The pair’s nanny was deemed an “essential worker” and permitted to enter New Zealand to look after their child while they finished filming Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog.
The cast and crew of the film applied to return to New Zealand in May to finish three weeks of filming after production ceased during the country’s first lockdown.
Dunst and Plemons had returned to America during the break in filming and needed permission to return with their two-year-old son Ennis.
Briefings to the Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford show that Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) staff argued the nanny was an essential worker.
“We consider that the nanny is an essential worker, as she is essential for the care for the dependant of one of the principal actors,” the advice said.
“A challenge will be ensuring that the workers are genuinely highly skilled and their roles can’t be sourced in New Zealand,” officials added.
“There may be a perception risks of whether some of these workers are essential (for example, a nanny).”
The pair were denied a request for special quarantine arrangements when they arrived back in the country in May.
Plemons and Dunst were forced to quarantine at an Auckland hotel after their applications to self-isolate at a remote rural property were rejected.
