ScreenTalk

Vanessa Alexander wrote stage plays before turning her hand to writing, directing and producing for film and television.  She is best known for her feature film Magik and Rose, for producing innovative children’s drama series Being Eve, and as a director on popular westie TV show Outrageous Fortune.

Alexander tells how extreme persistence paid off early in her screen career when she got to make Magik and Rose, and she discusses her strong working relationship with producer Larry Parr.

She credits Parr with being the first reason she made it into film and television, and says South Pacific Pictures head John Barnett is the second reason.

Alexander discusses why she thinks Barnett gave her a break into producing with Being Eve.  She speculates that this was partly because she was young and female and the series needed that, but says she also puts it down to a story she told at the SPADA conference about her energetic marketing work for Magik and Rose.

She explains that this involved buying all the tickets to a premiere screening herself so that it would appear the film had sold out quickly, and seating family and friends near critics to talk up the film.

Alexander also talks about her directing work on popular TV3 drama series Outrageous Fortune.  She says working on the first episode of the series was extremely stressful because the original idea was so good and expectation was very high.

This interview is available on YouTube for distribution under a Creative Commons license (Non-Commercial, Attribution).

Credits: Interview by Clare O’Leary, Camera and Editing by Leo Guerchmann.