A TOMMY RINGO INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION
MIDNIGHT FILMS PRODUCTIONS LIMITED
NZ Film Commission
PO Box 11 546 Wellington New Zealand
Tel: 64 4 382 7685 Fax: 64 4 384 9719
Kathleen@nzfilm.co.nz
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CAST LIST
Marvin / Action Fighter
Voice of Tongan Ninja
Sione Finau / Tongan Ninja SAM MANU
JEMAINE CLEMENT
LINDA TSENG Miss Lee
Voice of Miss Lee
Master Magasaki &
Uncle Lee
LAURA HILL
CHARLES LUM
RAYBON KAN Asian Sidekick
Herman the Henchman
Mr Big
Bank Manager
DAVE FANE
VICTOR RODGER
JED BROPHY
Chef Guy
Knife Man
Gun Man
PETER DAUBE
SEAN ALLAN
AARON CUBIS
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SYNOPSIS
He comes from the mighty Kingdom of Tonga (pop: 105,600, principal export: baby squash). He is trained in the ancient art of ninjitsu. He is, unsurprisingly, TONGAN
NINJA, and now his story can be told.
Ever since his father was eaten by a fish, Sione was brought up to follow the way of the ninja. Now he must journey toward his greatest challenge and defend the beautiful Miss
Lee and her restaurant from Mr Big and the Syndicate. These men will stop at nothing to get their hands on an ethnic hospitality establishment servicing the central business district.
Only his fists and his long years of training in Tonga will help him face Gun Man (he’s good with guns), Knife Man (good with knives), Henchman (good with henches), Chef
Guy (you get the idea) and Asian Sidekick. Finally, he must confront his ultimate nemesis - Action Fighter. Will love, and a great deal of physical violence, triumph in the end? You work it out.
Shot in stunning yet convenient locations, Tongan Ninja features exciting new sound and special effects techniques designed to fool the extremely gullible into thinking it was done for real.
Tongan Ninja is something special, something different, something that gives the phrase
“this film is yet to be classified” a disturbing new meaning. People who love musicals, people who like sophisticated comedy, devotees of the best Hong Kong action films, foley artists, all will want to corner the makers of Tongan Ninja in a darkened alley and ask “Why?”
Tongan Ninja – the film you didn’t know you wanted, until you wanted it.

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KEY PERSONNEL
JASON STUTTER – Director/writer
Director Jason Stutter recently completed his debut feature Tongan Ninja . Made from his own resources, and a lot of goodwill, Tongan Ninja is a warm-hearted parody of Hong
Kong martial arts films. An extraordinary achievement, Tongan Ninja surprises with remarkable digital effects, a great sound track and hilarious original songs.
Stutter was brought up in the New Zealand small town of Wainuiomata. His love of movies led him from school straight into the film industry.
Trained as an editor, Stutter was determined to make and direct his own films. In 1994 he embarked on his first short film Bloodsuckers.
Over the next five years Stutter completed a string of ambitious short films, including
Fizz (1999), which has garnered international attention, gaining official selection to a number of significant film festivals including Valladolid and Clermont Ferrand.
Stutter’s talent and drive was recognised by the New Zealand Screen Producers and
Directors Association as the inaugural winner the 1998 “SPADA Young Film Maker of the Year” Award for emerging talent.
Stutter is currently developing his next feature, co-written with Costa Botes and produced by Midnight Films.

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ANDREW CALDER – Producer
From a background of film accounting ( The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the
Ring ), Andrew Calder has, in the last three years, moved into film producing with two emerging directors.
Calder recently co-produced the martial arts parody Tongan Ninja with writer / director
Jason Stutter (this project is screening at Cannes 2002, with world sales handled by the
New Zealand Film Commission). He is currently working on post-production of his second feature, the relationship drama This is Not a Love Story (written and directed by
Keith Hill), which has been selected for the Saint-Tropez Film Festival in October 2002.
Calder’s interest in filmmaking was sparked whilst attending the Elam School of Fine
Arts (University of Auckland) in 1990. Following up on this interest, he went on to attend a number of filmmaking workshops, such as “Writing in Pictures” (New Zealand Writers
Guild) in 1994 and “Pitching and Packaging the Deal” (Australian Film Television and
Radio School) in 1996.
He has a number of future feature film projects in development.

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SUE ROGERS – Executive Producer
Producer Sue Rogers recently completed When Strangers Appear (aka Shearer’s
Breakfast ), the second big screen collaboration with writer/director Scott Reynolds.
Executive produced by Beyond Films, worldwide rights are secured by Columbia TriStar, with the exception of Germany, which has been picked up by Senator Films, and
Australia and New Zealand, which is retained by Beyond Films and the filmmakers.
Rogers’ first collaboration with Reynolds was his second directorial feature
Heaven .
Developed and produced by Rogers, she negotiated 100% financing from Miramax
Films. Based on the novel by Auckland writer, Chad Taylor, the film stars Martin
Donovan, Joanna Going, Patrick Malahide, Richard Schiff and Danny Edwards.
In 1995 Rogers produced the critically lauded mocumentary Forgotten Silver , directed by
Peter Jackson and Costa Botes. She was Associate Producer for the feature Jack Brown
Genius , directed by Tony Hiles and financed by Senator Film GmbH and the New
Zealand Film Commission.
Rogers has been involved in various capacities with thirteen features since 1988, including the acclaimed Peter Jackson directed, Heavenly Creatures . Entering the film industry from a background of design, she has continued the philosophy and operation of
Midnight Films, which was established by her partner, the late Jim Booth.

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PRODUCTION NOTES
Director, Jason Stutter, has always loved movies, especially comedy and action pictures. While making one of his early short films, Gun Lovers he needed a clip of an action film to play in the background of one of the scenes. The intention being that the action in the closing moments of the short film would imitate the action of the promo. The promo he shot was called Tongan
Ninja. Stutter recalls that when they shot the promo, “we all laughed about how one day we’d make this film”. Several years later the feature version of Tongan Ninja went into production.
“ Tongan Ninja proved a pleasure to shoot”, recalls Stutter, “this was a labour of love”. Made with the goodwill of his friends and his own resources, everyone involved in making Tongan
Ninja loved the idea and the characters. Stutter says, “There was a very fun and silly atmosphere throughout the shoot, which is clearly evident in the end result”. He adds, “You can’t take things too seriously when you’ve got a night club full of dancing Ninjas”.
Following the tradition of many martial arts films, Stutter decided to over-dub all of the dialogue in the film. This became a useful device when shooting at noisy locations. It also later allowed for a great deal of creative freedom for the final dialogue of the film.
Stutter says, “the story of
Tongan Ninja was a lot of fun to dream up”. He chose to take all the usual story turning points of an action film and use them in an original way. The intention was to follow the classic three-act structure but avoid making the comedy become secondary to the plot.
As the film developed, it seemed natural to Stutter to break out of the martial arts plot and introduce some musical moments. Collaborator, Jemaine Clement (ACTION FIGHTER) along with Bret McKenzie and composers Plan 9 wrote some original songs to fit the movie. Stutter comments, “this was a fun device, and one I’m sure Bruce Lee would have used if he was still with us today”.
With a cast and crew who are all fans of Hong Kong actioners, they worked towards creating a celebration of the genre. Stutter uses the action sequences in Tongan Ninja to parody favourite moments of other action films. Stutter says, “we’ve all seen the good guy avoid bullets while being pursued by a trigger happy baddy. The truth of the matter is bad guys can’t shoot straight… at least they can’t in the world of Tongan Ninja .”

“TONGAN NINJA” - END ROLLER CREDITS
Technical Director Adam Dransfield
Camera/Lighting Assistant John Cairns
Sione Finau / Tongan Ninja Sam Manu
Marvin / Action Fighter
Voice of Tongan Ninja
Jemaine Clement
Miss Lee
Voice of Miss Lee
Master Magasaki &
Uncle Lee
Linda Tseng
Laura Hill
Charles Lum
Asian Sidekick
Herman the Henchman
Voice of Hemi
Mr Big
Bank Manager
Chef Guy
Knife Man
Gun Man
Hemi the Henchman
Graham the Henchman
Voice of Graham
Chang
Wong
Dwayne
Mr Finau
Young Sione
Young Marvin
Pink Fairy
Voice of Young Sione
& Young Marvin
Little Miss Lee
Famous Rugby Player
Ninjas
Raybon Kan
Dave Fane
Victor Rodger
Jed Brophy
Peter Daube
Sean Allan
Aaron Cubis
Hoani Siueva
Grant Clifford
Taika Cohen
Brent Ormsby
Marty Pine
Bevin Linkhorn
Shimpal Lelisi
Charley Murphy Samau
William Mawhinney
Narelle Ahrens
Lucinda Chiu
Tana Umaga
Matt Atkinson
Philip Bentley
John Cairns
Andrew Calder
Toni Carson
Penny Dean
Adam Dransfield
Ben Fransham
Matt K. Johnston
Phil Kirkman
David Lee
Sebastian Marr
Jane McCauley
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Eve McKechnie
David Oxenbridge
David M Potts
Philip Shaw
Jason Stutter
Matt Stutter
Wayne Subritsky
Café Patrons
Fa Suluvave
Philippa Race
Virak Ray
Firas Zayya
Lisa Cooper
Sarah Clements
Glamorous Villain Girls Savannah Bassant
Micah Brown
Tanya Kramer
Tracey McRae
Nightclub Dancers
Kitchen Performers
Emma Davey
Katea Duff
Narelle Ahrens
Judy Dale
Griff Davidson
Patricia Diotto
Felicity Fyr Le Fay
Pollyana Giurizatto
Brent Harpur
Loren Horsley
Hayden Jacobs
Rieko Kanazawa
Greg Kyle (Tigger)
Thomas MacDiarmid
Miranda Manasiadis
Jo Meldrum
Claire Martin
Jane McCauley
Robo Dancers
Kristin Orr
Kim Potter
Jacqui Pryor
Ailva Tuiloma
Kasia Wypych
Chris Yates
Taika Cohen
Kristian Larsen
Restaurant customers Hidemi Fuke
Kenji Ishikawa
Kei Pearson
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stunts performed by fights choreographed by kitchen dance choreographed by horse wrangler
Rod Fransham
Sam Manu
Brett McKenzie
Thomas Edwards additional cinematography additional grip additional best boy special makeup effects additional casting stills photographer car-cam
Sean O’Donnell
Graham Tucker
Jason Naran
Kevin Stevens
Yolande Smythe
Chris Coad
Lindsay Cairns hidden dragons on loan from the Wellington SPCA wire stunts co-ordinator wire stunts technicians
Steve Ingram
Geoff Curtis
Scott Harrens
Darian Lumsdun contact your local Toyota Dealer for details on the Hyperdrive™ system
POST PRODUCED WITH THE SUPPORT OF 2D POST digital & 2D Effects
3D effects frame painting model maker pirahana trainer
Jonno Woodford-Robinson
Sheldon Whittaker
Julian Butler
Rieko Kanazawa
Spiro Harvey
Terry R. Moth video to film transfer & laser recording Weta Digital Limited special thanks to Jamie Selkirk and the “Laser Lords”
The Most High
Dr Luminance
Keeping it reel post-production accountant sound mixer
Pete Williams
Mohan Ramachandran
Nick Booth
Vanessa Redmond
Michael Hedges
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sound facility manager sound facility foley artist additional foley additional atmos fx
John Neill
The Film Unit
Caroline McLaughlin
Narelle Ahrens
Glen Bullen colour grader rostrum camera laboratory
Lynne Reed
Reiner Schoenbrunn laboratory manager Dean Evans laboratory general manager Sue Thompson
The Film Unit end title design Wynter Blathwayt
“Action Fighter” dressed by courtesy of Toby Laing
“Tongan Ninja” dressed by courtesy of his Mum special thanks to Sue Manu for helping Tongan Ninja to find his bandana
Master Magasuki’s Magic Glow is a trademark of the Island of Magasuki Corporation
Original music composed and performed by Stephen Roche & David Donaldson with Anthony Donaldson -Percussion & Ricky Gooch -Turntable
© 2001 Mana Music/Festival Music Publishing original lyrics by Jemaine Clement & Bret McKenzie
“TALE OF THE TONGAN NINJA”
(Jemaine Clement/Bret McKenzie/David Donaldson/Stephen Roche)
Performed by Jemaine Clement copyright (control)
“FOOD FOR THOUGHT” which is a parody of "Pop Muzik" (Robin Scott)
Published by BMG Music Publishing International Limited
Used with the permission of BMG Music Publishing Australia Pty. Limited
Performed by Peter Daube
“NUNCHUKA LOVER”
(Jemaine Clement/Bret McKenzie/David Donaldson/Stephen Roche)
Performed by The Beat Girls
(Andrea Sanders/Narelle Ahrens/Caroline McLaughlin) copyright (control)
“HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE”
(Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb/Maurice Gibb)
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Published by Gibb Brothers Music
Used with the permission of BMG Music Publishing Australia Pty. Limited
Performed by Luma Patea with backing vocals by Samuel Samuel, Richard Samuel & Phill Darkins
Arranged & Produced by Bruno Barrett-Garnier
“GIVE IT UP”
(H.Casey/D.Carter) © 1983 Harrick Music Inc
Licensed by EMI Songs Australia Pty Limited
Performed by K.C & The Sunshine Band
Courtesy of Janus Records Inc
By arrangement with Celebrity Licensing Inc music licensing Chris Gough, Mana Music
The filmmakers would like to apologise to the upset woman in Hataitai for the naked jogging incident
Special Thanks to
David Tingey
Darren Smith
Steve Reilly
Job Klijn
Colin Brown
The Beatles for the White Album
Victoria Treole
Costa Botes
Barrie Osborne
Peter Jackson
Jan Blenkin
Tania Rodger
Richard Taylor
Angela Weeks
Ken Double
Steve Cooper
Lisa Chatfield
Caroline McGrath
Tony Whincup
Adam Holt
Sonya Wilson
Sebastian Marr
Billy Watkin
Scott Kove
John McGrath
Russell Baxter
Andrew Johnston
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Todd Gillespie
Dean Wilson
Mick Sinclair
Richard McKechnie
Cheryl Goh
Simon Holloway
Ted Beddoes
Andrew Cochrane
Bruce Coldicutt
Iona Collins
Victoria Spackman
Bryn Evans
Elena Azuola
Paul McLaughlin
Kerry Robbins
Greg Childs
Carolyn & Hazel Forsyth
Vincent Burke
Grant Campbell
Bryce Campbell
Doug Neilson
Linus Murphy
Larry & Dianne Mahony
Michael Hourigan
Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington
Massey University
Rocket Rentals
Peter Vincent – Vincent Aviation
Exagym
Leon Kassler – The Film Equipment Company
Wellington City Council
New Zealand Rugby Football Union
Lower Hutt Hospital Trust
Parkway College
The Dive Centre
Fish ‘n Fangs
Cloud 9 Skydiving
David Bishop, Department of Conservation
WestpacTrust Stadium
North Harbor Stadium
Gar Wah Restaurant
Brodie Stubbs & Rodney Studds, Department of Internal Affairs
Q Bar
Sunset Palms Nightclub
The Costume Cave
Mad Dog Catering
Kilbirnie Branch New Zealand Police
Radio Active
Te Papa
Mr Kondo
Kitatachibana Village School, Japan
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14 and
The New Zealand Film Commission and
The great D.O.P in the sky (except for when it rained) and
Friends, Family & all the usual suspects…
SHOT ON LOCATION IN WELLINGTON NEW ZEALAND
(the most beautiful Harbor City in the world)
AUCKLAND NEW ZEALAND & NUKU’ALOFA TONGA
Dolby Digital EX (logo)
SHOWTIME AUSTRALIA
The names and characters portrayed in this motion picture are fictitious and any similarity to actual persons is entirely coincidental and unintentional. Ownership of this motion picture is protected by copyright and other applicable laws and any unauthorised duplication distribution or exhibition could result in criminal prosecution as well as civil liability.
TONGAN NINJA
A TOMMY RINGO INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION
© 2002 Midnight Film Productions Ltd. All Rights Reserved. www.tonganninja.com