wedding)
How Shortland Street was important in helping New Zealanders accept local drama, and how beloved TV show Outrageous Fortune was born
Heading production company South Pacific Pictures, and developing programmes that "reflect the way New Zealanders see ourselves"
Working internationally, and knowing how long the development process can take as shown by 2005 fantasy series Maddigan's Quest

John Barnett went on to do this extended ScreenTalk interview in 2024.

This video was first uploaded on 12 January 2009, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview - Clare O'Leary. Camera and Editing - Leo Guerchmann

..at its heart Outrageous Fortune — and I think all the other things that work for us — are simple universal concepts. Now you dress them up in a way that gives them a specific setting. But the setting comes actually after the concept that's at the core.
– John Barnett on how South Pacific Pictures tells universal stories

John's Full Profile