Filmmaker Taika Waititi Flourishing out of the Mainstream

He’s best known as the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind hits like Flight Of The Conchords and New Zealand’s highest-ever grossing film Boy.

But Taika Waititi had a brush with mainstream Hollywood fame when he starred alongside Ryan Reynolds in one of the most famous box-office flops: superhero film Green Lantern.

The 39-year-old – whose new horror comedy What We Do In The Shadows is currently in cinemas – has revealed that he “wasn’t really surprised” the movie was a massive failure.

Waititi had been cast in the film after producers saw his performance in Boy, which premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival and cast him as Green Lantern’s best friend on the spot.

It was a rare foray into the world of big budget filmmaking and one that he has stayed away from since, finding critical and commercial success with his three smaller features Eagle vs Shark, Boy and What We Do In The Shadows.

Together with Shadows star, former Conchord Jemaine Clement, the pair, who have know each other since meeting in an audition room as teenagers, made the vampire mocumentary for just under $1.6million.

“Our only intention for this whole thing was to just put our friends in it, who we wrote these characters for,” Waititi said.

“I mean, these people aren’t stars – they’re not even stars in New Zealand.”

Flight Of The Conchords alumni Rhys Darby does feature in the film however, which is getting an international release around Halloween.

Original article by Maria Lewis, Daily Mail, September 7, 2014.

Photo by Kane Skennar.