What the rest of the country thinks about a stupid sign

Why not PLYWOOD after all that is the material that has been the staple ingredient of every film ever made here. And that would fuck the LA lawyers up….

The criticism in the Herald of “Wellywood” encapsulates the views of many. To abbreviate it “what has Wellington got to be proud of, Auckland’s film industry is bigger”.
Size and anonymity are not everything. Anonymity is good if you have something to be anonymous about or if it’s a tall poppy world looking to scythe down anyone successful.
Wellington the Celebration Capital? 10,000 people took their shirts of to celebrate a Phoenix victory. Everyone felt good about it. The Rugby Union is getting worried by its fans lack of celebration and upper torso nudity. It isn’t Kiwi Stoic or Auckland Anonymous, but maybe it feels good to show that we are pleased to have successful people living here and good things happening here.
There are also pragmatic reasons for a sign. Wellington is a popular tourist destination. Wow, 7s, AC/DC, TePapa, Zealandia, NZSO, Circa, Restaurants, etc mean Wellington has a growing range of things people enjoy. This list needs to grow so that Aucklanders and Sydney-siders have new reasons to visit, and to provide a hook for those with different interests. Ask an American “what do you know of New Zealand?” LoTR and Flight of the Concords are by far the most commonly quoted things, only a few also know All Blacks, lamb and “its beautiful”. In Asia LoTR is on some radars. Tourism is a crucial industry for Wellington, ask any taxi driver, tourists spend.
“Wellywood” is a celebration of a Wellington success story. A way to say “isn’t it great that some of us are really good at something, lets tell everyone”. It is also waiving a flag “look another reason to come here”.
Will a sign really make a difference? Its drawn plent of attention so far.
The “yes but” response of “a sign is OK, but not this tacky and derivative one” only shows that the person hasn’t been to Hollywood to check out that true authentic experience. “Hollywood”, “Bollywood”, “Wellywood” all say one thing “We have a film industry”. Is there a better way to get that message across on one word?
Lets run with George Lucas “The secret to film is that it’s an illusion”, rather than Sam Goldwyn “I never put on a pair of shoes until I’ve worn them at least five years.” or Christina Aguilera “So, where’s the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?”