Jim Booth

New Zealand producer who established the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), which he directed from 1983-88, before seguing into his own carnivalesque mode of production. Booth formed a partnership with film director Peter Jackson after encouraging the NZFC to back Jackson's "Bad Taste" (1987), a comedy about alien cannibals who are fast-food entrepreneurs. Booth became "Kiwi King" of low to no-budget fare after leaving the NZFC, turning out three other features which displayed feral wit: "Meet the Feebles" (1990) which featured puppets trying to make it in showbiz; the awesomely bloody cult flick, "Dead Alive" (1993); and his elegant swan song, "Heavenly Creatures" (1994), which was dedicated to his memory. This last effort offered a splendidly twisted take on what could have been a "Masterpiece Theater"-styled outing. Critics lined up to sing its praises as did audiences.