ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Culture
AUTHENTICITY
Hollywood film producers have just revealed the highly anticipated location for the upcoming apocalyptic blockbuster Desolate Earth.
Key scenes for the movie, starring action star Chris Pratt, will be filmed at the Johnsonville Shopping Centre In Wellington, with those working on the movie describing it as “perfectly lifeless”.
A producer from Hollywood spoke to the Whakataki Times about why the desolate mall in Johnsonville is the perfect set for filming.
“It’s got everything—empty stores, flickering lights, and an eerie silence broken only by the occasional drip from a leaking roof. We couldn’t replicate this kind of authenticity on a sound stage.
“Decades of stalled renovations on this mall have created an environment where you could be forgiven for thinking the world actually had come to an end. You can almost hear the echoes of humanity’s downfall walking through the food court” said one line producer.
Over the years, development promises for the mall have all ultimately come to nothing and nearly half of the shops are closed. Locals remain frustrated at the mall’s continuous decline, but the movie producers can’t wait to start filming.
“We were going to build a deserted shopping complex from scratch until someone googled ‘bleak malls’ and this mall in Wellington New Zealand popped up straight away.”
Mayor Tory Whanau has also reportedly given producers the green light to film a handful of scenes in Wellington’s CBD on Lambton Quay as well.
More to come.
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