%0 Journal Article
%T Pukeko Pictures and the Kiwi DIY Spirit: Building Global Partnerships from the End of the World
%A Anna Potter
%A Tom O¡¯Regan
%J Television & New Media
%@ 1552-8316
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1527476418755305
%X Wellington, New Zealand is a major international screen production base for movies including Peter Jackson¡¯s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. New Zealand production companies like Jackson¡¯s Weta Group producing content for international markets benefit from local policy settings that support such productions. In 2008, a group of long-time Jackson collaborators including Richard Taylor established Pukeko Pictures. In a small country with a deregulated media system, no dedicated public service broadcaster, and minimal supports for children¡¯s television, Pukeko is a successful, globally oriented producer of children¡¯s content. This article examines the strategies that underpin Pukeko Pictures¡¯ production portfolio, which includes the 2015 reboot Thunderbirds Are Go, and a preschool coproduction with China. The combination of dispersed production practices, local subsidies, and quality infrastructure contribute to Pukeko Pictures¡¯ success. We suggest, however, that strategic international relationships managed by Taylor are also critical to Pukeko Pictures developing a significant foothold in transnational television services
%K screen production
%K cultural policy
%K New Zealand film industry
%K Australian screen industry
%K children¡¯s television
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1527476418755305