Julie Christie

Julie Christie is the founder and CEO of Eyeworks New Zealand and Australia. Formerly known as Touchdown Productions, she formed the television production company in 1991 and sold to Dutch media group, Eyeworks, in early 2006.

Julie was the first Australasian entertainment producer to break into the lucrative US market and has achieved most of her international success with unscripted formats including The Chair, Miss Popularity and Treasure Island. The company’s formats, most of which were first aired in New Zealand, have been licensed to 30 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and even Iraq! After a long career in unscripted television, Julie produced her first television drama, Burying Brian and was executive producer of her first feature film, The Tattooist.

Julie also owns Sky’s Living and Food channels and a resort in Fiji. The mother of two is the recipient of the 2004 Women in Film and Television Award for International Achievement, the 2006 SPADA Independent Producer of the Year, the 2008 Verve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year and, last year, was made an Officer of The New Zealand Order of Merit.

She is also on the Board of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

What was your first significant business venture and what did you learn from it?
My first business venture was to go out on my own as an independent producer after I felt I was not being paid enough, given that I was bringing so much work into Communicado, the company I was working for. But I didn’t do this until I already had my first commission lined up so I was risk adverse even then. I remain that way today, especially when it comes to debt.
The main thing I learned, five years into my own business, was that if you don’t retain ownership of the intellectual property in your own works then you cannot benefit from the exploitation and, even worse, it can be taken from you. That happened to me when three programs I had created were taken from me to be produced in house at TVNZ in 1996. I was a lot more staunch when it came to I.P. and contracts after that. I still am.

What initial failure turned out to be the most significant learning experience from your business start up?
As above. I was doing very well when senior management changed at TVNZ and they decided to produce some of the shows I made in house. I was suddenly left with no work as I had previously signed contracts which gave them all rights to my programs. I had to rebuild my business. That never happened again.

What would be one of the more significant challenges you had to overcome on the journey to achieving your personal and/or business goals?
Learning to be strong and focused when it comes to contract negotiation. Intellectual property – or, at least, ensuring that you have a reasonable share of the net receipts that come from it – is crucial in growing a creative business. Otherwise, you are working for wages. That means your business does not grow as a saleable asset.
Secondly, that being successful in business and in the international market easily erases local media bitchiness. PR guru Jenny Raynish told me at the lowest point in my career that I was never going to earn respect just working in this country; I had to do it by international success.

If you could start your business life again, what would be the essential business skills you would make sure you had in hand to ensure your pathway to achieving success was smoother and possibly a lot shorter?
I don’t think it could have been shorter. Sound financial management is the single most important thing. My brother has been financial controller of the company almost since it started. That gives me a security blanket. My two brothers, Mike and Paddy, look after my business and personal finances and they scream a lot about my credit card bills! It is interesting how brothers know no respect when it comes to being blunt with their sister.
If you can start a business without debt, as I did, you have a much better chance of success.

Who are the mentors/role models that have inspired you and what important lessons have you learnt from them?
The late Neil Roberts – my first boss in television. I learnt not to drink too much Bollinger (because he did!) and that creativity can come naturally if you apply the right rules. I learnt what not to do from him as much as I learned what to do. I taught myself discipline after seeing that a brilliant man struggled without it.
I was inspired by working with the late Peter Brock. He may have been a great racing car driver but as a man, I so admired his principals, his calmness, his deep belief in human good. He taught me to cope with adversity.

What/who got you through the ‘tough’ times?
My personal strength and my West Coast upbringing, which instilled a certain toughness. I was, mostly, very alone in the tough times but I learned to find inner strength. I never brought into the phrase, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’. Rather than feeling helped by others, you can sometimes feel more inadequate.
These days, I have great friends whom I could call on except that I suspect one of the reasons they are my great friends is that they know that will never happen. I love strong people, especially ones with interesting flaws.
I don’t worry about anything that doesn’t keep me awake at night and I get over things very quickly. (I just don’t forget!)

What were some of the core values upon which you built your company and have these values changed over time?
– The customer is always right.
– It’s the ordinary factory worker in Tokoroa that matters more than a bitchy reviewer. Ratings are more important than any media, as ratings are the judgment of the people.
– That people need to laugh. That television is a relief from everyday life. That entertainment is a wonderful drug.

The television industry is highly competitive. How have you been able to sustain the high levels of success in this crowded market?
I think I had a common touch – a feel for what ordinary people would like. I never had any form of intellectual or artistic snobbery, which is so prevalent in our industry.

You successfully ‘exported’ your productions, which contributed substantially to your business growth. Just how hard was it to establish market share in international markets?
The US market is wonderfully open to ideas from outside. They have a voracious appetite and unscripted television is a vital part of everyday life to them.
What we have to leave behind in New Zealand when we venture to the United States, in particular, is our modesty and humility. We need to learn to rave about how good we are, to sell 200 percent because when they buy 100 percent, it’s a winner. I think New Zealanders are generally not good at pitching because we undersell ourselves.
Also, I never ventured anywhere with just something written down on paper. I always made a great mock up on videotape, even if it was faked. A great show reel can get an instant sale. It’s only after the sale that you have to worry about how the hell you are actually going to make the show!

What distinct advantages, if any, are there in running a business in New Zealand?
A low-cost structure so you can make programs more cheaply but still have them look good on an international scale. Staff who multi-task. Even in Australia, they would not lower themselves to do something they felt a runner or PA should do. The result elsewhere is often over-staffing.

What advice would you give to an aspiring television producer?
Watch a lot of television from all over the world. Be aware of worldwide trends and what the audience is watching.
Don’t make TV for yourself or your friends, who probably don’t watch much anyway – you’re not that important. Make it for the ordinary people.

Times are tough right now and we all have a choice of approaching the challenge differently. What is your perspective on this? Glass half full or half empty?
Half full of course. We have to do things for less so we are doing them differently. And no debt helps in tough times!

Briefly outline how you achieve that all-important work-life balance:
With much difficulty. It is almost impossible to do consistently, but I try.
If my children are happy then I can handle anything else. And our holidays – we have great holidays.
Also, I love cooking dinner parties and I have very entertaining friends who eat my cooking and talk and laugh into the wee small hours.

What are some of your current personal and business goals?
Work less, shop less, manage with my existing wardrobe rather than buy more and find more talented people to join our company.

Is there a significant quote or saying by which you live your life?
There is no such thing as good luck. There is good timing and good management.

Are you comfortable being labelled an ‘entrepreneur’?
Yes. I don’t see why not, as I have achieved my business goals in a different way with an international focus.

What do you love most about business?
Being well paid so I can afford to buy clothes, and the mornings when the ratings from last night’s show are really good.