Amanda Neale

Amanda Neale is a New Zealand based costume designer with a rich background in film and television. Amanda holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Woman’s Studies from Canterbury University. After relocating to Wellington in the mid 90s to pursue studies in Motion picture production, Amanda found her community among emerging local filmmakers. Initially working in the art department Amanda quickly found her passion was in costume. Amanda’s costume training began onset as a standby for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and she continued to gain valuable onset experience working on major films such as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy:The Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, Return of the King), The Last Samurai, and The Lovely Bones. Since 1998 Amanda has stepped into the role of costume designer on many independent films, collaborating with director Robert Sarkis for Scarifies, Two Little Boys, and Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story and notably director Taika Waititi for Eagle vs Shark, Boy, and What We Do in the Shadows.

From this, she went onto design What We Do in the Shadows television spin off Wellington Paranormal (Season 1) with writer Jermaine Clement, which continued onto the FX series of What We Do in the Shadows (Seasons 1-2). Amanda expanded her international profile as the associate costume designer on Jane Champion’s Top of the Lake, then collaborated with James Vanderbilt’s on his directorial debut Truth, featuring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford, followed by Disney’s Pete’s Dragon directed by David Lowery, reuniting Amanda with Redford once again.

Other notable credits include Warner Bros The Meg (2016) directed by John Turteltaub, STX films Adrift (2017) directed by Baltasar Kormakur, and Netflix’s Sweet Tooth (Seasons 1-3) Jim Mickle’s celebrated comic adaptation. Most recently, Amanda is credited with Warner Bros A Minecraft Movie, helmed by Jared Hess, followed by Paramount’s Heart of the Beast, directed by David Ayre, starring Brad Pitt.

Amanda Lives in Queenstown, New Zealand with her partner and daughter.