It’s New Zealanders’ enthusiasm, and their dedication to making films, that most impresses New York- born producer Barrie Osborne. “No matter what,” he says, “it doesn’t matter if it’s raining or windy, or if they don’t have a piece of equipment, they’ll figure out a way to get the job done.”

Working on the Lord of the Rings franchise made Barrie Osborne, whose other producing credits include The Matrix, Face/Off, Dick Tracy, and The World’s Fastest Indian, a heavyweight advocate for New Zealand film-making.

Osborne says the key to a healthy career, as well as a healthy industry, is collaboration. Reconciling the different needs and input of different people and departments, and balancing those with practical constraints like time and money, is key to running a good production, he says.

“There’s always potential for conflict . . . and sometimes it’s almost unavoidable. I view my job as trying to serve the picture, and I try to be a great collaborator with a director… you’re trying to achieve the director’s vision. And sometimes you’ve got to try to find a way where you can have a discussion that’s collaborative rather than confrontational, and you try to do that, and it’s very difficult.”

The key is being able to relate to a wide range of people and build their respect.

“You do work really hard when you start out, you don’t get paid much money because there’s so many people competing for those jobs. So I think you owe it to the people who are doing those jobs, if they’re really serious, to give them – to expose them to knowledge and skills and help them along.”

It worked for him. After finishing college Osborne was drafted into the US army in Korea at the height of the Vietnam war. He rose to lieutenant colonel, in charge of plans, operations and training from Seoul up to the demilitarised zone but, rather than pursue a military career, he decided to follow his dreams in film.

Back in New York, he handed out 1000 resumes, talked with union men in the industry, visited equipment houses to learn about the gear, and swept floors in editing suites. Eventually he was offered a job as a runner (an errand boy) for a boutique commercial house.

“The guy that ran production there was a great guy, because…he took the time to teach me how to do things, and he used to give me budgets to do, and I think he did it just as an exercise so I would learn how to do a budget. So he was actually very very generous and that was a great experience. I try to treat people the same way, because I think it’s important.”

Osborne honed his craft working alongside greats such as Francis Ford Coppola, Warren Beatty and Sydney Pollack. The more people you can learn from, he says, the more rounded and knowledgeable you become.

After five years making commercials, on his second attempt, Osborne was selected from 1000 applicants into the Directors’ Guild of America training programme. By then, he knew his way around a film set. He was able to get things done and then offer to help other people, who in return gave him other opportunities.

As a trainee, Osborne worked on The Godfather: Part II, Three Days of the Condor, and All the President’s Men, and then got his first job as a location manager on 1970s detective TV series Kojak. A spot as production manager for a second unit on William Friedkin’s Sorcerer followed, which grew into a larger role, and from there he was recommended as a production manager for Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now.

Osborne continued to build skills and experience, making use of his army grounding working with logistics, which led him into production.

Currently back in the US, Osborne says New Zealand remains well-placed to attract off-shore productions and build a strong film industry.International productions can slash their costs by working in New Zealand.

New Zealand offers cheaper logistical costs, cheaper and more flexible labour (unions in the US have stringent rules enforcing who can do what), and attractive government grants and tax incentives for big productions.

“There’s great government support in New Zealand . . . because the country is of a size that you can actually go and meet with members of parliament [or] the prime minister and they’re accessible and interested . . . there’s a willingness that’s really exceptional.”

But it’s disappointing that New Zealand-based banks have not embraced the opportunities provided by the burgeoning film industry.

“For a studio film it doesn’t really matter, but for an independent film it’s necessary to take the rebate or the grant and borrow against that so you can finance your film with that money, and it would be great to see the banking industry embrace that…it’s not a very risky loan.”