Came A Hot Friday In Eltham

The movie makers came to Taranaki last year and The Last Samurai was shot. This big budget movie had an all star cast, an American director, its own Japanese village and a specially imported catering gang to feed a cast and crew of hundreds.

Came A Hot Friday was also filmed in Taranaki. This 1984 movie featured kiwi actors, a kiwi director and a perfect ready made town. Came A Hot Friday didn't win any Oscars but it was in the Top Ten list for Kiwi made films for many years. Its budget was quite small.

Rewind to the 1940s

The time slot for this New Zealand film is 1949.

True or false?  In the 1940s...

1. Many New Zealanders return to New Zealand after fighting overseas.

2. People buy groceries from little grocery shops. Supermarkets aren't around.

3. Very few homes have a refrigerator.

4. Television is a popular new form of entertainment.

5. Classes are streamed in High Schools and if you are in a top stream you will have to learn an old language called Latin.

Movie words

Who does what when a movie is being made? Match a job to the best description.
1. Director
2. Assistant director
3. Producer
4. Camera operator
5. Grip
6. Boom operator
7. Gaffer
8. Wardrobe person
9. Property person
10. Pyrotechnist
11. Director of photography
12. Art director
13. Special effects person
14. Make up person

(a) Like a stage manager in a play. Organises the film crew and keeps order by yelling things like "Quiet please!"
(b) In charge of the money side of movie making from the start to the finish. Begins by deciding whether the movie will be a hit.
(c) Sets off and controls any fires needed. Also blows things up.
(d) Makes things look real even when they aren't.
(e) The head electrician who looks after the lights.
(f) In charge of the look and shape of the film. Tells the actors what he or she wants.
(g) Makes sure a prop is in the right place and gathers items like shoes that are not needed.
(h) Moves the camera to the best place.
(i) Makes and works on the things people wear.
(j) Positions the microphone to get the right sound.
(k) Makes sure the set and costumes look good. E.g. the hobbit houses in Lord Of The Rings.
(l) Shoots the action that you see on screen.
(m) Makes sure the filming is done from the best place and in the best light.
(n)  Helps actors look good, ugly, scary, funny, young, old or dead.

Action!

Click below for a scene from the filming of The Last Samurai. If you have seen the movie you might be able to recognize the scene. Try to find the 14 crew members described above. Click here.

Word wise

The words below all appear in this week's story. Choose the best meaning and then check your answers as you later read Came A Hot Friday In Eltham.

1. dilemma (a) problem or (b) solution

2. adaptation (a) modification or (b) a major change

3. swanky (a) show off or (b) smart

4. fraudster (a) someone who gambles or (b) someone who cheats others

5. slapstick (a) boisterous comedy or (b) a movie device to make special noises

6. loopy (a) circular or (b) really weird

7. pathos (a)high drama or (b) a feeling of sympathy or pity

8. building faēade  (a) a fake front of the building or (b) the balcony on a building

9. meticulous (a) careful or (b) fussy and precise

10. amphitheatre (a) very small theatre or (b) a sloping place where people can watch the action

Read on!

What if you were the producer on a movie that needs 250 extras for the "crowd in the grandstand" scene? (Extras are the people you see in the background.) You have the grandstand but you can't afford to pay the extras so what do you do? How do you get people to come along? Solve this problem and then read this story down to 'Morrieson's novel tale,' to find out how close you were.

Nice location!

The next three parts of this story are all about the movie's locations. These are the different places it's filmed in. Read through to 'Actor's heady request' to find out why the moviemakers picked Eltham.  Find out also if parts of this movie were filmed in other places.

Shutterbug

This photo is Bridge Street in Eltham. Came A Hot Friday was filmed in this street but this photo was from an earlier time. Work out which decade this photo was taken in and make up a movie title of your own that could fit this time and location. You could even sketch a movie poster like the one above, to match your title.

Map tracker

What if the movies below were all filmed here? Decide on a perfect Taranaki location for each one. The clues are in the titles. You could print out and label the map below.

1. Off The Edge!

2. Shipwrecked!

3. Wild Pork And Apple Sauce

4. The Whalers

5. Speed Machines

6. One Run To Win

7. Goblin Forest

Here's the map.

What a star!

Billy T James

The next two parts of the story tell you about two of the stars. One was an English actor named Peter Bland and the other was New Zealand's own Billy T James. Billy was one of the most talented entertainers New Zealand has ever had. He could act, sing, tell jokes and play all sorts of musical instruments- sometimes all at once! Read a short profile about Billy T here and then read more of the story through to 'Crew in shock'.

Weird cowboy wanted

Billy T played the part of the Tainuia Kid. The 'kid' was a spectacular character with a piercing 'areeba areeba' shout.  Write your own "Actor wanted," advertisement that might have been sent to actors' agents. Agents are the people that get the actors jobs. This ad will be for the part of the Tainuia Kid.

Strange script

Find out about the type of movie Came A Hot Friday was. Read the next two parts of the story through to 'All fired up'. Take special note of the cheesy piece of dialogue where Wes asks the 'young fella' about the beautiful Dinah. Pair up with a classmate and rehearse this part. Add three more 'cheesy lines' of your own and when you're ready, perform your scene to others.

In the hotseat

The next two parts of the story tell about a big scene and how Ian Mune the director lost his cool while he tried to get everything right. Read the story through to 'High time for locals' and then finish writing the script below. All this just might have happened that night in Eltham. When you have finished writing cast some classmates in the different roles, you be the director and act it out.

Ian: Okay, you people can watch this fire as long as you're quiet. We're trying to make a movie.

Alun: We can't film with cameras flashing Ian.

Ian: Please everyone... no flashing. It upsets our lights. You can watch but flashing is banned.  Where are those extras. Lee! Could you bring the extras through Lee! Lee! Where's Lee?

Lee: Right here boss. The bus has a flatty but the extras are all helping to change the tyre. They should be here soon.

Ian: Soon? Soon? Soon is too late Lee. I need them now! I want my extras now!

Alun: We need to light the fires Ian. The light is just about spot on.

Ian: Right! Matches? Who's got the matches? Lee have you got a match?

Lee: Don't smoke boss.

Another star!

Finish the story and read about another of New Zealand's great entertainers that played a part in this film. It was Prince Tui Teka and you can read more about him here.

Make a story board

The director works with artists before filming on the movie begins. Storyboards are drawn and they help the crew and director form a picture in their minds of what each scene will look like. Notes are added to the storyboard that remind the crew about details such as what music will play, what the actors will say and what special effects will be needed.

Draw the storyboard for the woolshed explosion scene. If you haven't seen the movie you can make up the action.  Think about things like who will be in the scene and where they will be when the explosion happens and what causes the explosion.

Your storyboard should be a series of pictures a little like a comic strip. Add your notes underneath each picture. To speed this up you could work in a group. Decide on your pictures first and then draw one each.

Fast Forward to 2004

The Lord Of The Rings moviemakers walked off with eleven Oscars at this year's Academy Awards. What an effort! How much do you know about Lord Of The Rings? Try this quiz.

1. Who is the author of Lord Of The Rinds and founding father of Middle Earth?
(a) William Shakespeare (b) Peter Jackson (c) J.R.R.Tolkein

2. When was The Lord Of The Rings first read?
(a) The 1930s (b) The 1940s (c) The 1950s

3. How many people were needed in the production team to make this movie?

(a) 400 (b) 1400 (c) 2400

4. Where was the hobbit village set for this film?

(a) Near Queenstown (b) Near Matamata (c) Near Mt Ruapehu

5.  How many extras were used in the Lord Of The Rings Movies?

(a) 11000 (b) 21000 (c) 26000

6.   What are Frodo and Bilbo?

(a) Elves (b) Hobbits (c) Dwarves

7. Who is the Dark Lord of Mordor?

(a) Sauron (b) Gollum (c) Gandalf

8. Who is Wormtongue a spy for?

(a) Saruman (b) Gollum (c) Sauron

9. Who is the oldest living being in Middle Earth?

(a) Gollum (b) The Ent, Treebeard (c) King Theoden

10. Aragorn the Warrior is?

(a) Human (b) Hobbit (c) Elf