Renouf film plan

Press, 1 March 1984, Page 23

Renouf film plan

By

NEVIN TOPP

Production of the New Zealand film tentatively titled “Abacus,” which was to include shooting in Christchurch, has been deferred, but investment proposals have been issued for a second feature film.

Renouf Partners, the Wellington broking firm, has released the investment proposal for the new film, “Came A Hot Friday,” which they say is an approved pre-budget film available for immediate tax saving. Mr Bruce Buxton, of Renouf Partners, said yesterday that production of “Abacus” had been deferred because an increased budget had meant that additional finance needed to be sought offshore. This required negotiations with overseas production houses. The plot of “Abacus” dealt with the smuggling of a valuable gold and jade abacus out of China, done unwittingly by a New Zealand helicopter deer recovery team.

The film was considered to be of the action-packed adventure type, and the helicopter chase sequences were expensive, Mr Buxton said.

Some of the finance arranged for “Abacus” had already flowed into the new film, “Came A Hot Friday,” and the prospectus for the new venture, which is to be filmed in Wanganui and Eltham, Taranaki, is expected to be filed in about 10 days. The film, a comedy, is based on the novel by the New Zealand writer, Ronald Hugh Morrieson, which has the same title as the film.

lan Mune, a leading New Zealand actor, is directing the film, and he is also the co-writer. Mr Mune has re-

cently spent six months in Los Angeles working as a script consultant and associate producer in pre-produc-tion for “Conan, the Barbarian II,” according to the investment proposal. Others in the cast include Billy T. James, Jon Gadsby, Bruce Allpress, and Don Selwyn. An English actor, Peter Bland, has been given the title role. Mr Bland is known to television audiences in North America and Britain, and “Came A Hot Friday” is aimed for the international market, which will mean a launch at the Cannes Film Festival next year. The film is being packaged by Barclays New Zealand, Ltd, which includes

the arrangement for a nonrecourse loan. The budget for the feature is $5.3 million, of which $3,065,000 is covered by the loan. Renouf Partners has been invited to offer equity participation to investors on terms the same as for “Abacus,” which are a minimum subscription of $lO,OOO, or $5OOO by special arrangement. According to the investment proposal, the first claim for estimated losses arising from the investment may be set off against tax normally payable on March 7, 1984, on income for the 1984 year. Settlement applications are 25 per cent on application, and a further three calls of 25 per cent each.