Ant Timpson

‘The Salamander Lives Twice’ has lived up to its title already! Very excited to be working with the @embankmentfilms on this dream project. Over the moon having Matt Smith & Imogen Poots onboard. (❤️@shaheenbaigcasting ) Huge love to producers @emmaslade74 and @roxib10 who have been on this long long journey from the beginning. And to my old mate Andy Starke (Possessor, Kill List) who joined the team, lit a match and 💥- got @toby.harvard and my third collaboration together on fire again after Come To Daddy & Bookworm. They may need to invent new sub-genres beneath mystery thrillers like ISLAND GIALLO or FONDUE NOIR after this is all done & dusted. All will be revealed.

This one took a little longer to get across the line than expected but as they say - good things take time. Especially a morally complex and psychologically disturbing survival tale like WHEN DARKNESS LOVE US. *Film just wrapped* Everyone associated (esp our killer cast @emilia_clarke , @marlonwilliamssings , @then0t0ri0usvip , @nataschamcelhone ) went all in on this super ambitious swing from my talented mate @mister_ashcroft (on a tear for the ages) and a superb script by him alongside kiwi scribes @hayleysproull and @_elikent_ . Kudos to all star local crew assembled and led by uber lead producer @desrayeveryday doing the hard mahi and 💯 committing to the project - come hell or high water. FYI Desray is a national treasure and this project would not have happened without her from the start. Thanks to team @nzfilm for stepping up to support a project that you could say is not your typical NZ production ha! Without @umbrellaentertainment backing us early it would have been even harder. And of course to @bleeckerstfilms for joining and financially backing us on what is going to be a hellishly good journey and . And want to give some love to my old mate hero - @cobblehillis - who first got this project in front of Kent and Miranda at Bleecker for me. And to @ogiony at @creativeartistsagency for being there at the beginning and is always up for anything I throw at him. And for my legal ride or die @t_is_4_tim on everything I’m involved with. Enormous appreciation to Sharon & team at @hinterlandcreativeltd who know the dark arts of global banking better than anyone. So many others have helped but without original author @eliz.engstrom who wrote the 80s novella WHEN DARKNESS LOVE US - we’d all be twiddling our thumbs. Love to ya Liz. And finally to those who support everyone who works in film - the silent patient superstars behind us who put up with all our shenanigans like my @rebeccatimpson 😘

Survivors call it the Mt Everest of movie-going experiences. Each year we run a secret 24HR movie marathon at the @hollywoodavondale where we show a mysterious line-up of films that run non-stop. We show 12-14 films each year. This will be the 26th year. Sat Nov 1 Tickets /24HRMOVIEMARATHON Link in bio

Today we celebrate the greatness that is @anttimpson who is SIXTY today omg. 👴🏻🥳🎬 My partner in crime, my biggest support. Anyone who has ever met Ant or just shared a creative interest with him (there are so many of you) will know that he would drop anything for anyone to see an interesting perspective be brought to life. Those who have experienced this are so lucky, but I am the luckiest because I get to live with this everyday. 🥰💜 His ability to go from grumpy man yelling at the state of the world (or a wrong answer on The Chase) to dropping everything to help someone - or an animal - achieve fulfillment is just so cool. Somehow I am stumped for words today but please join me in wrapping Ant in so much aroha that words don’t matter. 🤍🤍🤍 We’ve loved each other nearly half our lives. It’s exhilarating to be with someone who can’t abide mediocre. We live and love hard and it’s the best. I have the best feeling about your 60th year..... It’s going to be so full of personal and professional adventures... We are just getting started. 💝💝💝💝💝 1. Ant’s 40th ‘dress as a movie character’ birthday party (Caddyshack and Cleopatra) 2006 2. Ant’s 50th ‘nineties themed’ birthday (LIz Hurley and some rando) 2016 3. Mexico, 2017 4. Sundance Next Fest LA, 2016 5. Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton at Libby’s 40th 2016 6. Mexico, 2012 7. Hugh and Yael’s wedding, 2010 8. Christmas jumpers 2013 9. Our famed Rotorua date the day after I was diagnosed with breast cancer, 2003 10. Thailand, 2015 11. Matching cowboys courtesy Tim and Karrie League, 2007 12. Our wedding day, Feb 2007 13. Extremely dubious life choices, Thailand 2003 14. Greasy Strangler premiere, Sundance 2016 15. Another dubious life choice, Thailand 2012 16. Fiji, 2013 17. Mexico, 2012 18. Australian premiere of Come to Daddy, 2019 19. Cuddled up and both bald, 2003 20. Tobias’s first birthday, 2008

I was born today April 21 in 1966. I came out of me mum with the caul unbroken - it happens to 1 in 80,000 births. They say I nearly suffocated and much later on, someone said it meant I could never drown. I guess I should have asked if they meant literally. This all just means I made it to sixty years old today. I woke up (a good sign) and felt the same. Should I be concerned that I don’t feel anything?! I mean I don’t feel particularly lost nor struggle to find any pressing answers in the universe. And I’m pretty sure I still love my wife, kids, family & friends. Some say this is the age you begin to turn translucent to the younger world around you and I say “thank fuck for that!” Have you seen what these dingbats are up to these days? Worryingly I think I may suffer from neural age-dysmorphia. I keep thinking I’m half my age and acting even younger. Which makes for an attractive mix of grumpiness and juvenilia. In cultural terms 1966 was simultaneously the end of something and the start of something new. So I’m going to grab that and reboot it for my life in 2026. Here’s a glimpse of what was also birthed to the world in 1966 across films/ TV/ albums that mean a lot to me. Ps - having a bit of bash later on for our joint 50/60 with Rebecca once she gets a lot better. Keep eye’s peeled to spam for that one!

BLACK DYNAMITE: This Sat 25th April 6pm💥*SPECIAL SCREENING WITH STAR / CREATOR @officialmichaeljai in the house for a Q&A with @anttimpson after the film. “There are outrageous gags, reckless bad taste and affectionate attention to detail in this funny blaxploitation spoof-homage from writer, actor and martial arts hombre Michael Jai White. He stars as “Black Dynamite”, an Afro-and-moustache-sporting warrior of the 1970s: former Vietnam vet, undercover CIA operative and righteous badass who is convulsed with rage when the Man murders his brother, and starts pushing heroin at the local orphanage. The elaborate recreation of B-movie tropes recalls the Grindhouse double-bill by Tarantino and Rodriguez, but Black Dynamite keeps the invention going for longer. Also has the feel of Zucker/Abrahams comedy of Airplane! and Kentucky Fried Movie. Very entertaining!” - The Guardian COME EARLY! Doors 5pm, Blaxploitation trailers from 5.30pm, Feature starts at 6pm sharp, Q&A commences at around 7:30pm Tickets hollywoodavondale.nz 🚨 Please if you can buy tickets ahead of time- our booking fee is 50cents - lowest in town- and you won’t miss out that way!

I remember the queueing and anticipation to see “Sasquatch” in 1977 but I don’t remember anything about seeing Star Wars. The film turned me into a lifelong devotee of all things Bigfoot. Which is wild because the film is a stiff and like most nostalgic fondness of early cinema - best left unseen through a modern lens. I saw the film at The Embassy in Auckland - a gorgeous theatre with a very steep rake. I also saw The Outlaw Josey Wales there a year before which is a film that grows in stature unlike Sasquatch - tho only one of them visits me in my dreams. These pics are from St James in Wellington on the opening Saturday. 2000 Bigfoot fans and avg kiwis filling stalls, mezzanine & Grand circle). Every session. Full house. This is what we used to have. It wasn’t just Star Wars. Thx to Graeme Edwards Kroot for these incredible photos that took me back to a time when the ballyhoo was real and cinema was king.

Hey @madeleinesami I know I was drinking heavily around that time period but do you remember this? And to my current wife @rebeccatimpson - I just want to publicly apologise for this #dadtok bigamy behaviour. We’re not in Utah now Dr Ropata!

Listen up movie fans - action superstar @officialmichaeljai White is kindly gracing the @hollywoodavondale with his legendary presence while in town for @armageddonexponz . Known by legions of fans for his martial arts prowess and kickass modern action roles - we wanted to highlight this, his passion project, the incredibly funny parody BLACK DYNAMITE - a surgically spot-on satire and loving tribute to the influential blaxploitation films of the 70s. Jai White and the entire cast are so committed to the bit that it rivals Zucker Bros (Flying High, Top Secret, Hot Shots) at their very peak. There’ll be a Q&A after the film where Michael will chat about his career and this superb comedy. Seriously folks, this will be a historic night at the Hollywood, grab ya tickets now. NOTE : Early start time 6pm sharp. Link in bio. #blaxploitationfilms #kungfucinema #michaeljaiwhite #hollywoodavondale #blackdynamite #mma

After seeing the announcement of KStew purchasing the Highland Theatre for restoration- I thought it’d be fun to look back on some photos I took when THE GREASY STRANGLER had a night shoot there back in 2015. I don’t think I ever laughed more on set than when I saw Carl Solomon’s portrayal of a cinema manager under careful eye of @jimhosking . The candy bar was given a face lift by creative titans @kisvarday & @kelsiephraim - and @skyelobar was rocking his Greasy Brayden look scaring the public and @elizabethderazzo was having her eyes popped in the cinema. @michaelstmichaels was a trooper as Greasy Ronnie as the night wore on. @notforhumanz and I crept up into the abandoned upstairs theatre which was spooky as hell and snapped a few more. Interesting to see the last films playing on the marquee before it was changed for Greasy’s big show. 2026 marks Greasy’s 10th year - premiered at Sundance Jan 22, 2016 - it continues to floor the unsuspecting and bring joy to the repeat offenders. Let’s hope we see some 10th anniversary big screen appearances this yr. And we should expect KStew & team do the right thing and invite the Greasy 20th reunion there! @spectrevision @rookfilmsofficial @electrice @toby.harvard @biggieschmaltz @timmetrocinema @wallerjoshc @martentedin @markburnetteditor @ndrewhung

Sat Jan 31, 8.30pm Presented in 35mm @hollywoodavondale Our all time favourite Hong Kong gorepalooza is back for a special one-off screening at The Hollywood. Nothing beats seeing Ricky do his thing on the big screen with a crowd of fans. Lock this one in.

EBONY & IVORY : The Guardian “Hand up, I have never seen The Greasy Strangler or An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, the pair of films that made the name of lo-fi Brit surrealist Jim Hosking. But when I saw his new one was apparently a new entry in the Paul McCartney cinematic universe, I thought I would give it a whirl. I’m glad I did because I can report it’s probably the weirdest film I’ve ever seen – not Eraserhead weird, but weird in the sense you can’t believe someone had the conviction and self-belief to get this stuff on film. Here’s what happens: a blind Black musician called Stevie turns up in a rowing boat at the island cottage of a white, mulleted, thumbs-up character called Paul (who is forever promoting a range of vegetarian meals branded “By the Wife”); the title clues you in to who they might be and what they might be doing together. Needless to say, nothing gets done, apart from dressing up as sheep and jumping into the sea. The repetitive, inane dialogue might drive you insane, but it has something of Waiting for Godot about it. This film is a genuine, unrepeatable one-off, worth seeing for its sheer bloodymindedness alone.” — Andrew Pulver Available : Amazon/ apple + more Check listings @jimhosking @umbrellaentertainment @anti_worlds @giant_pictures @spectrevision @bosenafylm