ROSEMARY ABBOTT | World
GLIMMERING RUINS
Wellington’s Johnsonville Mall has been rewarded at the Oscars this year for being hauntingly similar to a society in collapse.
The mall was used as the main set for the Hollywood blockbuster Desolate Earth, starring Chris Pratt, and the production crew won the Oscar for Best Production Design.
The long-neglected shopping centre was praised by critics and filmmakers alike for its eerie, desolate atmosphere, which required absolutely no modification for the film.
Speaking exclusively to The Whakataki Times on the red carpet, Chris Pratt reflected on his time filming in Johnsonville.
“I asked for a chair between takes, and they said, ‘Yeah, good luck finding one that isn’t bolted to the floor in the food court,’” Pratt said. “It really helped me get into character. You can feel the despair in the air.”
“I thought, ‘Okay, props to the set designers, this looks exactly like a store that shut down 15 years ago.’ Then I realised—it was a store that shut down 15 years ago.” Pratt said, still shaken from his experience in Johnsonville.
The win caused some controversy however, with films that missed out claiming that it’s not really set design if the location already looks like the ruins of a fallen civilisation.
The Academy however praised the mall for its “sheer lifelessness,” highlighting the flickering fluorescent lights, the broken escalator permanently stuck between floors, and the distant hum of a vending machine no one has used in years.
Meanwhile, Johnsonville Mall’s management has expressed their gratitude for the recognition but clarified that there was no prize money and there will be no renovations.
More to come.
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