Yoson An Cast in Mulan Live-Action Movie
“New Zealander Yosan An has joined Disney’s live-action movie Mulan as the main love interest Chen Hongui opposite Liu Yifei (also known as Crystal Liu) who is playing Hua Mulan,” reports Kylie Hemmert for…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Breaking up Is Easy for Sami and van Beek
Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek’s film The Breaker Upperers has opened strongly in New Zealand after warm-hearted reviews at the South by Southwest festival in Texas. This week, their comedy opens the Sydney…
It: Chapter Two Casts Jay Ryan as Adult Ben
Auckland-born actor Jay Ryan, 36, has been cast as the adult version of Ben Hanscom in New Line’s It: Chapter Two, sources confirmed to Variety. Ryan joins Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, and Bill Hader, who…
Jane Campion Rewatches Her Own Classic
One of the world’s most unconventional filmmakers, New Zealander Jane Campion talks with The Guardian about the end of the patriarchy, doing away with decorum, and how losing her baby son changed her forever. Twenty-five…
TV Host Clarke Gayford on Fatherhood
Less than a month away from the birth – which will make Jacinda Ardern the first serving head of government since Benazir Bhutto to have a baby – television host Clarke Gayford, 40, who…
Julian Dennison Isn’t in a Hurry to Grow Up
The 15-year-old New Zealand actor Julian Dennison talks to GQ magazine about his starring role in Deadpool 2 – even though he’s not old enough to see it. Dennison is not your average teenager, if…
Thomasin McKenzie Steals the Film in Leave No Trace
Debra Granik’s third feature, Leave No Trace, which stretches the theme of life on the margins to breaking point, is already being talked of as one of the year’s best releases, according to The…
Heartthrob KJ Apa Answers Some Tricky Questions
KJ Apa, the New Zealand import turned Riverdale star, captured hearts (and Instagram followers) when the show premiered in 2017. Riverdale was just renewed for its third season, so it looks like…
Leave No Trace with Thomasin McKenzie Cannes Hit
“Debra Granik is the exceptional film-maker who directed Winter’s Bone in 2010, launching the career of Jennifer Lawrence, and now she returns with this deeply intelligent, complex, finely tuned and observed movie, [starring New…
Anthony McCarten Freddy Mercury Biopic Trailer Out
“The first footage of Bohemian Rhapsody will rock you,” according to Esquire magazine. Penned by New Zealand-born Anthony McCarten, the upcoming Queen biopic, starring Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury follows the formation of the…
Kim Chambers Swims Like No Other
Kim Chambers, a former ballerina who grew up on a sheep farm in the King Country has done what no other woman has yet achieved: swum the world’s most difficult ocean swim, from the…
New All Blacks Documentary “Looks Absolutely Breathtaking”
“All or Nothing: New Zealand All Blacks is a new six-episode series and it promises to be a belter,” writes Paul Moore in an article for Joe.ie. Narrated by the “incredibly…
Unique Sneak Preview for Effects Man Matt Aitken
New Zealand-born VFX supervisor Matt Aitken talks about Marvel’s “unusual” move that helped make the biggest superhero blockbuster ever, Avengers: Infinity War. Aitken’s credits included an Academy Award nomination for visual effects for 2009’s District…
Actor Julian Dennison is Firefist in Deadpool 2
Julian Dennison is living the dream. The 15-year-old actor from Lower Hutt was hand picked by Ryan Reynolds to star in Deadpool 2, which hits cinemas on 16 May. As Reynolds told the
Filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly Celebrates Guo Pei
“When I was little, I didn’t know what fashion was. The word didn’t exist,” Guo Pei tells Whakatane-born documentarian Pietra Brettkelly in Yellow Is Forbidden, a new film charting the Chinese designer’s fierce ambition…
What We Do in the Shadows Gets TV Reboot
A long-in-the-works half-hour television comedy based on the 2014 mockumentary horror film What We Do in the Shadows, co-written and co-directed by and starring Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, is slated to premiere in…
Andrew Niccol’s Latest Film Smart and Stylish
Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried star in Anon, a “timely Netflix-bound cyberthriller from The Truman Show and In Time creator New Zealander Andrew Niccol”. Stephen Dalton reviews the film for The Hollywood Reporter. “Owen looks…
John Cavill Wins Emmy for Scars of Nanking
New Zealand cinematographer John Cavill has won an Emmy – Outstanding Cinematography – for American/Chinese co-production Scars of Nanking at the Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. In
Sam Rockwell, ScarJo Join Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit
After breaking out in a major way in Hollywood by directing the critically acclaimed action-comedy Thor: Ragnarok, New Zealander Taika Waititi’s next film is going to…
Russian Film Fest Prize for Kieran Charnock
New Zealander Kieran Charnock, 26, has won best actor at the Moscow International Film Festival for his role in the independent film Stray. The award was presented by Nastassja Kinski.
Scott Dixon Competes on American Ninja Warrior
New Zealand four-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon will enter the realm of reality TV when he auditions in Indianapolis this week for American Ninja Warrior. Dixon, 37, nicknamed “The Iceman,” thought it sounded fun when…
Roger Donaldson On ‘Sleeping Dogs’ And ‘Cocktail’
“Cocktail, No Way Out, The Bounty, Species, The World’s Fastest Indian, Dante’s Peak – director Roger Donaldson’s resume is brimming with crowd-pleasing Hollywood movies, some of them seminal,” writes Simon Thompson in an article…
Sweet Country’s Sam Neill Marks Milestone
As is the case with many a beloved screen actor, everyone has their own mental image of Sam Neill, Karen Han writes for the Village Voice. For some, it’s of the prickly paleontologist Dr…
Karl Urban in Dubai for Comic Con
New Zealand actor 45-year-old Karl Urban “is basically Comic Con personified”, according to Arab News, “with a deep sci-fi fantasy pedigree running from Xena: Warrior Princess through Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Lord of the…
NZ’s Global Winners Celebrated in New Series Dream Catchers
Many Kiwis who touch down in the UK for their OE or holidays “end up staying and living their dreams on the other side of the world.” Inspiring series Dream…
NZ Indie Film STRAY Selected for Moscow International Film Festival
“Independent New Zealand feature film, STRAY, has made history by becoming the first New Zealand feature film ever to be selected for the world’s second oldest film festival – the…
Actor Sam Neill Stars in His First Western
Sam Neill’s acting career has broken the 80-film barrier. In his most recent film, Sweet Country, the New Zealander plays a missionary making a new life for himself on the Australian frontier in the…
Helen Clark Film Reveals a Shadowy World at the UN
Filmmaker Gaylene Preston’s documentary My Year With Helen playing in Australia this month provides a happy and timely reminder that before there was Jacinda Ardern, there was Helen Clark. The extraordinary post-parliamentary career of former…
Chasing Great a Universally-Appealing Sports Doco
Justin Pemberton and Michelle Walshe’s documentary Chasing Great, about world-champion All Blacks captain, Richie McCaw, “proves surprisingly accessible to non-fans, and a well-articulated look at some of the mental processes behind sports success,”…
True Blood Lead Anna Paquin Stars as PR Maven
New Zealand-raised Anna Paquin is returning to television. The True Blood and Alias Grace star is set to appear in the upcoming dramedy Flack. The limited series, which is co-produced by Paquin and her…
Taika Waititi to Play Version of Imaginary Hitler
Whenever Fox Searchlight Pictures ends up releasing New Zealander Taika Waititi’s satire Jojo Rabbit, it will give viewers the chance to see a version of Adolf Hitler they most likely never have before. IndieWire…
Chasing Great – An Ode to New Zealand’s All Blacks
“Justin Pemberton and Michelle Walshe’s documentary Chasing Great follows All Blacks team captain Richie McCaw through his final season,” writes Chris Packham in a review for the Village Voice. “Even if…
Thor: Ragnarok’s Hidden New Zealand and Australia References
“There are fans who are going to want to come back for more just to notice every detail that New Zealand director Taika Waititi stuck in” Thor: Ragnarok, writes Luke Y. Thompson in an…
Boy Fans Will Love The Breakers and Upperers
If you enjoy contemporary New Zealand comedies like Boy, What We Do in the Shadows, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, then you should put this Taika Waititi-executive produced title The Breaker Upperers on your radar, recommends…
Maryanne Redpath at Helm of Berlinale’s Generation
Within 10 years, former artist, teacher and filmmaker New Zealand-born Maryanne Redpath has turned the Berlinale youth section Generation into one of the most popular strands of the film festival, with a gem-packed programme…
Robyn Malcolm on Cleavage and Credibility
It is something of a surprise to see New Zealander Robyn Malcolm looking positively restrained, wearing a conservative skirt and blouse, for her role as Maxine Pavich in the new ABC television drama series…
Anna Paquin Does Some Detective Work in Bellevue
New Zealander Anna Paquin plays Detective Anna Ryder in the Canadian television series, Bellevue. “Paquin, whose onscreen presence guarantees an otherworldly, alienating grace, is doing more work than is first apparent,” Variety TV critic…
Shotover Tech Wizards Score Early Oscar for Aerials
Queenstown design engineers John Coyle, Brad Hurndell, Vikas Sathaye and Shane Buckham have scored a jump on Margot Robbie, Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep a month before the Oscars. The group has just been…
Aaron Jeffery Gets into the Head of Chopper Read
A quirk of fate could have changed the path of Australian film history and seen New Zealander Aaron Jeffery play Chopper Read nearly 20 years ago. “I auditioned for the original Chopper movie,” Jeffery, 47,…
Braindead as Outrageous as it is Brilliant
Peter Jackson’s 1992 “gore-fest” Braindead has been named one of the 30 most violent films ever made by entertainment website GamesRadar+. The list also includes Irreversible, Evil Dead and Cannibal Holocaust. Alex Avard writes for the…
KJ Apa to Star in Romantic Comedy The Last Summer
New Zealander KJ Apa is coming back to the big screen. Teen Vogue reports that the Riverdale star recently got a part in the new movie The Last Summer, a romantic comedy that centres…
Vampires Get Their Teeth into Some Small Screen
A television reboot based on Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s 2014 smash hit mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows has landed a pilot-production order at American channel FX. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the…
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie’s New Role Enigmatic
Among the most anticipated films of this year’s Sundance Film Festival has been Winter’s Bone director Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, starring 17-year-old New Zealander Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie. Leave No Trace had its world premiere…
Peter Jackson Brings WWI to Life With New 3D Film
“A new 3D film by director Peter Jackson is set to bring the First World War to life in a way never seen before,” writes Laura Lambert in an article in
“This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy” Excels On A Shoestring
“With an affection for nerd culture that is inversely proportional to its budget, this lo-fi sci-fi comedy is destined for laugh-filled late-night viewing,” writes Kimber Myers in a review in the
NZ Actress One of Sundance Festival’s Breakout Stars
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie has been named one of the five breakout stars of the Sundance Film Festival in an article in The Hollywood Reporter. The New Zealand actress is starring in Leave No…
Martin Henderson Reveals He’s Yet to Master Accents
He’s the Auckland-born actor best known for his role on American drama Grey’s Anatomy. But despite the show being filmed and set abroad, former Shortland Street heart-throb Martin Henderson, 43, admits he is yet…
Praise for Anthony McCarten’s Darkest Hour
Written by New Zealand-born filmmaker, Academy Award-nominated Anthony McCarten – best known for the screenplay he wrote for The Theory of Everything – Winston Churchill biopic Darkest Hour “is an expertly crafted history lesson…
Hollywood Directors Like Niki Caro a Force
Never in the history of Hollywood has more than one female filmmaker been at the helm of a feature with a budget of USD$100 million or more – until now. On the heels of…
Beulah Koale’s Role Breakout Performance of ‘17
New Zealand actor Beulah Koale’s role in the 2017 film Thank You For Your Service has been deemed a “breakout” performance of the year by industry publication Variety. “As more people discover this quiet gem…
Anthony McCarten on the Challenge of Churchill
Darkest Hour depicts Winston Churchill in the crucial weeks that defined him as a wartime leader. Screen Daily’s Jeremy Kay talks to writer-producer, New Plymouth-born Anthony McCarten and Working Title’s Eric Fellner about taking…
Jumanji Star Rhys Darby’s Profile on Rise in US
In the Jumanji sequel, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, there’s also a cadre of non-playable characters the untested heroes must contend with, one of which is played by New…
Meet the Feebles Had No Taste at All
New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson has gained the reputation of being a genuine class act, thanks to films like Heavenly Creatures, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and his remake of King Kong. But…
Amazing Race Host Phil Keoghan Amasses 30 Seasons
With the cold of the Northern Hemisphere winter settling in and outdoor activities coming to a standstill, there’s nothing better to get your heart pumping than reality TV favourite The Amazing Race, hosted by…
Peter Jackson’s Mortal Engines Teaser Released
The first footage of Peter Jackson’s fantasy movie Mortal Engines, an adaptation of Phillip Reeve’s novel, has finally landed,” writes Jack Shepherd in an article for
Top of the Lake Creators Get Together for a Laugh
The team behind Top of the Lake: China Girl plunges into prostitution, illegal surrogacy, motherhood – and humour. New Zealander Jane Campion and Australian collaborators co-creator Gerard Lee and co-director Ariel Kleiman discuss the show in…
