- A Kiwi movie producer and his actress wife are selling their Waimate bolthole.
- They spent over $2.5m upgrading the property, including building a state-of-the-art cinema.
- The couple are selling up and moving back to the US to be closer to family.
A leading Kiwi movie producer and his actress wife are selling their South Island bolthole for less than the $2.5 million they spent renovating it.
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The Hollywood duo, who did not wish to be named, bought the lifestyle block in Waimate at the height of the Covid pandemic and created a state-of-the-art studio space for their work.
They are now selling up to be closer to their family in the US.
The property at 40 Hunts Road contains numerous hints of the couple’s profession. The main house is adorned with classic movie posters, but it’s the separate two-storey media block with cinema that gives the game away.
The vendors spent millions on the property. One of their additions was a state-of-the-art cinema and studio. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen was also given an upgrade. Photo / Supplied
The theatre, according to One Agency’s Kitty Culp’s listing on OneRoof, boasts a “Dolby Atmos sound system with incredible acoustics. Ideal for a professional musician, sound engineer, or music producer”.
Culp said the couple had worked for major movie studios, including Disney and Warner Brothers, and decided to move to New Zealand after the pandemic struck.
Once out of quarantine, the couple wanted to work from home so they bought 40 Hunts Road, Waimate. The 380sqm media block became their “office” as well as a place to store their extensive collection of movie memorabilia collection, which they shipped from the US.
Culp said the couple had worked on several big movies, including the restoration of the James Dean classic Giant (which is Culp’s mother’s favourite movie of all time).
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“They also have a Clockwork Orange poster signed by [director] Stanley Kubrick.”
Culp’s listing also includes some nods to classic Hollywood, with stars photoshopped into some of the photos.
The agent said the couple had spent more than $2.5m renovating and extending the property, which they bought for just over $800,000.
The work includes a “supermodel” of kitchens, with wall-to-wall windows leading to the patio and providing an abundance of natural light. “They’ve turned a Kiwi house into a Californian-style house,” Culp told OneRoof.
“I think what struck me is that it’s an amazing house in this tiny town - you wouldn’t expect it.”
The couple bought the 1.99ha lifestyle block at the height of the Covid pandemic. Photo / Supplied
On display is the couple’s collection of posters and movie memorabilia. Photo / Supplied
Saying that, Waimate was undergoing a renaissance, Culp said, thanks to local self-made millionaire Gary Rooney, who has taken it upon himself to rejuvenate the town.
“He promised his wife as she was dying that he would put money into the town,” said Culp. Rooney bought and restored the old Waimate Hotel, turned the old BNZ bank building into a bakery, opened a gelato shop in the old post office, built a new medical centre for the town, and has turned the old nurses’ home into accommodation.
Culp said Rooney’s latest project was the restoration of the historic Quinn’s Arcade, which once housed the Arcadia Theatre picture house, until it was destroyed by fire in 1955.
“Waimate was just a town that was going nowhere, like, 10 years ago,” said Culp. “Now you’ve got the old buildings that have been all fixed up. And the White Horse hills behind the property.
The listing agent has invited country singer and Waimate daughter Kaylee Bell to view the property. Photo / Supplied
“He’s just pumped so much money into that town and then in turn, everybody started fixing their properties up. This little western town has just come to life.”
Culp told OneRoof she could see a movie star living in the home. “We just need a movie star from Waimate.” That might be a tall order but the town does have one famous alumnus, country pop artist Kaylee Bell.
Culp said she was extending an invitation to Bell to view the home and had tagged her in her social media campaign. She said she had also extended invitations to several wealthy Cantabrians. “I have a couple of rich-listers on my books,” she said.
One of the vendors told OneRoof that the couple loved Waimate, but missed their family in the US more. “Travelling home to the USA on vacation every year only made it harder and harder to say goodbye to family at the end of it,” she said.
“We would highly recommend Waimate to any expat.”
Culp said the vendors were looking for offers over $1.875m. “The RV is $2.1m. It’s a super deal. The vendors have spent crazy money on this property.”
- 40 Hunts Road, in Waimate, Canterbury, is for sale, deadline closing April 17
