Razzle-dazzle film-making wins again
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film
After being recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours you’d be forgiven for thinking the world is starting to run out of awards for Taika Waititi to win.
Today the popular director, actor and screenwriter becomes an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to film.
The local film-maker has been on a hot streak in recent times. He won his first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay with his antihate satire Jojo Rabbit back in February, was named the New Zealand Herald’s Entertainment Hero of the Year last December and, in 2017, won the award for New Zealander of the Year.
Thanks to his low-key Kiwi humour and flashy and distinctive visual style, Waititi’s films have won over audiences worldwide while still retaining a strong New Zealand flavour and Polynesian perspective.
He has said he hopes his success inspires others to create, tell and share their stories, and even dedicated his Oscar to the next generation of directors, artists and performers. “I dedicate this to all the indigenous kids in the world who want to do art and dance and write stories,” he said during his acceptance speech. “We are the original storytellers and we can make it here, as well”.
From humble indie beginnings, he has risen to helm the biggest blockbuster franchises in the world. Along the way he has twice broken the record for highest grossing New Zealand film, first with 2010’s Boy before besting himself with his global breakthrough Hunt for the Wilderpeople in 2016.
He is largely credited with reenergising Marvel’s superhero blockbuster franchise when his entry, Thor: Ragnarok, pulled in rave reviews and earned US$850 million ($1.3 billion) at the box office in 2017.
It was a no-brainer that Marvel would want him to helm Thor’s sequel Love and Thunder, but his talent proved too strong for Lucasfilm to resist and in May it was announced he’d be directing and co-writing an upcoming Star Wars movie.
He continues making personal projects, like Next Goal Wins, a film about American Samoa’s ill-fated bid for glory at the football World Cup, which is due out later this year.