I
N FEBRUARY
,
a
casting call went
out on Gold FM and
Thames community
Facebook groups. They were in search of 200
extras to play the crowd of Kiwis welcoming
famed NZ aviator Jean Batten, the first person
to make a solo flight from England to NZ, as
she landed from that 11 day flight in 1936.
The Thames area shoots for the telemovie
“Jean” were filmed outside the A&G Price
Foundry and at the Thames Aero Club airfield, a
close match, visually, for the Mangere grass-cut
strip in Auckland where Batten actually landed.
WWW.COROMANDELLIFE.CO.NZ47
starts!
Where
the
fun
SALES • REPAIRS • BIKE HIRES
535 Pollen St, Thames • 07 867 9026
pakipaki@xtra.co.nz • www.pakipakibikeshop.co.nz.
The C
Thames locals
‘star’ as
extras in
historic film
“Jean”
The movie crew filmed over three days, March
6-8, with one large crowd scene, then smaller
groups on the final two days.
The citizens of Thames are well acquainted
with dressing in period for events ranging from
Heritage Days to funky Steampunk. But here, the
extras were outfitted in 1930s garb – dresses,
gloves, purses and tight-curl hairstyles for
women... fedoras, suspenders and wide ties for
the men. The prop department provided vintage
cameras to capture the newsworthy event.
Lippy Pictures casting director Viv Kernick
says, “It was a good day with lots of cheering,
everyone was dressed beautifully!”
Over 6000 welcomed
Jean Batten when she
landed at Auckand’s
Mangere airstrip in 1936.
Kiwi born Jean
Batten made
headlines with her
beauty and her
record breaking
flight.
Kate Elliott plays the
famed Kiwi aviatrix
Jean Batten in
“Jean,” set in 1936.
Kiwi actress Kate Elliott plays the fascinating
aviatrix, nicknamed the “Garbo of the Skies.”
Besides taking many flying lessons in a single
engine biplane like Jean originally flew, a Gypsy
Moth, Elliot learned to catch and gut fish and to
ballroom dance – just a few of Batten’s skills.
The film’s writers/producers Paula Boock and
Donna Malane praise Elliott for “looking spookily
like Jean” and her “astonishing” talent. They
expect the film to air later this year on TVOne’s
Sunday Theatre; an early cut might be available
for viewing by cast and crew in August.
For more info see
www.lippypictures.com/#!jean/bczfi and
www.facebook.com/jeantvfilm.Photos by www.kirstygriffin.com