News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Ballet Dancer Harrison James Impresses in Giselle

Ballet Dancer Harrison James Impresses in Giselle

National Ballet of Canada stars, Paraparaumu-born Harrison James, 25, and Russian Svetlana Lunkina “bring beautiful dancing and dramatic depth” to the 175-year-old production of Giselle, Toronto Star reviewer Michael Crabb writes. “Just because Giselle is…

Jono Rotman’s Mongrel Mob Portraits

Jono Rotman’s Mongrel Mob Portraits

Photographer Jono Rotman’s most recent series “Mongrel Mob Portraits” – “depicts a unique vein in the tissue of New Zealand society, bringing up questions about national narrative and the perspectives of its inhabitants,” as…

Greg Semu Restages Colonial Raft Art with Actors

Greg Semu Restages Colonial Raft Art with Actors

In a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) called, The Raft of the Tagata Pasifika (People of the Pacific), Auckland-born photographer Greg Semu presents a series of powerful photographic works, using…

Glowworm Images Capture Caves Illuminated in Blue

Glowworm Images Capture Caves Illuminated in Blue

British photographer Shaun Jeffers spent up to eight hours submerged in cold water to capture the tranquil and illuminated blue scenes at Ruakuri Cave in the Waitomo area. The worms light up the cave as…

Ladyhawke Back with Vibrantly Glam Wild Things

Ladyhawke Back with Vibrantly Glam Wild Things

“In 2016, when pop has never sounded moodier or more austere, Ladyhawke an unabashed explosion of colour and…

NZ Artist Spray-Paints Steven Adams Mural in Downtown Oklahoma City

NZ Artist Spray-Paints Steven Adams Mural in Downtown Oklahoma City

Famed New Zealand graphic artist Graham Hoete, known as Mr G, has spray-painted a huge mural of fellow New Zealander Steven on Film Row in downtown Oklahoma City on the side of The Paramount…

SLSO Appoints Gemma New As Resident Conductor

SLSO Appoints Gemma New As Resident Conductor

“The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of resident conductor Gemma New, originally of New Zealand,” as reported in an article on St. Louis Post-Dispatch. New stands “out as a musician…

Josh James to Star in Dual Survival Season 8

Josh James to Star in Dual Survival Season 8

Josh James an “experienced outdoorsman from New Zealand’s South Island” will join the cast for Dual Survival Season 8. The Kiwi has “lived off the grid for years, hunting and fishing to provide for…

Marvel-lous Opportunity for Niki Caro

Marvel-lous Opportunity for Niki Caro

New Zealand independent director Niki Caro is one of two frontrunners to oversee Captain Marvel, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The other possibility to helm the film is Australian Jennifer Kent. Wellington-born Caro and Kent…

Julia DeVille’s Taxidermied Chicks Wins Prize

Julia DeVille’s Taxidermied Chicks Wins Prize

Melbourne-based, New Zealand-born artist and jeweller Julia DeVille has received the A$30,000 Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, which was presented to her at the South Australian Museum. The award was for her work Neapolitan Bonbonaparte,…

Connan Mockasin Joins Big Lineup at Meltdown

Connan Mockasin Joins Big Lineup at Meltdown

New Zealand musician Connan Mockasin joins Elbow frontman Guy Garvey’s Meltdown festival – in a lineup which includes Femi Kuti, Laura Marling and Howe Gelb – playing at the Royal Festival Hall on 15…

Author Damien Wilkins’ Novel Max Gate Tantalises

Author Damien Wilkins’ Novel Max Gate Tantalises

Lower Hutt-born author Damien Wilkins’ “surprising” novel Max Gate, which explores the question of why novelist Thomas Hardy’s body was buried in Westminster Abbey and his heart in Dorset, is reviewed in the Daily…

Sam Neill Cuts to the Chase

Sam Neill Cuts to the Chase

In a Q&A with the Guardian, New Zealand actor Sam Neill talks about his father’s war medals, the Fifa film and a secret about his real name. Born in Northern Ireland, Neill, 68, grew up…

Mime Sam Wills Stuns on America’s Got Talent

Mime Sam Wills Stuns on America’s Got Talent

New Zealand mime Sam Wills, 37, aka The Boy With Tape on His Face, has wowed judges, the live studio audience, and an estimated 11 million viewers, at his audition for America’s Got Talent. Judge…

Adventurer Captures Antarctica Through iPhone Lens

Adventurer Captures Antarctica Through iPhone Lens

Most of us would rarely get the chance to see Antarctica let alone share an intimate session with the barren landscape’s environment. New Zealander John Bozinov is a man who does just that for…

Marlon Williams: Americana Doesn’t Belong Just to America

Marlon Williams: Americana Doesn’t Belong Just to America

“If you don’t know you’re listening to a 25-year-old New Zealander, you might think you’re listening to an old recording of a crooner from the American Midwest,” writes Kierran Petersen for PRI. “The…

Singer Tiny Ruins Earning Noted Admirers

Singer Tiny Ruins Earning Noted Admirers

Since alternative-folk singer-songwriter Hollie Fullbrook’s debut as Tiny Ruins in 2010 with the Little Notes EP, the Aucklander has forged both an identifiable sound and a career built on faithful and growing followings in…

Anna Paquin Returns to the South in Roots

Anna Paquin Returns to the South in Roots

Forty years after the original Roots gripped half the United States, a more violent and more accurate remake is here, the Hollywood Reporter’s Marissa Guthrie writes, gambling on big stars including New Zealander Anna…

Top of the Lake Two Never Meant to Be Says Campion

Top of the Lake Two Never Meant to Be Says Campion

New Zealand-born director Jane Campion has said she never expected to be working on Top Of The Lake again and that she was surprised by the success of the original 2013 BBC miniseries that…

Miami Exhibit Features Susan Te Kahurangi King

Miami Exhibit Features Susan Te Kahurangi King

New Zealand artist Susan Te Kahurangi King’s debut museum exhibition in North America opens on 8 July at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Miami. The exhibition includes some 60 works, many of which…

The Kiwi Film You Need To See

The Kiwi Film You Need To See

The New Zealand smash hit Hunt for the Wilderpeople has knocked Batman vs Superman off number one and has beat Boy to become the highest grossing film of all time in New Zealand. According…

Karl Urban to Star in Thor: Ragnarok

Karl Urban to Star in Thor: Ragnarok

Kiwi actor Karl Urban will join the cast in the upcoming Taika Waititi-helmed Thor: Ragnarok as Skurge. “It’s a fantastic story and a really great character who has got a wonderful arc. I’m super excited…

From Koi Boys to Rat Pack

From Koi Boys to Rat Pack

“Practising their Rat Pack posing, as well as their swingin’ harmonies is all part of the preparation for The Voice favourites the Koi Boys” – New Zealand-born trio Kevin Keepa, Danny Faifai and Nuz…

Ten Things You Never Knew About Ladyhawke

Ten Things You Never Knew About Ladyhawke

Synth-pop singer Pip Brown, aka New Zealand-born Ladyhawke, tells Spin magazine about her love of sci-fi, UFOs, and Disneyland. Turns out Brown – who will release her third record, Wild Things, on 3 June has…

Photographer Matt Draper Dives Deep

Photographer Matt Draper Dives Deep

From turtles and manta rays, to whales and sharks, New Zealand-born photographer Matt Draper, a former carpenter, has spent the last two years photographing marine animals from the water, the Weather Channel’s Simone Scully…

Joe Naufahu Looks to next Role after Thrones Stint

Joe Naufahu Looks to next Role after Thrones Stint

We all know that Game of Thrones keeps its secrets even from its own cast members, but when it came to episode 4’s fiery finale involving New Zealander Joe Naufahu, 38, there were some…

Duo Wins Film Rights to Bestselling Capital

Duo Wins Film Rights to Bestselling Capital

New Zealanders Matthew Metcalfe and Justin Pemberton have acquired the film rights to French economist Thomas Piketty’s 2013 global bestseller Capital in the Twenty-First Century. In Cannes, the pair unveiled their plans for the…

Martin Henderson Talks on Grey’s Anatomy Role

Martin Henderson Talks on Grey’s Anatomy Role

New Zealand actor Martin Henderson, 41, who plays Dr Nathan Riggs in the long-running popular medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, is profiled in Singapore’s Straits Times. The handsome neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) had been dubbed…

Sam Neill Says NZ Cinema like Nothing Else on Earth

Sam Neill Says NZ Cinema like Nothing Else on Earth

In a career of almost unparalleled versatility, Sam Neill’s latest role in Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople finds him returning to his roots. Elle Hunt tracks the New Zealander down in Sydney for…

Kids Mimic Donald Trump in Powerhouse Parody

Kids Mimic Donald Trump in Powerhouse Parody

Six New Zealand children are taking aim at US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump in a parody advertisement for online electricity retailer, Powerhouse, with the hope of proving that power should be used for…

Moody Electropoppers Broods Virtually Famous

Moody Electropoppers Broods Virtually Famous

As Broods, brother and sister Caleb and Georgia Nott were initially known for who they know, now they’re stepping out on their own with their music, London’s Evening Standard reports. “They share a producer, Joel…

Peter Jackson Pro Screening Room First-Run Rental

Peter Jackson Pro Screening Room First-Run Rental

One director in favour of Napster co-founder Sean Parker’s potential industry-disrupting startup – to sell first-run movies to home viewers at US$50 a pop – is Peter Jackson, the Academy Award-winning director behind The…

Russell Crowe to Star in The Mummy Remake

Russell Crowe to Star in The Mummy Remake

“Russell Crowe has confirmed he will star in “The Mummy” reboot as Dr. Henry Jekyll alongside Tom Cruise,” as reported in KPUG 1170. The movie will be quite different from the Brendan Fraser-fronted…

Banshee Star Antony Starr Reflects on Cult Series

Banshee Star Antony Starr Reflects on Cult Series

Fans of Cinemax’s highest rated original show Banshee are on the edge of their collective seats to see just where the show’s central figure – played with a combination of extreme grit and deep-rooted…

Books that Shaped Author Hannah Tunnicliffe

Books that Shaped Author Hannah Tunnicliffe

New Zealand-born author Hannah Tunnicliffe, a self-confessed nomad, who has lived in Canada, Australia, England and Macau, writes the blog Fork and Fiction, about food, family and books. With the publication of her third novel…

Bianca Andrew Wins London Song Prize

Bianca Andrew Wins London Song Prize

Wellington-born mezzo-soprano Bianca Andrew, 26, has won the Ferrier Loveday Song Prize for her performance of Hugo Alfvén’s “Skogen sover” and Hugo Wolf’s “Nimmersatte Liebe”. According to the Independent’s Michael Church, who attended the…

Violinist Amalia Hall Wins Young Artists Comp

Violinist Amalia Hall Wins Young Artists Comp

Auckland violinist Amalia Hall, 27, has won the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition, taking both the string section and the overall award. Hall received cash prizes of £2500, and concert opportunities with the…

Taika Waititi Proves to Be Box-Office Gold in NZ

Taika Waititi Proves to Be Box-Office Gold in NZ

“Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi rules the box office in his homeland of New Zealand,” writes Pip Bulbeck for The Hollywood Reporter. Two of his films are now the top New Zealand films at…

Notes to Eternity – Impressive and Affecting

Notes to Eternity – Impressive and Affecting

A  meditation on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the documentary feature film notes to eternity, directed and produced by New Zealander Sarah Cordery, centers on the lives and ideas of three Jewish Americans: world renowned public…

Off Stage with Rihanna Tour Dancer Lance Savali

Off Stage with Rihanna Tour Dancer Lance Savali

Wellingtonian Lance Savali, 24, is a back-up dancer for pop queen Rihanna’s Anti World Tour, which will take him around the US and Europe. This latest gig follows what has been a whirlwind year for…

Game of Thrones Star Joseph Naufahu Never Loses

Game of Thrones Star Joseph Naufahu Never Loses

Game of Thrones star, New Zealand-born Joseph Naufahu, 38, talks with People magazine about the problems of speaking Dothraki, and about fighting in his underwear. Naufahu, who made his debut as Khal Moro in the…

John Metcalfe Assembles Talent for Live Shows

John Metcalfe Assembles Talent for Live Shows

Visionary composer, producer, violist, guitarist and arranger New Zealand-born John Metcalfe will perform a series of live shows, coming to Stroud’s SVA in Gloucestershire on 21 May. For these shows Metcalfe has assembled an incredible…

Fiona Pardington’s Art Earns Top French Honour

Fiona Pardington’s Art Earns Top French Honour

New Zealand photographer Fiona Pardington has been named a Knight (Chevalier) in the Order of Arts and Letters by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls at a ceremony held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Pardington…

Keeping up with Broods

Keeping up with Broods

Life is moving fast for Nelson sibling duo Broods, Georgia, 21, and Caleb Nott, 23, whose popularity seems to be gaining momentum daily. Recently, they’ve been selling out headlining tours and sharing stages with…

Annea Lockwood River Installation Flows to Glasgow

Annea Lockwood River Installation Flows to Glasgow

New Zealander Annea Lockwood, who grew up with nature thanks to her father’s love of mountaineering, brings her aural installation Sound Map of the Housatonic River to Glasgow on 7 May, reports UK arts…

Nicholas Afoa Joins Lion King in West End

Nicholas Afoa Joins Lion King in West End

Aucklander Nicholas Afoa will join the cast of the West End Lion King production in the role of “Simba” from 10 May at the Lyceum Theatre in London. Afoa made his stage debut as Simba…

Justine Campbell Performs They Saw a Thylacine

Justine Campbell Performs They Saw a Thylacine

New Zealand-born actor Justine Campbell (pictured left) and Australian Sarah Hamilton recently performed their award-winning play about survival and extinction, They Saw a Thylacine as part of The Joan’s 2016 Brave New Work season…

Zoë Bell Honoured at Artemis Women In Action Film Festival

Zoë Bell Honoured at Artemis Women In Action Film Festival

Auckland-born actress and stuntwoman Zoë Bell has been honoured as Stunt Icon at the Artemis Women In Action Film Festival in Beverly Hills, California. She received the award as a woman whose “name has become…

Iron Maiden Release All Blacks T-Shirt For NZ

Iron Maiden Release All Blacks T-Shirt For NZ

Iron Maiden have released a special edition All Blacks t-shirt as a tribute to their Rugby World Cup victory. Fans will be able to purchase the shirt during the band’s  tour in New Zealand. “The…

Kiwi Film to Premiere at Sci-Fi London Film Festival

Kiwi Film to Premiere at Sci-Fi London Film Festival

New Zealand feature film This Giant Papier Mache Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy (short Boulder) will premiere at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival in May. The film previously had a fantastic reception at the…

New Zealand Photographer Documents Children Growing Up Without Modern Electronics

New Zealand Photographer Documents Children Growing Up Without Modern Electronics

New Zealand mother Niki Boon, who raises her children without modern electronics, is capturing their stripped down childhood in an ongoing photo series ‘Childhood in the Raw’. “We haven’t had TV since the…

Getting into Character with Cliff Curtis

Getting into Character with Cliff Curtis

Cliff Curtis wasn’t the first choice to play Genesis Potini, admits Dark Horse director James Napier Robertson, who was in Washington recently to promote the film to US audiences. Robertson says he never even considered…

Lorde Magnetic with Disclosure at Coachella

Lorde Magnetic with Disclosure at Coachella

Lorde surprised festival-goers as she joined English group Disclosure on stage on Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California performing the hit Magnets, the most successful song from Disclosure’s album Caracal in Australia…

Greg Semu Exhibit Celebrates Pacific Cultures

Greg Semu Exhibit Celebrates Pacific Cultures

A new photographic exhibition by New Zealand-born Greg Semu on at Cairns Regional Gallery celebrates the tradition and culture of Pacific nations and challenges commonly held beliefs about the region’s colonisation. Semu has a 20-year…

Ronald Syme’s The Roman Republic a Masterpiece

Ronald Syme’s The Roman Republic a Masterpiece

New Zealander Sir Ronald Syme’s The Roman Revolution, written under the cloud of fascism, is a compelling account of the decline of the Roman oligarchy in favour of a principate, according to author Joseph…

Joël Penkman Painting Mouth-Watering Treats

Joël Penkman Painting Mouth-Watering Treats

Joël Penkman, a New Zealander based in the UK, is someone who loves to paint as much as she loves to eat, Katy Cowan writes for art and design blog Creative Boom. “So when…