Peter Arnett at Vietnam’s First Major Battle
An archivist at the New York Times has discovered a small trove of photographs correspondent Neil Sheehan took 50 years ago while covering the first major clash of the Vietnam War between the American…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Peter Jackson Ad-Libbed Shooting Hobbit
Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson, 54, admits he was “winging it” and “was making it up as I went along” for much of the Hobbit trilogy’s chaotic shoot. Jackson has revealed he began filming the blockbuster…
Fat Freddy’s Drop Go Techno on New Album
“Cult” New Zealand neo-dub outfit Fat Freddy’s Drop have released their fourth studio album, Bays, and according to News.com.au reviewer Cyclone Wehner, it is “more of an underground Berlin than Detroit vibe.” The septet, who…
Zoë Bell on Fighting Her Way Through Hollywood
“To actually do an action film without Zoë Bell is foolhardy,” director Quentin Tarantino says, but according to Denver news site Westword, based on the current slate on the Waiheke Island-born stunt double turned actor’s…
Lorde Joins Disclosure For Saturday Night Live Performance
Together with Disclosure, Sam Smith and Lorde turned the Saturday Night Live studio “into an electric, colorful stage” when performing tracks off Disclosure’s latest album Caracal during last night’s episode hosted by Elizabeth Banks. Sam Smith…
New Zealand’s Post-Hobbit World
Even after the end of Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of The Rings’ movies, the New Zealand film and TV business is thriving and “turning the land that once served as Middle-Earth into a host of…
Nabokov Biographer Boyd Delivers Letters to Véra
University of Auckland Professor and definitive Vladimir Nabokov biographer Brian Boyd this month published Letters to Véra, the first complete volume of the author’s letters to his wife. Edited and…
Cliff Curtis on Returning to New Zealand to Produce
New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis says that returning to New Zealand to tell local stories keeps him sane. “It sort of grounds me and gives me a sense of purpose,” said Curtis. His next project alongside…
Jack Mclean to Exhibit at London’s FLUX Contemporary Art Exhibition
New Zealand artist Jack Mclean will be exhibiting his latest work at the FLUX Contemporary Art Exhibition at The Royal College of Art in London on December 11 – 14. “I take inspiration from my…
Tamsyn Russell Amongst Scotland’s Hot 100 Cultural Contributors
New Zealand born dancer, teacher and choreographer Tamsyn Russell has been named amongst Scotland’s hottest cultural contributors of 2015. The Kiwi is listed 83rd on Scotland’s Hot 100 list, which is comprised of Scotland’s most…
Kathryn Ryan Wins 2015 International Radio Personality of the Year Award
RNZ National’s Nine to Noon presenter, Kathryn Ryan has been awarded the 2015 International Radio Personality of the Year Award. “For fifteen hours of live broadcasting to be so outstanding every week is testament to…
All the World Is a Stage for Rawiri Paratene
If the Globe Theatre’s Globe to Globe project has a natural figurehead, it is Rawiri Paratene, whose Troilus and Cressida in Maori opened the tour in April 2014, Intelligent Life journalist Jasper Rees writes….
Henry Hargreaves Lets the Air out of the Chip Bag
New Zealand-born artist Henry Hargreaves was so frustrated with the problem of empty space in a packet of chips that he decided to size up some of the worst offenders, calculating the difference between…
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…
Hayden Tee Menaces as Javert in Les Mis
New Zealand-born, NIDA-trained actor Hayden Tee has received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Javert in the world’s longest running musical, Les Misérables, which has made its long-awaited return to Brisbane. “Audiences’ reactions …
The Chills Return with Melodic Gifts Intact
“It’s taken 19 years for Martin Phillipps to get round to releasing the fifth Chills album (and the previous four took 16 years to make), but his manifold troubles in the years since Sunburnt haven’t diminished his melodic…
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…
Thinking Outside the Box with Henry Hargreaves
A native New Zealander and current resident of Brooklyn, New York, Henry Hargreaves is well-known for his food-focused visual projects, like a series recreating the last meals of death row inmates. Hargreaves offers up…
Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Giselle a Triumph
The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s recent production of Giselle at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre was “gorgeous, and unashamedly traditional”, the Scotsman’s Kelly Apter writes in a review of the performance. “In an era when everything…
Dance Wunderkind Parris Goebel Gaining Traction
The New Yorker’s review of Justin Bieber’s latest “stellar” video, “Sorry” – perhaps “an acceptable cap to his year of penitence” – declares that, “it is impossible not to feel as if you would…
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…
Farmer Plays Lorde’s Royals till the Cows Come Home
An American farmer and YouTube sensation plays a mesmerising video version of Lorde’s 2013 smash hit single “Royals” on his trombone whilst sitting in a deckchair overlooking a vast pasture. Soon, a herd of…
How Jennifer Flay Revived the Dull Paris Art Scene
New Zealander Jennifer Flay’s neck was broken and she was being kept alive by machines after the car crash that nearly killed her. Most people who come back from these make-or-break moments in life…
Fis Mixes an Eclectic Set for FACT Mag
New Zealand producer Olly Peryman aka Fis features in UK-based online music blog FACT Magazine’s regular “Mixes” category with one of the year’s weirdest picks, according to the site. “With his early releases on Samurai and…
Lorde’s Little Sister India Has Dreams of Her Own
In the past couple of years, India Yelich-O’Connor went to both her high school ball in Devonport and the 2014 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles – not the average itinerary for a 16-year-old, but…
Killing Joke’s Jaz Coleman Loves NZ for Quiet
Adopted New Zealander, lead singer of post-punk English band Killing Joke, Jaz Coleman tells Billboard about his average day, which involves catching fish. Coleman has a home on a secret island in the Hauraki Gulf,…
Justin Bieber calls upon Parris Goebel
Popstar Justin Bieber’s latest dance music video “Sorry” features some “totally kickass dancers” led by New Zealand choreographer Parris Goebel. “Sure, they aren’t a former teen heartthrob turned bona fide artist that even grown-ass adults…
Jennifer Flay Banks on the Seine for Art Fair
New Zealand-born Parisian Jennifer Flay, general director since 2010 of the venerable event known as Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain (FIAC), said she thought “long and hard” about how to top the fair’s recent successes…
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…
Bringing Māori Culture to Rio
“The ‘Tuku Iho | Legado Vivo Māori’, an exhibition and festival that celebrates the art and culture of New Zealand’s Māori people” have been held throughout October in various locations in Rio de Janeiro. Highlights…
The Chills Release First New Album in 19 Years
The Chills spearheaded by Martin Phillipps will release their first full length album – Silver Bullets, in 19 years on October 30. A full band tour is planned for 2016 and Martin Phillipps reportedly…
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
“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…
Organist Thomas Gaynor Wins Huge Prize
Wellington’s Thomas Gaynor, 24, who is currently studying in the United States, has won the prestigious 3rd Bach Liszt Organ competition, held in Weimar, Germany. The Wellington College graduate won the organ prize over 18…
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…
Natalie Lin Does Away with the Conductor
New Zealand violinist Natalie Lin, 26, has created a 16-piece string ensemble called Kinetic, an unconducted chamber orchestra which recently made its debut at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Houston. “I lead the ensemble with…
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
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
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
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
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
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…
Jennifer Flay Awarded France’s Legion of Honour
Jennifer Flay, who has been director of Paris’s premiere art fair Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain (FIAC) since 2003, has been awarded the Legion of Honour. On receiving France’s highest decoration, the Auckland-born Flay, 56, gave…
Kapa Haka Tale a Piece of NZ for Oxford
As part of Oxford’s Family Dance Week there is a one-off opportunity to see the haka live in a show performed by Corey Baker’s dance company, as part of a stunning new show called…
Lorde One of Stardom’s Vengeful
Lorde joins the ranks of pop singers joyfully and brutally sidestepping tropes about victimhood in the music video for Disclosure’s “Magnets” which ends with the featured New Zealander tying a guy to a chair,…
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
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 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…
New Zealand Paradise in New York Gallery
Transcendental images of New Zealand sky, horizons and water by photographer Brian Sweeney are on show at pop-up New Zealand gallery ORA on New York’s Seventh Avenue. “Paradise Road,” Sweeney’s exhibition of…
Ho Hai Tran Reminisces about Pizza Hut
New Zealand photographer Ho Hai Tran has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a book that will record his photographic journey of over 8700 miles from Australia to the US to document…
Burlesque Dancer Bonita Muntz off to Vegas
Christchurch burlesque artist Bonita Muntz, who performs as Bonita Danger Doll, is the first New Zealander selected to perform at the Las Vegas Burlesque Festival, held over three days, from 8-10 October. “This will be…
Hip Op-eration Crew Are Ageing with Attitude
Waiheke-based Hip Op-eration Crew is the oldest hip-hop dance group in the world with 22 members and an average age of 81. Manager and choreographer Billie Jordan, 45, founded the group to inspire other…
Marlon Williams’ Live Act Is Quite Something
“So often Clash will troop along to watch a new band, and their fringes will droop down over their chins, eyes pointed to the floor. Not so, Marlon Williams,” the music magazine writes. “A…
Bret McKenzie Digs Himself Into a Big Hole
Starring Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords digging himself a massive, literal hole in the ground, the latest single by the New Zealand powerpop group Phoenix Foundation features on the Guardian’s music site. “If…
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…
TIME Looks Back at 1997 Everest Cover Story
The new movie Everest is all Hollywood, with big movie stars meant for a big IMAX screen. But the story it tells is very real. TIME magazine looks back at the images and account…
