Tourism NZ had secured Taika Waititi as the frontman of their next big tourism campaign. But Taika was overcommitted, busy shooting his new HBO show, Our Flag Means Death.

He had limited time and energy for our tourism ad. We had a whole country to sell to the world.

My idea was to recruit Taika’s stunt double to cover the job for him.

Once the initial script concept was approved by Tourism NZ, HBO and Team Taika, many talented people brought their magic to the project – including Jackie Van Beek (Director), Adam Thompson (Executive Creative Director), Adam Stein (‘Our Flag’ Screenwriter), and two Taika Waititis.