Everard graduated with a BA in psychology from Victoria University of Wellington and worked for 19 years as a writer, editor and director at the National Film Unit.
[1] He directed films such as Margan’s Musical Move (1971) in which he captured the drama of classical music by filming tanks firing shells, and with John King, Sam Pillsbury and Paul Maunder, Games ‘74, a documentary about the 1974 Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch.
And you’re sitting in the middle, trying to keep the peace.”[2] After passing the film I Spit on Your Grave in 1984, Everard’s tenure as Chief Censor was marked by attacks from Women Against Pornography and the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards ( the conservative Christian lobby group headed by Patricia Bartlett ), both of which campaigned for his removal.
Women Against Pornography in particular called for “his resignation and the establishment of an independent tribunal of women to replace him.”[3] Eventually, Parliament passed the Films Amendment Act in 1990 to impose a limit of six consecutive years on the length of time a person could remain Chief Censor, effectively forcing Everard from office in 1991.
He also wrote record reviews for newspapers and the New Zealand Listener and is currently the science and technology correspondent for a wine and spirits industry publication.