Metapsychology
Massey University PhD and Wairarapa philosopher Derek Mesler has been published by the MIT Press. The Act of Thinking is “the work of a mature, sophisticated and profound thinker who may just have written…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Brits Back Fat Freddy
Incessant European touring appear to have paid off for Wellington band Fat Freddy’s Drop. The dub/reggae/roots collective won worldwide album of the year at the annual BBC Radio 1 Gilles Peterson Worldwide Music Awards for their…
Keeping it Local
One of NZ’s most successful producers Tim White returned to work on Toa Fraser’s debut feature No.2. An Ilam graduate, White’s producing credits include Ned Kelly, Map of the Human Heart, Two Hands, Oscar…
A thing of wonder
Released in December, Peter Jackson’s King Kong has received near unanimous praise from critics and movie-goers around the world. “This new King Kong is a folie de grandeur with real grandeur; in its power,…
Kiwi Story Rings True in US
Roger Donaldson’s World’s Fastest Indian, with Sir Anthony Hopkins playing NZ motorcycle legend Burt Munro, has been largely praised in the US. Hollywood Reporter: “A pleasingly whimsical and slyly mischievous road movie that features…
Kiwi contributes to Anger canon
Auckland University graduate Alice Hutchison has written an internationally acclaimed book on cult 1960s filmmaker Kenneth Anger, the artist who many believed defined the Age of Aquarius with such iconic works as Invocation of…
Mt Roskill meets Utah… and the world
No.2, the debut feature film by playwright Toa Fraser, has been selected for competition at Sundance 26. Based on his award winning play of the same name, No.2 stars a mixture of international and local actors…
South Sea Saga
Pamela Stephenson, NZ born psychologist, author and wife to comedian Billy Connolly, has published a book retracing the 19th century travels of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson. The Advertiser: ” loosely as the diary…
New Take on an Extraordinary Figure
Sir Edmund Hillary: An Extraordinary Life, a new authorized biography by art curator Alexa Johnston, has been well received both at home and abroad. According to Johnston, speaking in the Sunday Star Times,…
Something old, something new
The internationally acclaimed NZ String Quartet made an impressive debut in Minneapolis, performing as part of the annual Music in the Part Series in St Paul. The Quartet’s program included the world premiere of NZ composer…
The new jazz order
Stuart Nicholson, author of Is Jazz Dead (Or has it Moved to a new Address)?, names Kiwi Aron Ottignon as one of the six best new players on the international jazz scene. “Without anyone…
Urban philosophy
Whangarei-born, Caboolture (Queensland)-raised, Keith Urban is the hottest country music sensation in the world. Urban won entertainer of the year and best male vocalist at the Country Music Association Awards broadcast from…
On the Mark
The Guardian hails the rise and rise of Mark Baldwin, Fijian-born NZ-raised artistic director of London’s renowned Rambert Dance Company. After just three years in the job, Baldwin has significantly increased the Company’s…
Hayley hits America
NZ’s popera diva, Hayley Westenra, has landed the coveted opening slot for Il Divo on their U.S tour early next year. Touring with the hit operatic boy band could provide the ideal opportunity…
Serial thriller
October saw the UK premiere of hit NZ play, Serial Killers. Written by former Shortland Street scriptwriter, James Griffin, Serial Killers is a black comedy which takes place behind the scenes of…
Meet Me in Miami
Christchurch-produced independent film Meet Me in Miami premiered in one of the prime spots at the prestigious Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival on October 29 at The Egyptian Theatre in…
Great Scot
Alex Reedijk is leaving his post as general director of the NZ Opera to take the reins at its Scottish counterpart in March 2006. Reedjik has previously worked for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scottish…
Teddy Fan-club on the Rise
Kiwi baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes continues to set hearts a-flutter in the opera world. The Sydney media have called him “opera’s Brad Pitt,” the New York Times “a cross between Paul Bettany and Viggo…
The case for the code
The man behind international best-seller The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, will face a High Court action brought by the authors of the non-fictional work The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (1982). The…
Doomed for Success
“Doom may be by the numbers … But those numbers add up to the most cleverly engineered video-game movie made to date.” Starring NZ actor Karl Urban and NZ affiliated Dwayne Johnson…
Narnia comes to life
Excitement is growing for the December release of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Filmed in New Zealand and directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson (noted for his Shrek successes), this…
North Country
North Country is Niki Caro’s directorial follow-up to the hugely successful Whale Rider. Set in the iron mining region of north Minnesota, North Country tackles sexual harassment in the workplace…
The people’s Campion
Jane Campion has been lured out of self-imposed retirement for a very worthy cause. She joins fellow directing luminaries Robert Altman, Jodie Foster and Gaspar Noe in contributing to an 8-part feature film outlining…
The lion, the witch and the evangelicals
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will not only be doing battle at the box-office but also for the souls of mankind, according to an article published in the Guardian. US groups such…
Kubrick’s Successor?
The latest Hollywood release by Kapiti-grown, LA-resident writer-director Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show, Gattaca) is Lord of War. Described by the Guardian as “a moral fable treated with a surface realism,” Lord of War…
On living legends and future music
NZ composer and musicologist Robin Maconie has written a meticulously researched autobiography of the man many believe to be the world’s greatest living composer, German electronic music pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Maconie is regarded…
Heir to a Legend
Antoni Gaudi’s great unfinished masterpiece – the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona – is finally nearing completion, under the steady hand of NZ architect Mark Burry. Work on the epic scale building effectively…
Fat Freddy’s pick up
Wellington dub and reggae band Fat Freddy’s Drop took home four of the top Tuis at the New Zealand Music Awards. The band won best album and best roots album for…
WoWing the Crowds
The 2005 World of Wearable Art (WoW) show – the first to be held in Wellington rather than Nelson – was a huge success, with a record-breaking 30,000 tickets purchased for the event. The show is widely…
Bogans go global
New Zealand comedians Matt Heath and Chris Stapp, of Back of the Y and Bogan’s Heroes fame, have taken their special brand of gross-out humour to London, as contributing stuntmen on Channel 4’s …
Army Colonel Turned Art Critic
Prince Andrew made a fleeting visit to NZ this month, chiefly to spend time with the army’s Logistic Regiment, which he has headed since 1996. The Prince made international headlines with his humorous interpretation…
Practice makes perfection
Painter Max Gimblett is the subject of a lengthy article in premiere US art magazine, Art in America. Gimblett’s latest works were recently shown at the Haines Gallery in San Francisco. Critic…
Local epic lures Donaldson home
An interview with The World’s Fastest Indian director Roger Donaldson is the cover story for the October issue of Inside Film. Starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, the feature is described as the culmination of a…
Art in New Zealand
October’s Art in America features a “Report from New Zealand” by Richard Kalina, examining New Zealand artists and their work as well as the art history and institutions of the…
Capital meditation
Wallpaper magazine takes a look at the city-scapes of Wellington through the lens of legendary American photographer Stephen Shore – who had three pictures acquired by the Museum of Modern Art, New York…
Kong is coming
Wired magazine’s October issue features a lavish 16-page look at Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong, due to hit cinemas this December. Wired examines the greatly anticipated film through an…
The Amazing Phil
New Zealand presenter and producer Phil Keoghan has continued his winning streak with The Amazing Race. Produced by Hollywood heavyweight Jerry Bruckheimer, the show was named outstanding reality programme for the third time at…
Datsuns in good company
The Datsuns have been invited to play on a tribute album for the late, great BBC DJ John Peel, alongside superstars Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, Peter Shelley, David Gilmour and Peter Hook, and fellow…
Message in a vessel
NZ sculptor Roger Thompson is one of 400 artists from 65 different countries exhibiting at the second annual Beijing International Art Biennale. His Cultural Vessels/Amphoric Triptych is a collection of three containers representing…
Poptastic
‘Opera band’ Amici Forever’s clever fusion of classical and pop music continues to win them fans in the US and around the world. The brainchild of Kiwi member Geoff Sewell, Amici Forever’s debut album…
Cinematic Landmark
Rowan Woods’ Little Fish has been dubbed “the most important film in a year that’s looking like a dramatic turnaround for Australian movies.” Kiwi actors Martin Henderson, Sam Neill and Joel Tobeck…
Keith Urban up for US music awards
Country music star Keith Urban has four nominations at this year’s Country Music Association Awards. Urban is up for entertainer of the year, male vocalist of the year, album of the year for…
Hayley goes to Hollywood
The career of Hayley Westenra seems set to scale further heights with the release of her second full-length album, Odyssey. In the first two weeks of its launch, Odyssey sales have surpassed international…
Alan Dale heart-attacked from The O.C.
Dunedin-born actor Alan Dale’s role as wealthy Orange County real estate mogul, Caleb Nichol (“deep down, he is a conniving man that won’t stop until he gets what he wants”) in the hit show
Kiwi bunny and the Princess has E! Hit
Former Playboy Bunny, New Zealander Sandra Costa continues to turn vision into reality. Today, an international business woman and entrepreneur, Costa’s clients are amongst the “Rich and Famous”. President of Sandra Costa Development, interior…
Aspirational Apprehension
Aucklander Andrew Patterson features in the new Phaidon showcase of the world’s 100 most exceptional emerging architects selected by 10 leading figures in architecture. “We’re a beautiful natural part of the planet and our…
Tribute to a torchbearer
Chicago-based writer, Cheryl Kent, has published a book on internationally renowned Wellington born architect David Hovey entitled The Nature of Dwellings: The Architecture of David Hovey. Amazon’s editorial notes describe Hovey as “the torchbearer…
Disney Classic Gets Kiwi Treatment
A new Walt Disney stage production of Beauty and the Beast has proved a double coup for NZ. Weta Workshop is to design costumes for the $1 million extravaganza, which will be presented by…
Princes of Darkness
Black Grace was invited to perform again at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival after being the surprise hit of the event last year. “Never before has this reviewer seen a group of male dancers who…
Prom Date
Jonathan Lemalu and the NZSO were guest performers at this year’s BBC Proms. The prestigious annual event is held at the Royal Albert Hall and reaches a global audience of millions. Times: “Flesh and…
On the right path
Another talented Urban, Karl is to star in the upcoming US$30 million Viking epic, Pathfinder. Directed by Marcus Nipsel (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and written by Laeta Kalogridis (Alexander), Pathfinder tells the story of a…
Fans tickled pink
Stokes Valley tribute band, The Pink Floyd Experience, whipped South African fans into a frenzy with their recent tour of the country. “This was no second-string cover band: it was obviously a highly…
Almost kiwi
Best-selling British author, Alexander McCall Smith, (No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) revealed a Kiwi connection while in the country promoting his latest book. McCall Smith’s doctor father, George McCall Smith, ran off with a patient…
Fox buys slice of Kiwi reality
US cable network giant, Fox Reality, has purchased the rights to a three NZ reality TV shows; Treasure Island, Treasure Island Extreme, and The Bounty Hunters. “These shows are really strong examples of…
Coming to America
The largest exhibition of Maori art ever to show in the US opened at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts on August 4. Entitled Toi Maori Art from the Maori…
World’s fastest kiwi
Screenwriter and director Roger Donaldson’s film The World’s Fastest Indian was a roaring success at the Cannes Film Festival. It has quickly become the most sought after feature in the Cannes Market…
