The Verdicts
The usually art-house sympathetic New York Film Critics Circle chose Return of the King as their Best Film of 2003, The American Film Institute named the film in its top-10 of the year….
Tag Archives: BBC News
Kia Ora Fellows
For the international family of actors, surfing at Lyall Bay, brunching at Chocolate Fish Cafe, the Wellington premiere was thankgiving for the city and people who have embraced them as locals during the epic…
Rings-led Revolution
“New Zealand has had a day like no other”. The world premiere of The Return of the King in Wellington outshone all expectations, with a 100,000+ crowd lining the route of the spectacular…
End of a Long Innings
Gordon Lindsay Weir, the world’s oldest surviving Test cricketer, died in Auckland on October 31 aged 95 years and 151 days. Known in cricketing circles as ‘Dad,’ the right-hand batsman and medium-pace bowler played 11 Tests for…
Seeds of Discontent
The controversial lifting of a 2-year moratorium on genetically modified crop trials in NZ has been covered extensively by the Guardian, BBC, and Wired. The issue is a divisive one in a country reliant…
East Midlands Look to the South
England’s East Midlands are looking to NZ for inspiration in their bid to become a leading holiday destination. “In the world of tourism, NZ spent many years as the poor cousin to neighbouring Australia. But thanks…
![You Make Me Feel I’m [Not] Really There](/wp-content/themes/boilerplate/post-images/jacqueline_fraser_biennale.jpg)
You Make Me Feel I’m [Not] Really There
NZ’s Jacqueline Fraser has made the shortlist for the inaugural Artes Mundi (the Wales International Visual Art Prize), which at £40,000, is the largest award made to an individual artist in the…
Brian Bows Out
BBC stalwart, Brian Perkins, has resigned from his post at Radio 4, ending a news-reading career spanning 4 decades. The Guardian describes the resignation of NZ-born broadcaster as a loss: “Perkins’ voice has come…
Aquada, Bond Aquada, 0064
International media attention was lavished on The Thames, London, for the launch of NZ-entrepreneur Alan Gibb’s revolutionary Aquada (inspired by inventor Terry Roycroft’s design innovations). The James Bond-style sports vehicle with the amphibian edge can reach up to…
“Kiwi Babe-magnet” Gets Top Billing
New Zealander Zane Lowe is to host one of Britain’s highest rating shows – the evening slot on BBC‘s Radio One. Radio One controller Andy Parfitt: “Zane is one of the most exciting presenters…
ANZACs Legend Lives On
BBC series on the National Health Service profiles Harefield Hospital and its enduring ties with NZ and Australia. Now home to one of Britain’s leading heart surgery units, Harefield was initially established as a medical centre…
Umpiring as an Art Form
BBC feature on NZ cricket umpire, Billy Bowden, tracks his unlikely rise to the top of the white-coated ranks. Bowden fell into umpiring after rheumatoid arthritis halted his own career as a player….
Weta Digital Uncovered
The Wellington-based animation team behind the Lord of the Rings‘ award-winning visual effects were one of the main attractions at the annual Siggraph exhibition in San Diego, California. Established in the 1970s, Siggraph is…
The Poetry of Exile
Displaced artists and writers from around the world gathered at Auckland University in July for a 3-day conference examining the link between exile and creativity. Organised by Professor Mike Hanne and officially opened by…
Third Way Talking Points
PM Helen Clark discusses republicanism, Iraq, same-sex marriages, prostitution reform, and The Lord of the Rings in a forum with BBC News Online’s Talking Point. Clark was in London attending Tony Blair’s ‘Third Way’ summit – a gathering…
Something to Sing About
Singing star Jonathan Lemalu gave a recital at London’s St Lawrence Jewry church as part of the City of London’s New Generations series. Financial Times: “In the English-language repertoire the young New Zealander is…
Weta’s Secrets Revealed
Te Papa’s record-breaking Lord of the Rings exhibition opens at London’s Science Museum in September – it’s only European showing before travelling to Singapore, Sydney, and Boston. The exhibition focuses on Weta Digital’s FX…
Narnia to Aotearoa
The multi-million dollar production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is now likely to be shot substantially in NZ, following the government’s decision to allow a tax-exemption grant for film companies shooting…
Burning Down the House?
NZ’s early prosperity was said to have been borne on the sheep’s back – now they’re threatening to power us into the 21st Century: NZ’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has hit upon a novel way of powering…
DIY Cruise Missile
One for the z-files surely. Taking the No.8 wire mentality a little too literally, NZ internet developer Bruce Simpson, 49, has attracted headlines across the planet for his plans to build a DIY jet-propelled missle in his…
Music for the soul
Maori music provides “one of the most moving sections” on the Grammy-nominated global project, One Giant Leap. Fronted by ex-Faithless member Jamie Catto, the groundbreaking production brings together artists including Dennis Hopper, Kurt Vonnegut,…
The Lowe-down
George Lowe along with fellow NZer Ed Hillary – attended the 5th anniversary Everest celebrations in London, as one of 7 remaining members of the 1953 expedition. Lowe was the recipient of Hillary’s now…
Lately I’ve Been Lost it Seems … Jane Austen Spiced-up
Gurinda Chadha – director of international hit Bend it Like Beckham – has cast Kiwi actor Martin Henderson as Mr Darcy in her musical version of Pride and Prejudice. Henderson, most recently seen in…
Voters Under Ring’s Influence
The Lord of the Rings trilogy was voted second most influential movie/s of the last 75 years in a poll for BBC News Online, ahead of Citizen Kane, the Godfather series and 2001: A…
Change of Pace
BBC series on ex-pat Brits profiles Jake Barnett, a London banker turned Christchurch viticulture student. Barnett has nothing but praise for the NZ wine industry, not to mention his adopted homeland. “The nearest we get to…
Auckland: An Urban Paradise
Leap-frogging Sydney, Auckland is the fifth-best city in the world to live in, according to an annual survey by Mercer Human Resources Consulting. The ranking takes into account a variety of political, social and economic factors,…
In Good Company
Kiwi songstress Hayley Westenra is to join a star-studded line-up, including Jose Carreras, at Wales’ prestigious Faenol Festival in August. According to organisers, Westenra’s performance is one of the most highly anticipated of the…
Precious Guests
Gollum and his maker are to share star-billing at the University of Teesside’s annual animation festival. Weta Digital’s lead animator, Jason Schleifer, will be on hand to deliver a series of lectures and workshops.
Epilogue Written to a Life of Words
NZ lost one of its edgiest inhabitants with the death of Janet Frame from acute myeloid leukemia on January 29. Frame, the author of 11 novels, 5 collections of short stories, a poetry collection,…
News Lexicon
“The real Middle Earth” features in the annual BBC round-up of new additions to the media lexicon. The official definition: “The country formerly known as New Zealand. An NZ government minister has been appointed unofficial ‘minister for…
Muss vs. Hollywood
“It is not just Lord of the Rings that is ushering in a golden age of Kiwi cinema. Everywhere you look, NZers are taking over Tinseltown.” From Peter Jackson, Lee Tamahori and Vincent Ward,…
Ringing its Praises
“A rare perfect mating of filmmaker and material” (NY Times). The Two Towers has been released with a series of glitzy premieres and press reviews which more than match the hype. Variety: “It’s hard to imagine…
Transit vs. Taniwha
“Maori swamp creature delays road”. The proposed upgrade to a stretch of Waikato road is of concern to local Maori, who believe that the underlying swamp-land is home to a taniwha. This, they explain, is the reason…
Independent Film in the Wars
An independent British film telling the story of a New Zealand WW2 hero has ignited a “trans-Atlantic row over Hollywood movie muscle.” Two Men Went to War is to be screened in a paltry…
These Boots Are Made for Walking … On
Dame Judith Mayhew will not seek re-election to her position as head of the City of London Corporation, claiming she is “doing too much.” She’s not joking either – see above for BBC profile. Described as “one of…
Kiwi Scientists Search for Merrick’s Ma
Joseph Merrick (the Elephant Man) is still drawing crowds. This time round, Merrick’s deformities are attracting genealogists and scientists, rather than circus-goers. A team of NZ researchers wants to find living descendents of Merrick and take samples…
South Pacific sounds
NZ group Te Vaka has made the list of nominees for next year’s BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music. The Polynesian ensemble, led by Opetaia Foa’i, describe their sound as “tribal, powerful and…
“Go to the World Girls and Conquer It.”
“Top city dame teaches Brit woman a trick or two”: BBC News series on women in business profiles overachieving NZer and head of City of London, Dame Judith Mayhew.”For a glimpse of Britain’s future, look not to…
Auckland Holding its Breath
The 2002 America’s Cup challengers series has begun (click here for BBC, CNN coverage), launched with fanfare on the streets of Auckland. The competing teams paraded through the central city, the Swedes blasting ABBA,…
Sevens Heaven
Kiwi dominance impresses at Manchester where they prove themselves masters of the form: “New Zealand dominate seven-a-side rugby the way that Lance Armstrong lords it over cycling, Tiger Woods bestrides the world of golf and…
Pacific Protest
Yachts containing more than 50 protesters from NZ, Australia and Vanuatu confronted a ship carrying nuclear waste through the Tasman Sea from Britain to Japan. According to Greenpeace, the cargo contained enough nuclear material for 50 bombs,…
Haka Mancunian Style
New Zealand athletes received a special welcome on their arrival at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. After getting the green light from the Maori Minister of Education, students from Tarvin Primary School (Cheshire) performed an enthusiastic haka…
Luck of the Irish?
Michael Campbell rose to 16th in the world rankings and received a timely boost before the upcoming British Open by winning the European Open and half a million Euro winner’s cheque. But the Maori-NZer with the…
Windies Wiped Out
Confirming their 3rd place ranking in the ICC World Test Cricket Championship the Black Caps achieved a remarkable milestone with their first ever test series victory against the West Indies on…
Some Like It Hot
Volcano enthusiasts were recently treated to a bonanza 500 kilometres north east of New Zealand. They discovered three new hydrothermal fields along the Ring of Fire which marks the boundary between the earth’s Australian and Pacific…
Model Animal Behaviour
An economic model developed by Massey University-based resource economist Dr Robert Alexander and postgraduate researcher Chris Fleming, could improve our understanding of how to help endangered species. By determining how much money particular how much money particular…
Windbreakers
NZ’s belching animals: Kiwi scientists have worked out how to reduce greenhouse emissions from cow emissions. “Lowering New Zealand’s methane emissions is necessary if the antipodean country is to meet its targets under the Kyoto Protocol,…
David Low – Century’s Best Cartoonist – On Show
David Low, the New Zealand master satirist “with an outsider’s perspective” and acclaimed as the Twentieth Century’s greatest cartoonist has his work revisited (including his most famous caricature Colonel Blimp) in a major exhibition…
For the People
Don’t cry for me Argentina. The BBC looks at the progress of KiwiBank: ” New Zealand, more often famed for its sheep population than its financial sector, is attempting to shake-up its banking system with a…
Off the Sheep’s Back?
The BBC looks at the changing iconic status and importance of the sheep to the New Zealand economy. Sheep numbers have fallen from 70 million to 40 million in the last two decades and farmers are…
Business Class Destination
New Zealand is ranked the fourth best place to do business in Asia, according to prominent think tank – the Economist Intelligence Unit. The rankings took into account 70 factors, including political risk and corruption, key…
All Blue
Former Kiwi rugby player centre Tony Marsh is “a major force” in French rugby’s resurgence in this years Six Nations tournament as the French take the Grand Slam for the first time since 1988.
Deep Sea Wonder
NZ scientists catch the biggest octopus ever found, a four-meter 75 kg giant hauled from 3,000 feet deep waters near the Chatham Islands. “It’s extremely deep, it’s extremely large, it’s the first recorded in the South Pacific,…
Paul Leads Sevens Revival
Under question marks as to his ability to cope with the code switch from league to union, Henry Paul answers his critics with a “series of virtuoso performances” in England’s Hong Kong Cup Sevens victory. “He was…
Tuatara: Taking it Easy?
BBC News features research undertaken by Victoria University Tuatara Research Group (Professor Charles Daugherty and student Nicola Nelson) into the habitat of New Zealand’s “living fossil”, the tuatara. “They’ve been around since the time of the dinosaurs, so…
Oscar Post
They’ll need a nui kete: The technical and creative talent of the NZ film industry acknowledged with Oscars. The Andrew Adamson directed Shrek takes best animated feature. Peter Jackson’s first installment in the Lord…
