Robert William Nigel Hutchinson (13 July 1941 – 23 March 2017) was an English-born New Zealand film producer and commercial director best known for co-producing the 1981 film, ''

Goodbye Pork Pie ''Goodbye Pork Pie'' is a 1981 New Zealand comedy film directed by Geoff Murphy, co-produced by Murphy and Nigel Hutchinson, and written by Geoff Murphy and Ian Mune. The film was New Zealand's first large-scale local hit. One book described ...

'', with

Geoff Murphy Geoffrey Peter Murphy (12 October 1938 – 3 December 2018) was a New Zealand filmmaker, producer, director, and screenwriter best known for his work during the renaissance of New Zealand cinema that began in the second half of the 1970s. His s ...

. Hutchinson also made a small cameo in the classic New Zealand film as a

dairy farmer Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

. He produced other films and

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

s, most recently '' Home by Christmas'' in 2010. Hutchinson, the son of a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

pilot, was born in England on 13 July 1941. He began his film career as a

press officer A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Duti ...

for the

Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

office. An original drummer for the British band

The Bo Street Runners The Bo Street Runners were an English R&B band formed in Harrow. England, during 1964. The band released four singles and an extended play record. They gained prominence in the United Kingdom after winning the ''Ready Steady Win!'' band contest ...

, Hutchinson left the band to work for Disney full-time. His position in the band was filled by drummer

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...

, who later formed Fleetwood Mac. Hutchinson next joined a

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

owned by actor David Hemmings. While working with Hemmings, Hutchinson became friends with New Zealand cinematographer,

Graeme Cowley Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

. Huctinson and Cowley soon partnered in 1974 to form two film companies based in Wellington, New Zealand – Film Facilities, a film rental company, and their production company, Motion Pictures Limited. The duo hoped to profit from New Zealand's expanding film and television industries during the 1970s. Hutchinson originally met

, who had already penned an early, handwritten screenplay for the film that would become ''

'' through his new production companies. Hutchinson and Cowley soon joined the production as co-producers. Together, Hucthinson, Murphy and Cowlet kept the production on a shoe-string budget of just NZ $450,000. Released in 1981, ''Goodbye Pork Pie'' became the first New Zealand-made film to recoup its original budget solely from domestic NZ box office sales. It also became the first New Zealand film to screen at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. Cowley later focused on their Film Facilities rental division, while Nigel Hutchinson directed and produced television commercials. Hutchinson won several international awarded for his commercials, including a Gold Clio Award, a Gold Lion from the

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...

, and a Mobies award. His commercial portfolio featured Kiwi and international celebrities including

Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...

Richard Hadlee Sir Richard John Hadlee (born 3 July 1951) is a New Zealand former cricketer. Hadlee is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, and amongst the very finest fast bowlers. Hadlee was appointed an MBE in the 1980 ...

Felicity Kendal Felicity Ann Kendal (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, but the role that brought attention to her ...

, and

Dennis Waterman Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''The Sweeney'', '' Minder'' and '' New Tricks'', singing the theme tunes of th ...

. Nigel Hutchinson died at his home in Picton, on 23 March 2017, at the age of 75. He was survived by his wife of 42 years, Sue, and two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Nigel 1941 births 2017 deaths New Zealand film producers New Zealand television producers Television commercial directors Clio Award winners English emigrants to New Zealand People from Picton, New Zealand