{"id":364550,"date":"2026-04-05T07:13:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T07:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/364550\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T07:13:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T07:13:11","slug":"momoa-waititi-and-curtis-buy-studio-west-in-indigenous-led-push-te-ao-maori-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/364550\/","title":{"rendered":"Momoa, Waititi and Curtis buy Studio West in Indigenous-led push \u2013 Te Ao M\u0101ori News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph\">A major New Zealand film studio is now under star-studded indigenous leadership.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">This week \u0100riki Group Ltd \u2014 owned by founders Jason Momoa (K\u0101naka Maoli), Taika Waititi (Te Wh\u0101nau-\u0101-Apanui) and Cliff Curtis (Ng\u0101ti Hauiti, Te Arawa) \u2014 acquired Studio West in T\u0101maki Makaurau, marking a move to create greater opportunities for M\u0101ori and Pacific creatives, and the wider screen industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to be a part of this exciting venture, especially with this being a Polynesian-led studio,\u201d Waititi said in a Screen Guild NZ statement announcing the deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re bringing our experience from working overseas back home to create jobs and opportunities for the industry here, and importantly, for Polynesian talent and creators.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3RGAH6KVCPYOMLQR6FWAY56G4Y.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"532\"\/>Director Taika Waititi with actor Chris Hemsworth during filming of Thor: Ragnarok. Photo \/ Marvel Studios <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The Glen Eden-based film and television production facility counts recent international productions including M3GAN 2.0, Momoa\u2019s Chief of War, and Disney\u2019s Zombies 4 among its most notable projects, alongside earlier hits such as Power Rangers and Xena: Warrior Princess.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The group is keen to set a foundation for Polynesian success.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cAt its core, this is about ownership, creative control, and building a strong economic base &#8211; creating a platform where our communities can lead, shape, and share their stories with the world,\u201d said Curtis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">For Waititi, it is also about \u201cbuilding a space where our community can lead in the industry.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/RHNTGEHIV5AT7KMIKPRBC2Q7MM.jpg\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\/>Jason Momoa and Temuera Morrison hongi in Chief of War. Photo credit: Apple TV <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Momoa, who has often expressed his affection for Aotearoa, said he wanted the world to see and hear stories from here.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWhat excites me the most is the opportunity to build something lasting that supports local crews, nurtures talent, and creates pathways for the next generation of storytellers. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cI am proud to be part of that journey, and to help champion stories that deserve to be seen and heard around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Curtis said what unites the group is a shared vision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cJason and Taika have achieved remarkable success on the global stage, reaching audiences worldwide and bringing more than a billion dollars of production revenue into our economy. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWhat unites us is a shared commitment to telling authentic local stories alongside independent artists from our own communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A major New Zealand film studio is now under star-studded indigenous leadership. This week \u0100riki Group Ltd \u2014&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364551,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[191661,95104,593,60934,4309,111,43,139,69,191660,14914],"class_list":{"0":"post-364550","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-ariki-group-ltd","9":"tag-cliff-curtis","10":"tag-film","11":"tag-indigenous","12":"tag-jason-momoa","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz","17":"tag-studio-west","18":"tag-taika-waititi"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}