Auckland Film Studios, formerly known as Henderson Valley Studios, is

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's largest film studio complex, located in

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...

, West Auckland. Entrances to the complex are on Hickory Ave, Henderson Valley Road and Rabone Street, Henderson. The complex was originally built as insulated fruit store houses, hence their nickname, the 'cool stores'. Henderson Valley Studios have been used as film studios since 1994 when they were occupied by the television series ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

'' and ''

Xena Xena is a fictional character from Robert Tapert's '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' franchise. Co-created by Tapert and John Schulian, she first appeared in the 1995–1999 television series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', before going on to ...

'', but since these shows ended, the studios have been home to such films and television shows as: *

Whale Rider ''Whale Rider'' is a 2002 New Zealand drama film written and directed by Niki Caro. Based on the 1987 novel ''The Whale Rider'' by Witi Ihimaera, the film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve-year-old Māori girl whose a ...

Boogeyman The Bogeyman (; also spelled boogeyman, bogyman, bogieman, boogie monster, boogieman, or boogie woogie) is a type of mythic creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearance and conceptions var ...

* In My Father's Den * The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe * 30 Days of Night * Maddigan's Quest * Matuku * Bridge to Terabithia *

Deceit Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...

* No. 2 * Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old? * The Warrior's Way *

Legend of the Seeker ''Legend of the Seeker'' is an American television series created by Sam Raimi, based on the fantasy novel series ''The Sword of Truth'' by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series f ...

The studios are also used for countless television commercials. The studios are laid out over a 4ha site, between Henderson Valley Rd and Railside Ave. Within this site are 4 (soon to be 5) Sound Stages, 2 Production Office spaces, Prop and Costume workshops, as well as various commercial film related operations. In late 2006, New Zealand's biggest

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

began construction at Henderson Valley Studios scheduled for completion in mid-2007. This sound stage is purpose built and bigger than that owned by Peter Jackson at his Stone St Studios complex in Wellington. The studios have been owned by Enterprise Waitakere, the business arm of the

Waitakere City Council Waitākere City was a territorial authority in West Auckland, New Zealand; it was governed by the Waitākere City Council from 1989 to 2010. It was New Zealand's fifth-largest city, with an annual growth of about 2%. In 2010 the council was ...

since 2002. It is because of studios such as Auckland Film Studios, South Pacific Pictures and Studio West, that West Auckland has been dubbed 'Westiewood'.

External links

Henderson Valley Studios

Investment New Zealand article

IMDB references
New Zealand film studios Film production companies of New Zealand Film production companies of the United States Television studios in New Zealand Mass media in Auckland West Auckland, New Zealand {{film-studio-stub