Rob Tapert, of Auckland, ONZM, for services to the film and television industries
Rob Tapert is a film and television producer from the United States who has been involved with New Zealand’s screen industry since 1993, bringing projects into New Zealand from major production studios. He produced the feature films ‘Boogeyman’, ’30 Days of Night’, and ‘Evil Dead’ and seasons of the television shows ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’, ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journeys’, ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’, ‘Legend of the Seeker’, and ‘Spartacus’. The shows ‘Hercules’ and ‘Xena’ provided more than seven years of continuous employment to hundreds of people in the industry and opportunities for New Zealand actors and crew to hone their expertise. Mr Tapert has made a point of engaging New Zealanders as Heads of Departments on his productions and has kept post-production of his projects within New Zealand.