Maori Mary's Nativity
Keisha Castle-Hughes' new film The Nativity Story opened to praise from the Vatican at its world premiere, when the film was greeted with applause by an audience of more than 7,000 at the Vatican's Pope Paul VI auditorium. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, described the film as a faithful representation of the gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus Christ: "It is well done. It reproposes this event which changed history with realism but also with a sense of great respect of the mystery of the Nativity." The Vatican's endorsement of the film is seen as significant in light of 16-year old Castle-Hughes' pregnancy, announced in October. The Maori actress of Whale Rider fame was joined in her starring role by a truly multi-cultural cast, including actor Oscar Isaac of Guatemalan heritage, playing Joseph, and Shohreh Aghdashloo, a Muslim actress playing Mary's cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. The Nativity Story was released in the US and most other countries on 1 December to decidedy mixed reviews. 
(29 November 2006)

Conchords take flight in US
America's HBO network has commissioned a 12-part series based on Kiwi folk music parody duo Flight of the Conchords. Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement are to star in the series, which will feature original songs from their award-winning comedy act. A pilot episode has already been shot, with the help of Ali G director James Bobin and Everybody Loves Raymond executive producer Stu Smiley. The Conchords have previously appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC), The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (CBS) and One Night Stand (HBO), and starred in their own BBC2 radio series. HBO is renowned for producing high-risk hits such as Sex & the City and The Sopranos. 
(11 September 2006)

Another classic set for Edge treatment 
Peter Jackson is heading a big budget remake of classic British war film, The Dam Busters. Jackson will produce the movie, with fellow Kiwi and long time collaborator, Christian Rivers, making his directing debut. The 1954 film told the true story of how British forces developed bouncing bombs to destroy German dams in World War II. Jackson fell in love with the film after seeing it as a child. "There's that wonderful mentality of the British during the war - that heads-down, persevering, keep-on-plugging-away mentality which is the spirit of Dam Busters," he told industry trade paper, Screen Daily. The US$30-40 million project is due to start filming next year. 
(31 August 2006)

From screen to stage, Henderson impresses 
Kiwi actor Martin Henderson is currently walking the boards at London's Apollo Theatre with a lead role in Sam Shepard's Fool For Love. Henderson stars alongside American actress Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers) in the bleak story of sexual desperation, which shocked American audiences on its original 1983 release. Henderson's performance is the strongest of the cast, according to Guardian critic Michael Billington. "There's a telltale moment when Eddie lassoes a bedpost in a demonstration of macho power: Henderson does it with the negligent ease of a man who has spent half his life in the saddle. But he also implies that Eddie, for all his imposing authority, is fundamentally weak: however much he may lust after May or bully her date, he is reduced to a quivering wreck when his current meal ticket comes in pursuit of him in a black Mercedes." 
(16 June 2006)

Flux flexes its global muscle
Auckland-based Flux Animation has signed a $US5.7 million contract to work on the eagerly anticipated Singaporean children's series, Master Raindrop. Flux joins Singapore's Big Communications and German television company Yoram Gross-EM on the project, which has already been sold to Australia's Seven Network, TVNZ and Nickleodeon Asia. A 2D/3D animated action adventure comedy series, Master Raindrop is based on classic Asian myths and legends. "This will be the first official co-production between NZ and Singapore," says Flux managing director Brent Chambers. "It represents a huge step forward for the NZ industry." 
(29 April 2006)

Keith gets the Grammy
Whangarei-born country music sensation, Keith Urban, has won his first Grammy Award. Urban was named best male country vocal performer ahead of Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Delbert McClinton and Brad Paisley. This follows his best entertainer and male vocalist trophies at last year's Country Music Awards. Urban's Grammy win was nearly overshadowed by his date to the awards - actress Nicole Kidman, the first public appearance by the couple.
(17 February 2006)

All features great and small 
Debate over the effects of big budget US films such as King Kong and the Narnia series being filmed in NZ continues, with most in favour of the Hollywood blockbusters. "The blockbusters have been phenomenally helpful for people like us trying to get a film made," says Toa Fraser, whose debut feature No.2 recently won an audience award at Sundance. "I embrace the blockbusters and the Hollywood back lot as long as we can use it to tell our own stories." Hollywood funded films have boosted local production financing to a record NZ$596 million ($406 million) in the year ended 31 March 2005, from roughly NZ$300 million in 1999. "That two of the biggest films in the world were made in NZ is an extraordinary achievement,'' says NZ Film Commission CEO Ruth Harley. "Our industry is the most vibrant it has ever been."
(9 February 2006)

Crowe to fly the coop 
With Australia Day been and gone the Aussies wonder when NZ born Russell Crowe will officially become one of their own. According to Sydney's Daily Telegraph, "the country's most celebrated Kiwi" was confirmed for a live-to-air citizenship ceremony on Australia Day (January 26) but had to pull out because the formalities could not be organised in time. 
(27 January 2006)

Juggling juggernauts with local stories 
NY Times piece entitled 'Spunky NZ film Industry Takes on the Hollywood Juggernaut' ponders the pros and cons of NZ's bold new presence in the international film community. Interviewees such as director Vincent Ward and producer John Barnett worry that big budget Hollywood projects shot in NZ have driven up production costs for more modest, local films. "You get six years of Xena and Hercules, three or four years of Lord of the Rings or a year or two of King Kong, and you have a whole generation of film crews who have worked only on big-budget productions," says Barnett. "And they say, 'This is what I get paid, and it's your problem if it's a low-budget job.'" NZ Film Commission CEO Ruth Harley opposes the view that big budget projects stifle their local counterparts, pointing out that "the year under review has been one of the most successful in the organization's 27-year history, with more local films being made than ever and more local films winning awards and acclaim overseas." Producer Tim White, production designer Phil Ivey and OnFilm editor Nick Gant also support the new balancing act between an international and national film industry. "Those big films provide some continuity of work for local film crews," says White. "Then those people bring skills they've honed to smaller productions like [Toa Fraser's] No.2." 
(2 January 2006)

The many facets of King Kong
Peter Jackson's King Kong graced the cover of the January issue of Cinefex, America's premiere cinema effects magazine. Inside is a 45-page in depth look at the incredibly detailed digital, physical and emotional processes which went into the making of the film. The article is the result of extensive interviews with 30 people involved in the 2005 remake, including director Peter Jackson, whose interview is available online at the Cinefex website. Cinefex: "Mounted on a scale that, in many respects, outstripped the Lord of the Rings films - with more visual effects than any single Tolkein film, and more creatures and miniatures than the entire trilogy combined - King Kong pushed all levels of production to new heights." Despite the technical wizardry involved, Jackson believes the true impact of the film stems from the enduring emotional resonance of the original story. "I always felt that we love Kong because we understand his tragedy … The basic irony and the terrible tragedy is that Kong follows his heart and that leads to his downfall. That, I think, is what gives the story its power." 
(January 2006)

Scene stealer 
The Guardian introduces its readers to up-and-coming NZ actress Emily Barclay, star of In My Father's Den and Suburban Mayhem. Born in Plymouth, Devon, Barclay escaped the period drama/soapie route of her English acting contemporaries by moving to NZ at age three. Guardian: "Two movies in and she's already stealing films from more experienced actors. She'll go far." 
(22 December 2006)

Kiwi shakes up Bond
Hastings-born director Martin Campbell has created the best James Bond film since the days of Sean Connery, according to ecstatic critics from over the world. Variety: "Casino Royale sees Bond himself recharged with fresh toughness and arrogance, along with balancing hints of sadism and humanity, just as the fabled series is reinvigorated by going back to the basics." BBC: "Casino Royale is a 1,000 watt volt to the heart of a flagging franchise, bringing Bond kicking - and frequently screaming - back to life." Starring new Bond Daniel Craig, Casino Royale is designed to reboot rather than preclude the rest of the series. "The point about this story is that he's much more human," says Campbell in an interview with Movie Web. "The idea was that when you go back to basics with Bond, he's a much younger Bond and a different Bond." Based in the UK, Campbell's films include The Mask of Zorro, Vertical Limit and previous Bond instalment, Goldeneye. 
(17 November 2006)

Bring on the sheep jokes... Following a rousing reception at this year's Toronto Film Festival, NZ film Black Sheep has sparked a "bidding frenzy" amongst distributors in Asia, Latin America and Europe. The film was recently acquired by IFC Entertainment and The Weinstein Company for theatrical release in North America, after equally intense negotiations. A horror-comedy in the vein of Peter Jackson's Bad Taste and Braindead, Black Sheep is about a murderous pack of genetically mutated sheep. It is written and directed by Jonathan King and features special effects by Wellington's Weta Workshop. 
(11 November 2006)

Jackson gets his game on 
Peter Jackson has extended his relationship with Microsoft by signing on for two further film adaptations of the company's computer games. Wingnut's Jackson and Fran Walsh are currently executive-producing a film adaptation of the best-selling Halo franchise; next he will produce a sequel to Halo as well as an original film with an interactive game spin-off. He has also announced the imminent launch of Wingnut Interactive Studio, a NZ-based production house which will develop new properties for Microsoft's Xbox 360 next-generation console. "Microsoft has built an amazing living canvas with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, which allows the storytellers of our time to express themselves in a new medium," says Jackson. "...From a movie-maker's point of view, it is clear to me that the Xbox 360 platform is the stage where storytellers can work their craft in the same way they do today with movies and books, but taking it further with interactivity." 
(29 September 2006)

Fourth Emmy for Keoghan, Amazing Race 
Christchurch-born Producer/Host Phil Keoghan lined up for his fourth successive Emmy Award in Los Angeles for Outstanding Reality/Competition Program. The Amazing Race is now in its 10th season. Teams race for more than 40,000 miles in under 30 days in pursuit of the $1 million prize. Also featuring at the Emmys was Wellington-born UK screenwriter Richard Curtis, who won for outstanding writing for a miniseries, movie or dramatic special for The Girl in the Café. The work of New Plymouth-born cinemaphotographer Rodney Charters helped the heart-pounding thriller 24 to the Emmy for best drama for the first time and the show's star Kiefer Sutherland for best actor in a drama.
(August 28 2006)

Epic in more ways than one 
NZ director Vincent Ward relates the harrowing experience of filming River Queen in a candid interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. Weather, illness and car crashes aside, it was lead actress Samantha Morton who provided most of the drama on set. "Samantha is one of the most talented actresses I have ever worked with, but the reality is she's lived a tough life … I saw grown men cry [on set]. She made them cry," he says. "[But] I'm a director, so I defend my actors. I defend talent and she's fantastic, so I forgive talent anything." River Queen is the epic story of a woman caught on both sides of a brutal war between English colonialists and a Maori tribe in 1860s NZ. 
(30 June 2006)

Coming of age Keisha
Castle-Hughes is to star alongside Toni Collette in the upcoming Australian black comedy Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger. Castle-Hughes plays a 13-year-old Jewish girl struggling to fit in both at school and at home. Filming takes place in Adelaide and Sydney in October. 
(11 May 2006)

Starlet with edge 
Kiwi actress Emily Barclay (In My Father's Den) has the starring role in Suburban Mayhem, an Australian film currently screening at Cannes. A very black comedy, Suburban Mayhem revolves around an amoral young single mother (Barclay) who decides to kill her father. It is the much-hyped debut feature by 27-year-old Australian screenwriter Alice Bell. "I didn't find [my character Katrina] totally unsympathetic," said Barclay in her first press conference. "She's manipulative and volatile and lawless, but she's also crazy and wild and takes no prisoners and doesn't answer to anyone." 
(21 April 2006)

No.1 fan turned majority shareholder 
Russell Crowe has teamed up with businessman Peter Holmes à Court to buy a 75% share of the South Sydney "Rabbitohs" rugby league club. A lifelong supporter of the Rabbitohs, Crowe has contributed large sums of money to the community-owned club in the past. His $3 million bid to win the majority share was successful after more than the required 70% of shareholders voted in its favour. "He wanted us to win a premiership last year, he wants us to win a premiership this year, and the year after ... Russell just can't stand losing anything," says Holmes à Court, who will act as executive chairman. 
(22 March 2006)

Keoghan living large 
LA Times interviews Phil Keoghan, the Kiwi host of Emmy Award-winning reality series The Amazing Race. The "savvy NZ native" discusses everything from his lucky break into TV ("there was no degree that you could do in broadcasting and communications, so out of the whole country they would take two people from all the high schools to work for the national network, and I was lucky enough to get one of the spaces") to his life-altering brush with death while filming Spot On ("I said I wasn't going to live my life the same way, so I wrote a list of things to do before I died. Then I decided that I would do everything humanly possible to turn the list that I wrote into my living.") The Amazing Race recently began its ninth season on US network CBS. 
(12 March 2006)

Spotlight on Niki Caro 
North Country director Niki Caro was interviewed before a live studio audience by the Guardian's Sandra Hebron, alongside the star of her film (and new best mate) Charlize Theron. "[North Country] was a script that really shocked me, because it's real and it's recent," says Caro of the gruelling dramatisation of America's first major successful sexual discrimination lawsuit. "This case wasn't settled until 1998. So, for somebody from NZ, which is socially pretty progressive, and who's been fortunate enough to grow up as I have, it was a very good project to do." Theron admitted to "secretly stalking" Caro: "I'd gone to see Whale Rider, like everybody else, and really fell in love with Niki through that film. And so I stalked her - I was trying to see what she was doing next … For me, we had instant chemistry. We started finishing each other's sentences and I was just ecstatic to start with her. She was really the person who catapulted me into really wanting to do this." 
(3 February 2006)

Whale Rider to North Country
Whale Rider director Niki Caro has officially earned her Hollywood stripes with the release of Warner Brothers' North Country. Starring Charlize Theron, Sissy Spacek, Frances McDormand and Sean Bean, North Country is a fictionalised account of the first major sexual harassment case in the US. Variety describes the film as "an emotionally potent story told with great dignity" in which Caro "creates a vivid sense of the women's isolation and powerlessness." Charlize Theron made the long trip to Auckland for North Country's NZ premiere, telling NZPA "I wanted to come and support Niki because I know that this is her home town and I'm so incredibly proud of her." Theron has been nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress for her performance. 
(28 January 2006)

Buddha Wild On
The distinctive and original film "Buddha Wild Monk in the Hut" by LA/Christchurch director and actress Anna Wilding (Carpe Diem Films) premiered at the Laemmle Cinema Los Angeles on March 24. Shot in a gritty news style combined with the full colours and sounds of a poetic narrative feature, Buddha Wild travels inside Thai culture and the Sri Lankan and Thai Buddhist missionary life. It discusses issues of war and religion, and the role of women in Asia. "A surprisingly pleasant trip" with a "homespun honesty and integrity" said LA Weekly. Union Jack newspaper said the film “captures our attention; the monks open up the most they have in a long time". Anna Wilding says the film contains a simple message - to treat each other with respect and "loving kindness". She says of the monks, "they have a freedom we do not have, yet they have a freedom we will never know."
(2006)

Keisha treads softly in big role 
In a bright spot among reviews, The New York Times applauds director Catherine Hardwicke's sensitive re-telling of a central Christian narrative with The Nativity Story, released in time for Christmas on December 1. Some of the review's strongest praise goes to actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, who tackled the starring role of Mary. "[The] 16-year-old New Zealand actress ... seems entirely unfazed by the demands of playing Mary. She has the poise and intelligence to play the character not as an icon of maternity, but rather as a headstrong, thoughtful adolescent transformed by an unimaginable responsibility. Mary's stubbornness and her honesty make her entirely believable, and the film's most subtle and lively dramatic thread concerns her maturation from an ordinary Nazareth teenager into a wife and expectant mother." 
(1 December 2006)

No opportunity wasted 
Emmy Award winning, adventure TV producer and presenter, Phil Keoghan returns to New Zealand to host new local series N.O.W. - No Opportunity Wasted. Based on the hugely successful Discovery Channel series and book of the same title, N.O.W. gives 26 New Zealanders the chance to realise their dreams, conquer fears and meet amazing challenges, all within a period of 72 hours. The inspiration for the show comes directly from Keoghan's own zealous life philosophy, attributed to a near-death experience at the age of 19. "The idea behind N.O.W. is to give people the chance…to break their rules, let go of the handrails, face their fears, take a leap of faith and swerve off the road they've been following for years", says Keoghan. No Opportunity Wasted screens in New Zealand on Sunday nights at 7.30pm on TV2.
(17 November 2006)

Film delves into darkest past
Cinematical reviews Out of the Blue, Robert Sarkies' controversial new film about the 1990 Aramoana massacre. The film stars Matthew Sunderland as David Gray, the gunman who killed 13 of his neighbours in the small coastal town. Cinematical: "The film handles the dreadful events of that day, and the grief of the town, quite respectfully, while staying as true to the facts as possible, based on police reports and survivor accounts and, perhaps more importantly, by keeping the focus on the people of Aramoana and their response to the tragedy, rather than focusing heavily on Gray." Out of the Blue has caused considerable consternation in NZ, with many feeling it is too soon to see the tragedy unfold on screen. Chief censor Bill Hastings will meet with families of the victims to discuss the classification of the film. "People are still alive that have had to deal with the original event - it's not as if it's a film about World War 1," he says in Stuff. "It's a live issue, so it presents an unusual situation." 
(17 September 2006)

World class visionaries 
Weta Digital is to provide special effects for upcoming Hollywood blockbuster Avatar. Directed by James Cameron, the US$200 million sci-fi epic will be almost entirely made up of computer generated action. Cameron used George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic for visual effects in his previous films Titanic, The Abyss and Terminator 2, but has switched to Weta Digital on the strength of its award-winning performance capture animation. "Weta have proven themselves a leader in visionary effects," says Cameron. "Along with their world-class capability comes a genuine passion to blaze new trails." 
(4 August 2006)

The Edge in 24 
The tense, edgy feel of the Emmy Award-winning series 24 is largely propelled by the work of New Zealander Rodney Charters csc asc, who has been Director of Photography for all five series. Growing up in New Plymouth, Charters tagged along with his father, a still photographer who served as a photo reconnaissance technician for the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II. He graduated from the University of Auckland with a B.A. in art history and the Royal College of Art in London. His first feature film work was on Youngblood in 1986 and Charters has subsequently lensed Car 54, Where Are You? Kull the Conqueror and The Intern. Before 24, he worked as DOP or director on Roswell, The Pretender and Hercules and has shot more than a dozen TV movies. Since the plots of 24 are complex and pile intrigue upon intrigue, Charters uses handheld cameras, unusual angles, out-of-focus shots and constant movement to build tension. The DOP said he tries "to give the impression that you (the audience) are an observant participant in the action as it unfolds." Charters said he is applying the documentary training he acquired early in his career to his work on 24. "To be a documentary shooter is to do a delicate dance between you and the subject. You want to get the viewer to see what you felt was important."
(August 2006)

Vampires invade Auckland
Vampire film 30 Days of Night is the latest Hollywood blockbuster to be filmed in NZ. Based on a horror comic book series, 30 Days of Night is set in Alaska where locals live in complete darkness for one month a year. The film will be co-produced by Spiderman director Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, who is married to Kiwi actress Lucy Lawless. Shooting begins in Auckland in July. 
(10 May 2006)

Too much too soon? 
The release of United 93 - the first Hollywood film about 9/11 - has sparked controversy in the US, as well as further afield in NZ. Directed by Paul Greengrass (Bloody Sunday, The Bourne Supremacy), United 93 follows in real time the one flight which failed to reach its intended target, instead crashing in a Pennsylvania field and killing all on board. Subsequent cockpit voice recordings reveal an attempt to overpower the terrorists by a group of passengers. One of these passengers was Alan Beaven, a NZ environmental lawyer played in the film by British actor Simon Poland. "For me personally, I'm not sure I'd go [to the film.] I think it would be a little too close to home," says brother Ralph Beaven in Stuff. "I don't want to go down that track again. It would be very emotionally charged, especially seeing someone else represent your brother." United 93 opens in the US April 28. 
(16 April 2006)

Pride of the Asia-Pacific 
Sam Neill is the inaugural subject of Peschardt's People, a 13-part BBC series hosted by veteran foreign correspondent Michael Peschardt. The series aims to introduce global viewers to "some of the most famous people in the Asia-Pacific region," such as Neill, burns specialist and Australian of the Year Dr Fiona Wood, Singaporean violin virtuoso Vanessa Mae, and groundbreaking Indian author Shobhaa De. Peschardt spent three days on Neill's private estate and vineyard in Central Otago discussing everything from multiculturalism in NZ to his relationship with Steven Spielberg. "Sam was utterly charming," says Peschardt in the Age. "And he wasn't acting." 
(30 March 2006)

Another lovable monster for Letteri 
Weta Digital head Joe Letteri is to be visual effects supervisor on the upcoming children's feature, The Water Horse. Letteri was part of the Oscar-winning visual effects team for Peter Jackson's King Kong. Based on the book by Dick King-Smith, The Water Horse tells the story of a lonely boy in Scotland who finds a mysterious egg on the shore of a loch. The film begins production in Scotland and NZ in May 2006. 
(9 March 2006)

Hansen homeward bound?
MTV Europe’s head, New Zealander Brent Hansen has retired after nearly two decades with the company. Hansen joined MTV in 1987 as a news producer and soared through the ranks to become the President of Creative and Editor in Chief of MTV Networks International. “Brent’s strong, creative instincts have … helped us achieve a unique editorial voice and music credibility that will continue to lend integrity to our brands for years to come,” says MTV Networks International president Bill Roedy. Always maintaining he would retire from the top job at 50, and after 18 years in London, Hansen is looking forward to making “time for my relationship with New Zealand.” 
(17 February 2006)

Model of multi-tasking 
RH is the host of new US reality TV show Style Me. In an interview with Media Village, she describes the show as "offering real honest and interesting insight into the world of stylists." RH has numerous other ventures, including designing men's and women's jewellery for Demeter's Goddess Collection and writing a book - "not about who my lovers were, but my personal experiences, from my children to my love of Africa." 
(26 January 2006)

Demon talent 
NZ's Emily Barclay was named Best Lead Actress for her role in Suburban Mayhem at the Australian Film Industry (AFI) awards, December 7. The 22-year-old beat heavyweights Laura Linney (Jindabyne), Abbie Cornish (Candy) and Teresa Palmer (2:37) for the honour. "Emily is very, very brave and the performance needed to be slightly reckless - a demon that possesses your soul for a while," said Suburban Mayhem director Paul Goldman in the Herald Sun. The film itself was nominated for 12 AFI's and won three - for Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Hayes) and Best Original Music Score (Mick Harvey). 
(8 December 2006)

Starlet with an edge 
Rising NZ star Emily Barclay has been named Best Actress at Australia's Inside Film Awards for her role as an amoral teenage single mother in the black comedy Suburban Mayhem. In what are referred to as the people's choice awards, the Australian public voted via the internet and SMS to give Barclay the accolade, over more established nominees including Hollywood actress Laura Linney. Barclay has also been nominated for Best Lead Actress in the prestigious Australian Film Institute Awards, announced on 7 December. A Sydney Morning Herald profile calls Barclay "New Zealand's hottest acting export since Keisha Castle-Hughes and Anna Paquin" and includes glowing tributes from those who have worked with her so far. "Em is pretty special," says Suburban Mayhem director Paul Goldman. "She's going to go off and have an amazing career." Next up for the 22-year-old is Bronte, in which she stars along with Michelle Williams and Nathalie Press as the Bronte sisters. Filming begins in England in March. 
(18 November 2006)

NZ research centre opens in London 
NZ film No.2 received a gala screening at last year's London Film Festival, which ran from 18 October to 2 November. Festival sponsor Air New Zealand hosted the event, which included a panel discussion on 'The Multicultural Fabric of NZ Film' featuring Roger Donaldson, Christine Parker, Alan Harris, Philippa Campbell, Kerry Fox and No.2 writer/director Toa Fraser. Chairing the discussion was Dr Ian Conrich, a UK-based scholar of NZ film. Conrich is founding director of the NZ Studies Centre, a research hub for the study of NZ culture which opened in London on January 15. Among other things, the centre houses the largest collection of NZ film and film-related material outside of the country. 
(18 October-2 November 2006)

Lonely no more 
A young NZ actress has been outed as global internet sensation LonelyGirl15. Otherwise known as Bree - a naive home-schooled 16-year-old - LonelyGirl15 has captured the hearts of teenage boys the world over with her quirky online video diaries on YouTube and MySpace. After months of conspiracy theories and online sleuthing, the San Francisco Chronicle revealed the girl behind LonelyGirl to be Mount Maunganui-raised Jessica Rose, a 19-year-old graduate of Auckland's Studio 111 and the New York Film Academy. The online phenomenon - likened to the Blair Witch Project - was the brainchild of Californian filmmakers Ramesh Flinders and Miles Beckett, and software engineer Grant Steinfield. After the relentless press interest since her outing, it remains to be seen whether Rose is Hollywood's next big thing or its latest and greatest hoax. 
(13 September 2006)

Once the Muss, always the Muss
Temuera Morrison talks to Japan's CrissCross News about the NZ film industry, his plans for the future, and his now legendary portrayal of Jake Heke in Once Were Warriors. "I was in Sweden signing autographs for Star Wars at a convention and just about everyone brought in a poster of Once Were Warriors for me to sign," he says. "It was a groundbreaking film." Morrison's latest film is Vincent Ward's River Queen. 
(17 July 2006)

Kiwi thesps impress 
Sam Neill charmed the British film press while promoting his latest UK release, Little Fish. Guardian: "In the Q&A session that followed [the premiere], his performance as Sam Neill was as compelling as his performance in the movie. He was dry, languid, meticulous." Neill's next role is Cardinal Wolsley in Henry VIII, now filming in Ireland. Also making the UK promotional rounds for Little Fish is Martin Henderson, dubbed a rising star in the Observer. Henderson is currently "the toast of London's West End" after his compelling performance alongside Juliet Lewis in the play Fool for Love. "I just want to keep challenging myself," he says. "Keep moving the goalposts and raising my game. Little Fish has reminded me why I fell in love with acting in the first place." 
(24 July 2006)

When Denzel met Peter 
Oscar winning actor Denzel Washington made a fleeting visit to Wellington in June to discuss a possible film project with Peter Jackson. According to Wellington's Dominion Post, Washington wants Jackson's Weta Workshop and Weta Digital to provide special effects for a film he is directing. Jackson and team are currently working on a film adaptation of Alice Sebold's book The Lovely Bones, as well as executive producing a film version of the video game Halo. 
(30 June 2006)

Impeccable balancing act 
Anna Paquin is back in the news with a spate of new film projects nearing release. A Times profile, reprinted in The Australian, charts her "impeccably navigated career path," from The Piano to her present day status as comic fan's sex symbol, courtesy of her recurring role as Rogue in the X-Men series. As well as the third X-Men instalment, Paquin features in the critically acclaimed comedy/drama The Squid and the Whale, directed by rising star Noah Baumbach, and upcoming indie flick You Can Count on Me, by playwright/director Kenneth Lonergan. Next on the cards is Blue State, a romantic comedy produced by Paquin's brother Andrew under the Paquin Films name. Anna will both star in and executive produce the film. 
(12 April 2006)

Grey Lynn on the silver screen 
South Pacific Pictures' feature Sione's Wedding has received rave reviews in NZ and Samoa following its February premiere. Written by Oscar Kightley and James Griffin, the comedy revolves around a group of first and second generation Pacific Islanders living in Grey Lynn, Auckland. In acknowledgement of the film's central Polynesian themes, the cast and crew decided to hold an official premiere in Samoa at Apia's Magik Cinema, with stars such as Kightley, Robbie Magasiva and Teuila Blakely in attendance. Griffin describes Sione's Wedding as "a contemporary, urban story set in the Polynesian world … a kind of romantic comedy for guys. It's about universal themes of love and respect and friendship, told from a Polynesian perspective." 
(29 March 2006)

A master of confrontational cinema 
The March issue of Inside Film includes a lengthy feature on the latest project by edge writer/director Andrew Niccol - Lord of War. Starring Nicolas Cage and Ethan Hawke, Lords of War is a morally confronting black comedy about the international arms trade. Given the nature of the film Hollywood refused to back it, despite the success of Niccol's previous (and in their way equally subversive) films The Truman Show, Gattaca and S1M0NE. Niccol himself raised the required $50 million to film Lords of War overseas and then sold it back to the studios. "In France it was the number one film, which seemed to say something about the national attitude," says Niccol. "A lot of the reviews in the States were really quite good - but they went on to say that the problem was that nobody should be allowed to make it!" 
(March 2006)

 

No.2 No.1 
Toa Fraser's debut feature No.2 won the World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic at the 25th Sundance Film Festival in February. "[From] a humble backyard in Mt. Roskill in the Pacific, on behalf of the hundreds of people that worked on and invested in the movie, we want to thank the audiences of the Sundance Film Festival, for coming and celebrating life with us," said Fraser in his acceptance speech. "God bless Mt. Roskill." Two World Cinema Audience awards are bestowed at Sundance each year, one for dramatic film the other for documentary. 
(10 February 2006)