It's lonely at the top

That's what I'd say I've learned from Peter and Fran. Particularly Peter: we haven't met, but I'm fairly sure he's met other people on the team (and is a fan).

It's lonely because everyone has an opinion on your decisions, and a lot of people use some pretty transparent and shitty tactics to try and make you change your mind.

I'm sure he got tired of going to events with ulterior motives, and retreated to his epic home theatre and library of films. -

He's reclusive, and I guess I've become similar. This Weeded Out thing is like a baptism by fire in how it feels to have the town turn against me as a producer because I made a creative decision that affected their business plans. That's the real heart of this screenplay war. They wanted those jobs, and VUW is actually blaming the closure of the NZSM on the fact that I reneged on a deal that was never really sorted out: it wasn't even a handshake deal. Total fiction. The film was budgeted at $1 million, and probably would've created around 100 jobs during shooting, but mostly about 10-20 jobs. The NZSM is far more expensive to run than that: maintaining the instruments and paying all the teachers probably runs into the tens of millions. If I was to characterise this vibe, it's actually another form of property speculation. They're speculating that a well-executed Weeded Out TV series could bring in potential millions from tourists and international students by pitching Wellington as the kind of gay-friendly paradise that people can come to. There is some evidence that Wellington has become a gay mecca in surveys of where gay people want to visit, and it's definitely possible that my AM films have something to do with that. But that's why they think it's cool: it's not some slick tourism board film, but just a real person that's obviously out and gay living their real life. Haven't advertised the Dakumentary overseas, but should be able to. Checked the files on Dropbox, and they're all the ones that aired (plus the Chris Bishop bit in S01E03).