Weta’s Wellington transformation
Sarah Catherall looks at how the capital stepped up for the ScarJo blockbuster Ghost in the Shell.
When Hollywood science-fiction film, Ghost in the Shell, opens today, audiences will view a Wellington they have never seen before and witness some of Weta Workshop’s most remarkable craftsmanship yet.
Based on the internationally acclaimed Japanese manga, the Paramount Pictures production stars Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson as Major: A human, saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to become a perfect soldier, devoted to stopping the world’s most dangerous criminals.
A Hollywood remake of Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 film and Masamune Shirow’s original manga, it was shot in Wellington from February to June last year and directed by Rupert Sanders.
Originally, Paramount had been planning to shoot the film in Berlin, but Weta Workshop persuaded the producers to make it in Wellington. A key part of the deal was the ability to shoot some of the film outside, and in particular, to transform part of the cityscape into a futuristic Hong Kong.
Right from the moment the film starts, Weta’s work is on show, and there is general consensus that Ghost in the Shell shows our movie-making has matured and leapt to new levels. However, Weta Digital, which won an Oscar for its work on Avatar, did not do the special effects – they were created offshore.
The opening shelling sequence shows the process of the creation of a cyborg. While it looks completely digital, the Oscarwinning design and special-effects facility took five months to build a skeleton scaled to Johansson’s size and height, layering it to give the cyborg its final form. Weta also made eight thermoptic silicone suits for the Major.
Showcasing some of the most advanced animatronics that Weta has ever created, Rob Gilles, Weta Workshop supervisor, says it was a huge honour to be able to create such an iconic scene. ‘‘The actual shelling sequence is one of the ultimate moments for me in Ghost in the Shell. So, given the opportunity to actually be a part of this has been massive.’’
In the same opening scene, the stunning Red Robe Geisha makes her entrance, and again, the character was created by Weta. Boasting a full hero animatronic head with opening facial flaps and moving cogs, along with silicone body parts, Weta also designed its hairstyle, makeup and kimono. Weta made 25 character masks and 13 character Geisha for the film, one of which is now on display at the Weta Cave.
The film’s costume designer Bart Mueller (who previously designed the outfits on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2) says: ‘‘Rupert was excited by the idea for the Geisha that when they were shot they would explode like china. So, they had this look of porcelain, which was beautifully done by Weta.’’
According to Richard Taylor, Weta’s design and effects supervisor, the film’s director wanted to create an organic, tactile, plausible world of physical items to tell the story. ‘‘I’ve really enjoyed watching our team embrace these rich design concepts and offer their own foundation to that.’’
He added that while people associate the Wellington film industry with TheLord of the Rings, this latest release proves that technicians simply have a love of film-making and can turn their hand to anything. ‘‘There is no doubt that Wellington’s film industry, and for us at Weta Workshop, the more diverse and the more extraordinary the array of opportunities are, the more we will be recognised for an ability to work across a broad spectrum of genres.’’
According to the New Zealand Film Commission, Weta spent 71,000 hours on Ghost on the Shell, and created more than 2000 designs. The film’s producers and directors have praised the company’s role in the film, with executive producer Jeffrey Silver praising Weta, led by Sir Richard Taylor ‘‘and his incredible group of artists – an asset that’s unique in the world’’.
‘‘(The) team over there on Park Rd have brought an incredible world together for us – from the cybernetic enhancements to the robotics, to the set decoration. A lot of our specialty items have been specifically crafted by the artisans at the Weta Workshop.’’
In New York for the film’s premiere, Head of International Screen Attraction, Philippa Mossman, hopes Ghost in the Shell will lead to a new type of film being made here. Made with aid from the taxpayer-funded Screen Production Fund, the film pumped $170 million into the New Zealand economy. ‘‘What’s exciting about Ghost in the Shell is that it shows an industry that is maturing. For a start, it’s not the locations that you would commonly link with New Zealand.’’
It’s true that film-makers scouting for film locations are often drawn to New Zealand’s natural settings, which look stunning on the big screen. Movies like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit and Narnia were filmed in natural locations, showcasing the country’s majestic mountains and green landscapes to the world.
Ghost in the Shell was different. While the bulk of the film was shot in Peter Jackson’s Stone Street Studios, two blocks of urban Wellington were shut down over two April weekends.
Sets were created at Stone Street Studios. On Victoria and Hunter streets, parking meters were pulled out. White lines on the roads were covered with red ones. English street signage was blocked out and Asian text laid over top. Sets were hauled in. Playing Dr Ouelet, Juliette Binoche was in the scene, along with a dumpster truck.
Silver says the setting showed a side of the city that hasn’t been seen in previous films. ‘‘We’ve converted parts of Wellington, in particular Victoria St, to Hong Kong, which is quite a stretch if you walk down that street, but between the artistry of our production designers and our visual-effects artists, it’s really come alive.’’
Silver put the ability for that to happen down to New Zealand’s versatile, talented and ‘‘gung-ho film-makers’’, along with Weta, and its workshop.
Talking about the production, Michael Costigan, the executive producer, adds: ‘‘People often times see New Zealand as a place where you shoot these epic landscape movies. What we loved in Wellington was being able to create a very urban setting that actually looks like our futuristic Asian city.’’
Supervising locations manager, Jared Connon, helped oversee the transformation. A perimeter fence was built around the location, to stop bystanders peering in. Behind it, 770 crew worked, along with 48 cast. About 100 people living or working in affected areas had to sign non-disclosure statements to protect anything they saw. Shooting took place over two long days, and by early Monday morning, the city was back to normal, as though nothing had happened.
‘‘It was Blade Runner-esque. People couldn’t believe how fantastic it looked,’’ he says.
In the same weekend, the remake of Goodbye Pork Pie was being filmed in another part of the CBD.
Screen Wellington manager Katie Frost oversaw the lot. ‘‘We can now double as anywhere in the world,’’ she says. ‘‘It may not sound like a big deal, but being able to shut down part of a city really is. Auckland would find that really hard.’’
Part of the Film Commission’s role is scouting and promoting film locations for production companies coming here and Mossman says: ‘‘Producers are looking for cost-effective places to make their productions, and creative collaborations, and New Zealand offers that in bucket loads.’’
Off to a locations trade show in Los Angeles, images of a transformed Victoria St will be among those she promotes.
Wellington is on show in other ways in Ghost in the Shell, and the country’s creative talent extended to locally-made jewellery and costumes worn on set. Most of the suits worn, including those donned by the characters, Daisuke Aramaki and Togusa, were made by Wellington’s Rembrandt suits.
Yakuza’s suit was made by Strangely Normal, while Dr Ouelet’s assistant wears a complete Zambesi outfit in the limo scene shot in Victoria St in Wellington. Meanwhile, a Wellington jeweller, Steph Lusted, crafted the hexagon hoop earrings worn by Johansson in some scenes.
Ghost in the Shell (M) opens in cinemas today.