By Laura Frykberg
The proposed Wellywood sign on Miramar Peninsula has been the subject of protest, parody and now, sabotage.
Sort of.
A ‘news’ clip posted to YouTube shows what opponents of the sign dream of doing. But don’t be fooled – the clip is all special effects.
“I got in touch with Krzysztof [Szczepanski – Video co-creator] and I was like ‘I think we can do this’,” video creator Kevin Estey explains. “He [Krzysztof] is the explosion master. He’s into demolitions, he blows things up. It was actually for the first time but it turned out to be a lot of fun.”
In the fake video a news reporter, William Plinkerton, says the Wellywood sign has gone ahead despite public opposition.
He is then joined by a pleased-looking airport representative – but the interview is cut short when the Wellywood sign explodes.
VIDEO: Wellington gets Wellywood sign
While other signs are looking more likely, the original outcry over Wellywood got them inspired.
“[I thought] why don’t we try and fulfil all these desires and get a little catharsis over this sign and try to blow it up, the best way we know how – digitally,” says Estey.
“I’ve done squashing in the past. We’ve done a few squashing shows around the world – it’s my specialty,” says Kyle Ashley who plays Mr Airport Representative.
“So when squashing came up, when the job came up, I was like ‘You’ve seen my CV!’.”
To the untrained eye the video looks like a lot of work, but it turns out very little planning was involved.
“I pretty much just got a text from Kevin saying, ‘The sun is out, are you free?’ and we kind of ran around, taped a microphone together, very much like a Kiwi DIY do it yourself kind of thing,” says Gerrard Southam who plays William Plinkerton.
VIDEO: Full interview with the Wellywood 'explosion' filmmakers
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