A likely story
John Barnett enjoys a special status among film-makers – his face may not be as instantly familiar to New Zealanders as Sir Peter Jackson’s or Taika Waititi’s but, over nearly five decades, he’s become a legend in the industry – the producer who can make or break an idea and get it on to the small or big screen. A lot of his time is, of necessity, spent reading scripts and proposals or books that might translate to screen. But, at home in Freemans Bay, his library attests to a wide range of personal interests. The house also accommodates some fine art including paintings by Frances Hodgkins and Colin McCahon.
The question, he says, that is always foremost in his mind is “who will watch this?”
Barnett, known to his friends as Barney, can spin a good yarn as well as being able to spot one. During his 24 years as head of South Pacific Pictures, and after he left the company, he shaped and influenced New Zealand television and film with perseverance, vision and, importantly, commercial instincts. The question, he says, that is always foremost in his mind as he decides whether to give the big and and hit TV series including and .
