Shore sets scene for new movie

BY LUCY VICKERS

The North Shore has again been picked as a film location and this time top English actor Ray Winstone is the star.

Winstone was at Narrow Neck Beach recently being filmed for Tracker, a "tense manhunt thriller" set in 1903, also starring Kiwi actor Temuera Morrison.

The filming comes in the lead-up to the New Zealand release of Under the Mountain, starring Sam Neill, which was largely shot on the Shore.

Tracker publicist Sue May says Narrow Neck was chosen because it is "stunningly beautiful".

North Shore City Council filming facilitator Kirsty Donoghue says the Shore’s natural beauty, with lush native bush, beautiful beaches and spectacular views, offers ideal locations for filming.

"Productions that feature our city and its icons provide economic benefits and help to promote the North Shore as well as New Zealand."

Ms Donoghue says North Shore is committed to supporting the film and television industry.

"The council has been granted film-friendly status by Local Government New Zealand and it assists film crews."

Winstone, who has appeared in films such as Sexy Beast, Nil by Mouth and The Departed, is a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award nominee and International Emmy award winner.

In Tracker, Winstone plays the role of Arjan, a guerrilla survivor of the South African Boer War.

Arjan lands in colonial New Zealand and is promised a bounty to capture Kereama – played by Morrison – a Maori seafarer accused of killing a British soldier.

The pursuit turns into a "dangerous game of cat and mouse", because Kereama keeps escaping, and is recaptured.

"As each gains and loses the upper hand, they get to know and respect each other. In an emotional and high-risk showdown, their tenuous bond is tested in the face of a British posse."

Tracker is a UK/New Zealand co-production directed by Ian Sharp, whose television work includes Robin of Sherwood and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The script was written by the late Nicolas van Pallandt.

The shoot is due to move to locations near Queenstown later this month.

Tracker is due for release next year.

- © Fairfax NZ News