News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Dean O’Gorman Gets Kirk Douglas’ Seal of Approval

Dean O’Gorman Gets Kirk Douglas’ Seal of Approval

When Aucklander Dean O’Gorman, 38, was cast in the plum role of Kirk Douglas in Trumbo, the new biopic about blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, he decided to ask the legendary actor if he wouldn’t…

Finola Dwyer Tells Her Mother’s Story in Brooklyn

Finola Dwyer Tells Her Mother’s Story in Brooklyn

New Zealand-born, London-based producer Finola Dwyer has “impeccable taste,” according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Her latest collaboration with author Nick Hornby is Brooklyn, the film version of Colm Toibin’s 2009 novel. Dwyer has made…

Kitten Rugby World Cup

Kitten Rugby World Cup

Kiwi comedy duo Jono and Ben have recreated the highlights of the New Zealand vs. France Rugby World Cup match in a video with a twist – their clip features kittens rather…

Del Toro’s Crimson Peak Inspired by Night in Haunted Kiwi Hotel

Del Toro’s Crimson Peak Inspired by Night in Haunted Kiwi Hotel

Guillermo Del Toro’s newest movie Crimson Peak reportedly is inspired by nights he spent in haunted hotels – one of them a New Zealand hotel, where he stayed while scouting locations for The Hobbit films. When he…

Phil Keoghan’s Road to Adventure

Phil Keoghan’s Road to Adventure

Now in its 27th season, The Amazing Race continues to push people to do extraordinary things at all ends of the earth and New Zealand-born host Phil Keoghan, 48, loves to see people out…

Obviously Deathgasm Is a Family Film

Obviously Deathgasm Is a Family Film

“Making his feature directing debut after several years on the FX teams of such films as The Avengers and The Hobbit, New Zealander Jason Lei Howden delivers a pic that will play very well…

Jane Campion One of Cinema’s Most Powerful Women

Jane Campion One of Cinema’s Most Powerful Women

“From Golden Age trailblazers to modern-day ass-kickers,” the Telegraph introduces its readers to Hollywood’s 34 “most influential, inventive and important women,” including our very own Jane Campion. A director, writer and producer, Campion is best…

Splatstick Done the Ash Vs. Evil Dead Way

Splatstick Done the Ash Vs. Evil Dead Way

Roger Murray, on the phone to the Los Angeles Times from the Auckland set of Ash vs. Evil Dead, has one simple way to describe his job as the show’s prosthetics designer and props…

Marlon Williams Smoulders in TV Debut

Marlon Williams Smoulders in TV Debut

With 24-year-old New Zealand singer Marlon Williams making his Australian television debut – in ABC’s seductive new miniseries, The Beautiful Lie – both his vocal ability and screen charisma should convince viewers of this…

New Zealand is the King of Comedy Horror

New Zealand is the King of Comedy Horror

Kiwis “certainly seem to have a killer knack for comedy horror – gleefully creating tongue-in-cheek shockers that have the ability to make us both giggle and scream”, writes Mark Butler for WOW. Below…

Meet the New Moana Princess

Meet the New Moana Princess

14-year old Hawaiian Auli’i Cravalho has been selected to voice the lead in Disney’s new princess movie Moana. “From baby time to now, I wanted to be a Disney princess and then I wanted to…

Banshee’ Releases Final  Season Trailer

Banshee’ Releases Final Season Trailer

The trailer for the fourth and final season of small-town crime drama Banshee has been released. January 29 has been set as the show’s premiere date. New Zealand actor Antony Starr is starring as Lucas…

‘The Shannara Chronicles’ New Trailer Released

‘The Shannara Chronicles’ New Trailer Released

A new trailer for fantasy series The Shannara Chronicles, which will debut on January 5, has been released at New York’s Comic Con. The show has been filmed in New Zealand. The series produced by…

Surprise Ash Vs. Evil Dead Premiere

Surprise Ash Vs. Evil Dead Premiere

The audience at the Ash Vs. Evil Dead panel at New York’s Comic Con was surprised with a surprise premiere of the entire first episode, which according to Eric Goldman in an article on…

Joe Naufahu to Star in ‘Game Of Thrones’

Joe Naufahu to Star in ‘Game Of Thrones’

Joe Naufahu has been cast to star on the sixth season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones. Details on which character the Kiwi will be playing have not yet been released. “He could be the next…

With a Little Help from Sam Neill’s Friends

With a Little Help from Sam Neill’s Friends

Hollywood star Sam Neill may originally hail from Northern Ireland, but he has just confessed to having a little difficulty mastering an Ulster accent for television drama series Peaky Blinders – despite help from…

Jane Campion Casts Gaze over Female-Directed Films

Jane Campion Casts Gaze over Female-Directed Films

Jane Campion contributes to a Sight & Sound magazine special issue, which aims “to write women back into film history by championing 100 female-directed hidden gems that have been forgotten or unfairly overlooked.” “Just because…

American Cinematheque to Honour Cliff Curtis

American Cinematheque to Honour Cliff Curtis

New Zealander Cliff Curtis, 47, who portrayed speed chess genius Genesis Potini in The Dark Horse, will be honoured by the American Cinematheque at a ceremony on 11 October at the Aero Theatre in…

After 40 Years Rocky Horror Has Become Mainstream

After 40 Years Rocky Horror Has Become Mainstream

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, co-written by New Zealand-based Richard O’Brien, has risen “from a shelved failure to a cult hit to a beloved cultural staple is thanks to its dedicated groups of fans,”…

Anna Paquin to Star Alongside Forest Whitaker

Anna Paquin to Star Alongside Forest Whitaker

Golden Globe and Academy Award winner Anna Paquin has been cast in a new role opposite Forest Whitaker in the epic television miniseries, Roots, which is based on Alex Haley’s 1976 novel as well…

Lucy Lawless on a Quest in Splatterfest

Lucy Lawless on a Quest in Splatterfest

New Zealand native Lucy Lawless didn’t appear in the original Evil Dead movies, but she brings her own cult following to the television revival of that classic horror franchise. Lawless stars as the mysterious and…

Jake Gyllenhaal’s  ‘Nail-Biting’ Adventure

Jake Gyllenhaal’s ‘Nail-Biting’ Adventure

“Stuck atop the highest peak in the world, nobody can hear you scream. That’s what makes this white-knuckler, about an ill-fated ascent to Mount Everest, such a harrowing and haunting force of nature”, writes…

Born to Dance at TIFF

Born to Dance at TIFF

“Auckland, New Zealand may seem a world away from the heart of hip-hop culture in the US, but the local dance crews featured in Born to Dance totally own it”, writes Justin Lowe for

Richard Taylor to Help Bring Monkey King to US

Richard Taylor to Help Bring Monkey King to US

Special effects maestro New Zealander Richard Taylor will direct the design of characters in the upcoming American film version of The Monkey King, a Chinese blockbuster. “There has been a rush to bring Western-originated movies to…

Jake Mahaffy’s Rare and Valuable New Film Lauded

Jake Mahaffy’s Rare and Valuable New Film Lauded

Jake Mahaffy’s evocation of a borderline unbearable true-life tragedy, Free In Deed is a bracing, bruising corrective to the “faith-based filmmaking” movement, according to Indiewire. The New Zealand-raised director’s third film, set in and…

NZ Star Wars Geeks Rule the Galaxy for a Day

NZ Star Wars Geeks Rule the Galaxy for a Day

Walt Disney’s new Star Wars toys have been released in New Zealand – the first place in the universe for the toys to go on sale in “Disney’s Apple-like round-the-globe rollout of new toys”. “It’s…

First Images of Holiday Horror Krampus Released

First Images of Holiday Horror Krampus Released

First images of “Michael Dougherty’s new stab at holiday horror” Krampus have been released. Krampus tells the story of Max, who stops to believe in Santa more and more when his “dysfunctional family gathers for…

Pietra Brettkelly’s Doco Premieres in Venice

Pietra Brettkelly’s Doco Premieres in Venice

Multi-award-winning director and producer Pietra Brettkelly’s documentary A Flickering Truth, filmed in Afghanistan, made its premiere at the 2015 Venice International Film Festival. New Zealand-born Brettkelly’s 2008 film The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins…

On the True Detective Set With DOP Nigel Bluck

On the True Detective Set With DOP Nigel Bluck

Recently rated by Variety magazine as one of 10 cinematographers to watch, New Zealander Nigel Bluck, 43, has been working as director of photography on the second season of popular…

Flight of the Conchords Musical Is Coming

Flight of the Conchords Musical Is Coming

The upcoming Flight of the Conchords movie is shaping up to be a musical like no other, co-creator Jemaine Clement has promised – albeit tentatively. The film is “definitely a couple of years away,…

New Zealand Has Some Filmtastic Backdrops

New Zealand Has Some Filmtastic Backdrops

Many of the grander surroundings in Craig Zobel’s new film Z For Zachariah were filmed in New Zealand. Women’s lifestyle site Bustle takes a look back at other notable films shot throughout the country…

TIFF Exclusive: Bust a Move With This Clip From ‘Born To Dance’

TIFF Exclusive: Bust a Move With This Clip From ‘Born To Dance’

“While Hollywood has got the dance formula down cold, New Zealand actor/filmmaker Tammy Davisis bring(s) his own unique flavor to the genre”, writes Edward Davis for Indiewire. The New Zealand feature film Born To…

5 Reasons You Will Love ‘Fear The Walking Dead’

5 Reasons You Will Love ‘Fear The Walking Dead’

The Walking Dead spinoff Fear The Walking Dead featuring Kiwi actor Cliff Curtis is “a worthy successor” – “the atypical spinoff that preserves and deepens the tone of its original show”, according to Adweek,…

Rob Hall’s Final Climb Roars to Life in Everest

Rob Hall’s Final Climb Roars to Life in Everest

It’s been almost two decades since the infamous 1996 tragedy on Mount Everest in which New Zealand guide Rob Hall and seven others perished. The world’s highest mountain has seen more destructive seasons –…

What’s in Jemaine Clement’s Library?

What’s in Jemaine Clement’s Library?

In the film People Places Things, New Zealander Jemaine Clement plays a New York City graphic novelist and professor struggling with life as the newly single father of twin girls. In real life, he’s…

How Actor Cliff Curtis Avoids Playing ‘Repetitive Stereotypes’

How Actor Cliff Curtis Avoids Playing ‘Repetitive Stereotypes’

New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis has played interesting roles over the years. In 1999 he “hit a kind of American cinematic jackpot” with his work on Michael Mann’s The Insider, David O Russell’s Three…

Great Reviews for Jemaine Clement’s Latest Role

Great Reviews for Jemaine Clement’s Latest Role

Indie world veteran director James Strouse’s People Places Things “gets a lot of its infectious spirit from star Jemaine Clement, 41, the New Zealander best known for being half of the Flight of the…

Girls Producer Backs Jemaine Clement’s New Show

Girls Producer Backs Jemaine Clement’s New Show

One of the stars of nineties cult comedy show Flight of the Conchords, Jemaine Clement says he’s excited his new HBO series will be backed by the producer behind Girls, Judd Apatow. Clement is working…

Shortland Street’s KJ Apa to Star in Blockbuster

Shortland Street’s KJ Apa to Star in Blockbuster

K.J. Apa has signed on to star in A Dog’s Purpose alongside Britt Robertson and Dennis Quaid. The New Zealand actor already is being referred to as “a young Tom Cruise” and the quickness of his success is unheard…

Kerry Fox Tutors Directors on Actors in Melbourne

Kerry Fox Tutors Directors on Actors in Melbourne

New Zealand actor Kerry Fox, who stars in Australian film Downriver, which premieres at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), also gave a masterclass at the event with the film’s writer/director Grant Scicluna about the…

Jane Campion’s Daughter Acting up

Jane Campion’s Daughter Acting up

As the child of New Zealand-born director Jane Campion and Australian filmmaker Colin Englert, Alice Englert – who stars in the BBC’s magician drama Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell – grew up immersed in…

Terrific Top of the Lake Returns to Screens

Terrific Top of the Lake Returns to Screens

“Last year came the exciting news that Top Of The Lake, Jane Campion’s terrific TV series, wouldn’t just be a one-off, but would return for a new round of episodes,” Indiewire reports. “Details were…

The Brokenwood Mysteries a Hit in France

The Brokenwood Mysteries a Hit in France

New Zealand’s murder-mystery television series, The Brokenwood Mysteries, is a hit in France and was the second-most watched show on French TV on a Tuesday night with 3.7 million viewers. On Bastille Day it out-rated…

The Good Dinosaur Trailer Released – Voice Over Cast Includes Anna Paquin

The Good Dinosaur Trailer Released – Voice Over Cast Includes Anna Paquin

The official trailer for The Good Dinosaur has been released and is starring New Zealander Anna Paquin as part of the voice-over cast. “At first glance it might look like ground similarly tread by another…

Lucy Lawless – “Xena Reboot a Rumour”

Lucy Lawless – “Xena Reboot a Rumour”

“Twenty years after it first premiered as a Hercules spinoff, Xena: Warrior Princess could be returning to television”, writes Lesley Goldberg for The Hollywood Reporter. Over the last few weeks rumours have been heard that the beloved…

Flight of the Conchords Role Models for Success

Flight of the Conchords Role Models for Success

Flight of the Conchords stars Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie are California-born stand-up comedian Arj Barker’s role models, he tells the Guardian. Barker, who is best known for his role as pawnshop owner Dave in…

Karl Urban Nominates Kids Can as Part of Star Trek Beyond’s Global Omaze Campaign

Karl Urban Nominates Kids Can as Part of Star Trek Beyond’s Global Omaze Campaign

Karl Urban has nominated the New Zealand charity Kids Can as one of the nine global causes chosen by the cast of Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond as part of the Star Trek: To Boldly…

Ash Vs. Evil Dead Trailer Released at Comic Con

Ash Vs. Evil Dead Trailer Released at Comic Con

The first Ash vs. Evil Dead trailer has been screened at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. “If anyone was on the fence about bringing the cult classic horror tale to the small screen, this trailer…

Everest to Open the Venice Film Festival

Everest to Open the Venice Film Festival

“Everest, a new movie about the two rival missions up the mountain in 1996, has been chosen as the opening night film of this year’s Venice film festival – a spot which has recently proved…

Weta Smithy Peter Lyon in the Mix at Comic-Con

Weta Smithy Peter Lyon in the Mix at Comic-Con

Amongst the colourful characters who flood the San Diego Convention Center Comic-Con was New Zealand smithy Peter Lyon, who has worked the past 16 years for Weta Workshop. “When I started at Weta…

Comedian Rhys Darby Joins X-Files Cast

Comedian Rhys Darby Joins X-Files Cast

Actor Rhys Darby, who played werewolf Anton in What We Do in the Shadows, will join the cast of The X-Files “event series” as a man suspected by Fox Mulder to be the perpetrator…

Andrew Niccol Gets Green Light for Monopoly Script

Andrew Niccol Gets Green Light for Monopoly Script

Writer of The Truman Show, New Zealand-born Andrew Niccol has been hired to script the Monopoly movie, which will be a co-production between the game manufacturer Hasbro and Lionsgate. The companies called it “a film…

Fear the Walking Dead Releases First Clip

Fear the Walking Dead Releases First Clip

AMC has released the first clip from its Walking Dead spinoff Fear the Walking Dead, which will premiere in August. The clip shows a scene in which guidance counsellor Nancy (Kim Dickens) assures…

Keisha Castle-Hughes Thinks Big for Warrior Role

Keisha Castle-Hughes Thinks Big for Warrior Role

Not much more than a year ago, New Zealand actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, 25, was a Game Of Thrones fan scouring Hollywood Boulevard for a long blonde wig to wear to an informal dress-up event…

New Zealand Film Festival Reveals Line-Up

New Zealand Film Festival Reveals Line-Up

The New Zealand Film Festival has revealed this year’s programme including ten New Zealand films. Act of Kindness is an “inspiring true story (that) follows a spirited young New Zealander’s search for…

Jemaine Clement Starring in People Places Things

Jemaine Clement Starring in People Places Things

Flight of the Conchords star Jemaine Clement stars in the new “incredibly charming and sweet” dramedy People Places Things, which will be released in New Zealand on September 10.   The New Zealand actor plays Will…