Trivia
This was originally screened as a genuine documentary to an unsuspecting New Zealand public, and was only revealed to be a hoax a few days afterwards.
Share this
The photographs showing Colin and Brooke McKenzie as children are actual vintage photographs from the 1800s. They depict the grandfather and great uncle of the wife of co-director Costa Botes.
Share this
The interview with Sam Neill was taken during the filming of Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill.
Share this
A wide shot from the climactic moments of "Salome" supposedly cost so much that it amounted to half the film's budget. The shot comprised dozens of extras and extensive digital compositing and engineering.
Share this
On the DVD commentary, co-director Costa Botes noted that in the process of "aging" the faked film clips, the production team decided to avoid the use of line scratches, which was considered to be too obvious and clichéd. Too age the film, the crew spent a great deal of time running the film through dirt, rubbing dust and spit into it, and dragging it around on the floor of the basement of the processing laboratory facility.
Share this
One of Colin MacKenzie's "innovations" in this film is the first feature length film, which he makes in 1908. It was not until after the completion of this film that another, The Story of the Kelly Gang, resurfaced and was discovered to be the real title holder for "first ever feature length film".
Share this
The filmmakers consciously avoided putting lines through the faked film footage, particularly the scenes from Salome, since when important films are re-released they are often cleaned up and restored so that there are as few scratches as possible. When this happens, good quality prints usually have corrected contrast, so that hues and texture are easily visible, as is the case with the Salome footage.
Share this
The television network that first broadcast the film received mountains of angry and even threatening mail. Some of these letters are reenacted with voice overs in Behind the Bull: Forgotten Silver.
Share this
According to the DVD commentary by Costa Botes, one shot from 'Salome' showing dozens of extras fighting on the palace steps swallowed almost half of the film's overall budget, even though digital compositing was used to make it seem like the size of the set and number of extras were much greater.
Share this
According to the DVD commentary by Costa Botes, he wanted to put the real credits at the end, but Peter Jackson wanted to "keep with the lie", so most of the end credits are fake. But, the real actors who play the "fake real people" are credited with their real names in "For their generous assistance with research thanks to".
Share this
