Yahoo Movies ‘M3GAN’ Producers Talk Casting Their Killer Doll & Benefits Of Shooting The Low-Budget Horror In New Zealand
EXCLUSIVE: New Zealand has long been known as a prime destination for big budget films such as Avatar and The Lord of the Rings thanks to its enviable locations, skilled crew base and generous 40% tax rebate. But, earlier this year when Avatar: The Way of Water was on its way to breaking multiple box office records as it climbed to its $2.3BN tally, there was another New Zealand-shot project that was making a dent in the global box office chart. Universal, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster’s killer doll hit M3GAN amassed an impressive $176M worldwide from just a $12M budget after its January release.
While the film was set in Seattle, it was, in fact, shot in Auckland in 2021 after the pandemic forced the project to pivot from a Montreal shoot to New Zealand’s relatively Covid-free shores. (The film’s sequel, which Universal has set for a January 2025 release, has yet to confirm whether it will lense again in New Zealand, but sources indicate that it is highly likely). The nation is home to director Gerard Johnstone and it would be where the project would ultimately would find its 12-year-old star, Amie Donald, who plays M3gan.
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“The fact we were able to find her in the moment that we needed to cast someone to play that role is, I mean, I don’t even know what the odds are, but they are very long,” says producer Judson Scott. “And to be able to find someone that is as capable as she is to do what we need to do but then also be as good of an onscreen presence that she is, is something you can’t really teach. You know, you just point the camera at her and the physicality and her presence is there. It’s an X factor – she has it. We’re just incredibly lucky and fortunate enough to have found that person in the city we were filming in.”
Donald, an Auckland native and national dance champion (whose skills came in handy for the doll’s viral dancing), brought M3GAN to life with the help of VFX, puppetry and animatronics. “She reminds me of old movie stars,” says Scott. “She can dance, she can perform all of these incredible stunts. Our stunt coordinator and movement coach was like, ‘This is incredible – we’re seeing something a lot of these people haven’t seen before.’”
The low-budget production, says Scott, was able to benefit from a crew that had worked on some of the biggest films and television shows to come out of the region.
“When we started this film, we were working with a lot of individuals who had done productions that are much bigger than ours on a much grander scale in terms of budget and what’s required of them to do,” he says. “We were incredibly lucky to be making what you would consider a smaller movie at the studio level with people that have won Academy Awards for working on Avatar, working The Lord of the Rings, working on Cowboy Bebop, working on the Rings TV show. So, we’ve been able to have access to those people to work on our smaller movie. We’ve been incredibly lucky that they brought all that knowledge to it.”
Producer Adam Hendricks says Auckland reminded him “in a lot of ways” of Los Angeles. “It’s sprawling, which is nice and also you get a bunch of different looks.”
He adds, “One of the things that I loved about the experience [in New Zealand] is it’s a very holistic idea of working on a film set. In the U.S. and in other places, every one of their different departments feels like they’re part of their different little fiefdoms – they seldom interact, let alone pick each other’s equipment up. But here, when the dolly trucks get moved, everyone comes and helps and when something needs to get done, everyone comes to the aid of the person that needs it and pushes it along. It’s very collaborative.”
Reflecting on the experience, Screen Auckland manager Matthew Horrocks, says the group is “incredibly proud of the role the Auckland screen sector played” in the film.
“M3GAN was shot in Auckland, making the most of our city’s forests, suburbs and city-centre locations, using Auckland studios and Auckland crews. There is even a star in the making in Amie Donald, who plays the M3GAN doll. The film is also a remarkable achievement for our own director Gerard Johnstone.
“From twice wining the 48 Hour Filmmaking competition, through writing credits on Housebound and The Jaquie Brown Diaries to working as a director on The New Legend of Monkey, Gerard has long been recognised as one of our finest talents. M3GAN is a new milestone in what is shaping up to be a stellar international career.”
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