John A Givins
John A Givins (Johnny) is an actor, director and producer. His independent production company Livingstone Productions is best known for the long-running TV2 gay series Queer Nation, and the award-winning TV ONE documentary series Captain’s Log.
Givins talks about starting out as a TV actor in Children of Fire Mountain, with director Peter Sharp. He also tells the story of how Sharp helped him get a break into TV drama directing a few years later.
Givins discusses his drama directing days with TVNZ in the 1980s, working on series such as Country GP, The Seekers, and Peppermint Twist.
He talks about working on Shortland Street in its early days, and how he was also developing his own independent production ideas at that time.
Givins explains where the name for Livingstone Productions came from, and its connection to his Scottish heritage.
Givins also talks about being gay and making gay television, starting with the TV productions of the Hero Parade, and moving on to long-running TVNZ series Queer Nation.
He outlines how he developed Livingstone Productions, and talks about the creation of the Captain’s Log documentary series.
To close, Givins talks about the end of Queer Nation – saying its demise was the result of an “assault” by TVNZ.
This video is also available on YouTube for distribution via a Creative Commons licence.
Credits: Interview by Clare O’Leary. Camera and editing by Leo Guerchmann.
NZ ON SCREEN 2012