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"I answered an ad and I've been making movies ever since!" - Kim Sinclair '68
Wednesday, 5 July 2017
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Being one of the three art department heads to win both an Oscar and a Bafta for his work on Avatar in 2010 has been a highlight in Kim Sinclair's career. The achievement of which, Kim believes were due to a great work ethic and sticking to deadlines which were just two of the things he learned from his time at Auckland Grammar. Starting at the School in 1968 and staying in the A and B streams for his whole tenure, Kim worked hard, studying subjects such as Mathematics and Physics. However, it wasn't until Kim got to university that he had a change of heart, and went to the University of Auckland to complete a Bachelor of Architecture. After graduating, Kim worked in an architecture firm for three years, when an advertisement in the New Zealand Herald changed the course of his career. "My girlfriend, and now partner Kirsten Shouler who was also an architect, answered an ad seeking draftsmen to work on a movie, which turned into a year-long project of work in Auckland, the Bay of Islands and Rotorua on a pirate film called Savage Islands. We've been making movies ever since!" Kim's primary role in the art department sees him in charge of designing, finding and making everything for the whole movie. "I'm responsible for the sets, the locations, props, set dressing, animals and vehicles - basically everything except the actors." The work Kim has done has taken him throughout New Zealand and the Pacific, Thailand, China, Mexico, the United States and Scotland, and has worked for several legendary directors including George Lucas, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and Sir Peter Jackson. Kim recalls one of the more interesting projects, while working as the Art Director on the 2000 drama Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks. "We filmed the movie on a remote and uninhabited island off the coast of Fiji over a period of two years. It involved difficult conditions and logistics, but when it was complete, it was incredibly satisfying." Another interesting location shoot was that for The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. Kim oversaw the construction of a Japanese village in a valley near New Plymouth in Taranaki. This particular project had major logistical challenges with building materials needing to be brought in via helicopter. While a lot of his work involves extensive travel, Kim has been able to attend a couple of reunions with Grammar Old Boys and recalls one memorable night in Naperville, Illinois. "I had dinner one snowy night with two Grammar alumni - [film producer] Lloyd Phillips '63 and [actor] Russell Crowe '77. Lloyd was the first New Zealander to win an Oscar for The Dollar Bottom." Kim's work ethic has put him in great stead with some of Hollywood's leading directors, but in his words, it was his education at Grammar that proved the most fruitful. "School is the foundation and life gets better from there."  Kim Sinclair with his Oscar for Best Production Design for Avatar. He is pictured here (far right) with Robert Stromberg, Rick Carter and actress Sigourney Weaver.   
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