Words as music

Whale Rider‘s US paperback release garnered further praise for author Witi Ihimaera. “Some writers create such beautiful prose that it might be poetry or music. Witi Ihimaera … is…

Treasure Out of Ruins

The Art Deco 1910-1939 exhibition at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts describes Napier as “one of the purest Art Deco cities in the world.” An IHT article gives a…

Leader of the Pack

Dunedin based production company, National History New Zealand, won two major awards at this year’s Beijing International Science Film Festival. The World’s Biggest Baddest Bugs and Spider Power took gold and silver respectively…

Dance Floor Casanova

“Strapping Kiwi dancer,” Brendan Cole, has found UK tabloid immortality as the fiery star of hit BBC1 show Strictly Come Dancing. Cole won the first series with TV presenter…

National Ikon

An Independent obituary for Pat Hanly calls him “the jester of modern NZ art … His images – exuberant, colourful, feisty and humorous – reflected the personality of their…

Ric Burch stages his story

Ric Birch, the NZ born maestro behind many of the sporting and cultural worlds’ most spectacular events, has published a tell-all autobiography entitled Master of the Ceremonies. Birch has…

Next stop Oscar?

Taika Waititi’s Two Cars, One Night won the Grand Jury Prize for best international short at the AFI Los Angeles Film Festival. The story of a relationship which develops…

Breaking New Ground

Phil Keoghan’s US profile continues to climb, with a hit TV series and inspirational book – No Opportunity Wasted: Creating a List for Life  under…

Winner by invitation

Peter Boggs won Australia’s most esteemed drawing prize, the Kedumba Drawing Award, in late October. He was selected from a field of 24 contemporary artists to win the invitation-only…

Powerhouse collaboration

Miracle: A Celebration of New Life, the multi-media collaboration between photographer Anne Geddes and Canadian singer Celine Dion, has reached Bestseller status in the New York Times, Wall Street…

Down Under cowboy

Keith Urban took out the Best Male Vocalist category at this year’s Country Music Association awards in Nashville. Urban was the surprise winner in an all-star American field,…

Two for Parr

Larry Parr’s Fracture scooped two major awards at the St Tropez Film Festival in October. Auckland’s Kate Elliot won Best Actress and the film was voted most popular festival…

From South Korea with love

NZ launched its inaugural South Korean Film Festival in Auckland on October 22. Actresses Chang Mi-hee and Park Sol-mi, directors Kang Je-gyu and Kwak Jae-yong, and critic Yu Gi-na…

Luna Rendezvous

New Zealand born, Harvard educated and New York resident Dean Wareham and his band Luna track through Japan promoting their final album Rendevous. “Where the last half of Luna’s…

Accidental winner

Sally Andrews won Best Actress at this year’s San Diego Film Festival for her starring role in NZ feature, Her Majesty. The 15-year-old Hutt Valley High School student…

Melancholy Masterpiece

The Australian mainstream release of In My Father’s Den has seen writer/director Brad McGann dubbed “NZ’s answer to Ken Loach.” Features in the Sydney Morning Herald and …

Making it on their own

The Age profiles ex-pat band Betchadupa and finds that despite their “pop-star pedigree” (Liam Finn is son of Neil and Matt Eccles of Angels drummer Brent), they are more…

Mane attraction

Turanga Merito has officially assumed the lead in Sydney’s The Lion King, taking over from close friend and fellow Kiwi, Vincent Harder. The 20-year-old from Rotorua studied for a…

Brothers in arts

Cheyene Emery, Lisa Bartlett, and Marie Panapa of Te Wananga o Aotearoa (University of NZ) travelled to Sante Fe to take part in an international arts exchange with the…

Icons of Indiepop

‘I Love My Leather Jacket’ by Flying Nun legends, The Chills, makes the Guardian‘s list of 10 great singles from the golden age of indiepop. “The Chills ……

Time is on their side

A Scotsman interview with Tim and Neil Finn finds that time and age has turned sibling rivalry to “sibling revelry, mate.” “There’s always a tension there between us,” says…

All-conquering Conchords

US network giant NBC (home to Seinfeld and Friends) has signed Kiwi comics Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, better known as Flight of the Conchords. Casting executive Marc…

The money or the bag?

Scott Smith of Auckland became the 7th contestant to face the million dollar question on hit Australian quiz show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The aspiring minister ended…

On top of the Down Under world

Is It?, a co-production by Emily Ansell (NZ) and Leonie Blignaut (SAF), won first prize at the UpOverDownUnder film festival in London. The annual event promotes independent film making…

Good things take time

An Australian Rolling Stone feature examines the intimate and lengthy process behind the making of Everyone Is Here, the first collaborative album by Neil and Tim Finn in…

Just don’t ask him to assume the brace position

Auckland armour maker, Warren Ormsby-Green, made Web India‘s ‘What in the Weird’ equivalent with his air travel exploits. Ormsby-Green, who created pieces for LotR and The Last Samurai, wears…

Britain loves Lucie

Another half-Kiwi is making an assault on the British pop charts: 24-year-old Lucie Silvas. Born in Glasgow to a Scots mother and NZ father, Silvas grew up in NZ…

Good gut feeling

The Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre enthralled Boston audiences, according to the Village Voice. “From rapid finger flutters to haka warrior poses, thrusts, and vocal outbursts so strong you feel…

Scene stealer

Star feature on veteran US stuntwoman Jeannie Epper makes mention of her NZ protégé, Zoë Bell. Bell’s career to date includes doubling for Lucy Lawless in Xena, Uma Thurman…

Punk lives

Guardian names Selfish Cunt (made up of singer Martin Tomlinson and Kiwi guitarist Patrick Constable) one of the top 40 bands in Britain today, alongside Franz Ferdinand, Blur, The…

International acclaim for national story

NZ/British co-production In My Father’s Den won the prestigious Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique (FIPRESCI) award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by NZer…

Multilingual, multicultural and multitalented

Haaretz interviews prolific folk and multicultural musician, Jill Rogoff. Born to a Polish Jewish father and NZ mother, Rogoff was born and grew up in Wellington before leaving for Jerusalem…

One-stop provocation shop

Denis Dutton’s Arts & Letters Daily website received a generous write-up in the Voice of America. A&L Daily is a collection of links to interesting (and often…

Comedy with a Conscience

The Ball, an Australian spoof of The Piano by Anny Slater, has been nominated by the UN for a Media Peace Prize. According to Canada’s St Johns Film Festival,…

On the road again

Fresh from working with ex-Led Zeppelin John Paul Jones on their second album, Outta Sight/Outta Mind, the Datsuns are hooking up with another set of rock legends: The Pixies….

Jolly green giant

It’s official: Shrek 2 is the third highest-grossing film of all time, behind Titanic and the first Star Wars. Directed by Kiwi Andrew Adamson, Shrek 2 was the…

Wellywood in the Spotlight

The world’s eyes are on Wellington once again as production steps up on Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake. Jackson promises to make a “wonderful, mysterious adventure film” worthy of…

Addicted to Jackson

Empire offers hope to fans experiencing panic attacks at “the thought of a year without a Peter Jackson film.” Shooting on the next Jackson-helmed epic – King Kong -…

A weighty story

A feature-length biopic of NZ sporting icon Precious McKenzie is in the works, with London-based Precious UK Ltd and South Africa’s Unital Films International already on…

Kong

The three principal stars of Peter Jackson’s King Kong are raving about the film and its Wellington location before shooting has even begun. Adrien Brody: “The facilities here [in…

God of the air axe

NZ’s Tarquin ‘The Tarkness’ Keys was named joint winner of the world air guitar championship at the ninth annual Oulu Music Video Festival. Miri “Sonyk-Rok” Park of Finland was…

Writer in residence

Wellington-based British author Neil Cross, has made the 2004 Man Booker Prize long-list with his fourth novel, “Always the Sun”. The story tells of a father’s attempts to…

Shifting mythology

A study of Peter Jackson’s LotR trilogy by the University of Wales has been extended due to an unexpectedly large public response. More than 25,000 people from all over…

No vanity project

Observer reviews Other Ways of Speaking, the latest offering from Russell Crowe’s band Twenty Odd Foot of Grunts, and is pleasantly surprised. “hat should be an easy target and,…

Underground exposure

A music video by Auckland band The Mint Chicks featured on the inaugural CD sampler by Australian Vice. A free street magazine, Vice originated in the US and has…

King of the Jungle

20-year-old Turanga Merito has assumed the lead role of Simba in the Sydney production of The Lion King, after fellow Kiwi Vincent Harder bowed out for family reasons. The…

Making History with Music

NZ composer John Psathas provided much of the music for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Athens Games, including the climactic moment when the Olympic flame was lit….

Edge awardees

NZ performers Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Ross McCormack were commended at the annual Helpmann Awards in Sydney, August 10. Rhodes was named Best Male Performer in an Opera…

Might of the Conchords

“New Zealand’s fourth most popular folk parody act,” Flight of the Conchords (a.k.a Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement), made a triumphant return to this year’s Edinburgh Festival, with a…

Graceful Entry

Black Grace made its highly anticipated US debut at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Boston, earning ecstatic reviews from the national press. New York Times: “This modern-dance company…

Pop with Edge

BritKiwi singer Natasha Bedingfield (sister to Brit Award winner Daniel) is a welcome addition to an increasingly bland, Idol-dominated British pop scene, according to a lengthy Guardian feature. “…

Stopping traffic

Cliff Curtis earns praise across the Tasman for his gritty performance in Traffic: The Miniseries. Australian: “By far the best performance is from Maori actor Cliff Curtis. His…

Finn-tastic

The Finn brothers’ headlining performance at Summerstage Central Park thrilled fans and critics alike. NY Times: “Rock bands of brothers aren’t known for amity The Finn Brothers ……

Hollywood’s Latest Bad Boy

Karl Urban (LotR, Chronicles of Riddick) has won over US critics with his portrayal of “malignant hit-man Kirill” in the critically acclaimed action sequel, The Bourne Supremacy. According to…

Textile success

Promenade by Clare Plug won the Marianne Kor Award for Distinguished International Entry at the 2004 Fibreart International exhibition in Pittsburgh. Two of Plug’s pieces were selected…

Rick Rudd, noteworthy ceramicist

Taipei Times praises NZ potter Rick Rudd’s “heavenly wares” in a review of his exhibition at Page One’s Taipei 101 store. “Rudd does not label his wares, preferring instead…