Oscar-winning director, Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings Trilogy), completed his remake of King Kong outside of Wellington, New Zealand.
Andrew Adamson (Shrek) filmed his first installment of the C.S. Lewis children's classic, Narnia Chronicles: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in New Zealand.
Film-maker and winemaker Roger Donaldson's first movie in New Zealand, in 20 years, was filmed in Invercargill, New Zealand's southernmost city. The film is about Kiwi speed demon Burt Munro, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Two of the most acclaimed films by New Zealand directors have Canadians in principal roles. Jane Campion's The Piano featured Winnipeg native Anna Paquin playing Flora McGrath, the daughter of the mute piano teacher. Paquin won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role.
Roger Donaldson's thriller Thirteen Days, about the tense standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis, starred Canadian Bruce Greenwood as President John F. Kennedy.
