STACK NZ Magazine December Issue 58

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14 DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
EXTRAS
footage which we then had to cut down to
84 minutes.That process took about 14
months. We’re including over two hours
of extra footage on the DVD.
What would be your top three vampire
movies of all time?
The Lost Boys, Dracula – the Coppola film – and
Let the Right One In. I’ll also add The Hunger
because it was one of the first ones I saw as a kid.
Any plans for a sequel?There has been some
speculation about a werewolves movie…
We are planning a couple of different spin-offTV
and film projects but nothing is confirmed. We
want to follow the werewolves and explore that
group of monsters. And possibly follow the two
cops from the film, O’Leary and Minogue.
What’s next for you; are there any other
projects you can talk about at the moment?
It’s impossible to know what your next project
is going to be - there are many factors involved.
I’m always writing so I have at least five
different scripts that can be made. Next year will
be very busy: Jemaine and I are writing a pilot
to shoot in America and I am also trying to make
two features. One is based on a Barry Crump
book, the other is based on a friend’s play.
What’s the last DVD you bought?
I used to spend all my money on DVDs but then
once I started working regularly, I ended up
being too busy to even go shopping. Nowadays
I get given a lot of DVDs, especially screeners
of all the Oscar and Golden Globe
entries which is great because
that’s how I catch up on all the
latest films. I can’t remember
the last title I got - I think it might
be that Polish film called Ida.
It began life as a short film but was it
always the intention to turn it into a
full length feature?
Yes.The short film was just to see whether
the idea would even work… I think I just
gave away that this is a fake documentary.
Did the fact that Jemaine co-wrote and co-
directed the film take some of the pressure
off when it came to making the movie?
Yes, we shared the responsibilities. But mainly
it was good to have another person on set
who didn’t know what they were doing,
which was about 95 percent of the
shoot for both of us.
How did you come to cast Jonathan
Brugh? And do you think this will
be a breakout performance for
him overseas?
Jonathan has been a big inspiration for
both Jemaine and I, but also many other
comedians in NZ. He was very influential
on us when we first entered the scene
in the ‘90s. I hope this is a breakout
role for him, yes.
How much of the movie was improvised?
About 95%. We scripted the entire thing but
in the end we wanted it to feel more realistic
so we got the actors to make everything up.
We imagine it must have been a lot
of fun to shoot?
It’s always nice to have a job where you’re
working with your friends and spending
most of your day laughing.
How much film did you end up shooting –
and any plans for an extended version?
We came away with about 130 hours of
visit
Writer, director and performerTaika
Waititi has been behind some
of New Zealand’s best known
and most successful movies. He
started out as an actor, earning
an NZ FilmAward nomination for
his performance in Scarfies, and
was also one half of the comedy
duo Humourbeasts with Jemaine
Clements. His first short film Two
Cars, One Night (2003) earned an
Oscar nomination and he made his
feature length debut with Eagle vs
Shark (2007).Waititi followed that
with Boy (2010), which has gone
on to become the most successful
New Zealand film of all time. His
latest film, the horror comedy What
We Do InThe Shadows, finds him
reunited with his old pal Clement.
In the unlikely event someone hasn’t
heard of WhatWe Do InThe Shadows,
tell us what it is about?
It is an unflinching documentary following a
group of Wellington-based vampires. Some
people say it’s really funny but it’s actually
quite serious. People need to know the
truth about vampires.
Taika Waititi
What We
Do In The
Shadows
is out now
on DVD