Big shoes to fill
Peter Jackson unveiled some of his models and sketches for King Kong at the CineAsia movie convention in Bangkok. “It’s not a love story; it’s a story about love,” he told the convention audience,…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Worthy mentor for worthy cause
NZ filmmaker Christine Rogers helped a group of Broadmeadows Secondary School (Melbourne) students make the short film By the Light of the Moon. The film tells the stories of two refugees who have settled…
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 one such writer.”
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 detailed tour of Napier’s architectural…
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 in the Nature and Environment…
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 partner Natasha Kaplinsky – with…
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 maker.” The subjects of Hanly’s…
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 organised the opening and closing…
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 between two children in the…
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 his belt. Currently in his…
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 award, which is now in…
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 Journal, and Publishers Weekly since…
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, which included Alan Jackson, George…
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 entry by the audience. “We…
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 attended the week long event,…
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 career flirted with edgier tempos…
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 is a self-described “accidental actress,”…
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 The Age focus on…
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 likely to eschew parental advice…
Kiwi scoops top Australian award
Slow Water by Annamarie Jagose won the prestigious AU$30,000 fiction prize at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards in October. Jagose has lived in Australia for 12 years and is currently on leave from the…
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 Bachelor of Performing Arts at…
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 Institute of American Indian Arts….
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 … took the so-called ‘Dunedin sound’…
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 Tim. “One of us backs…
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 Hirschfeld was won over by…
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 in Britain’s Antipodean and South…
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 up taking $500,000 as opposed…
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 nearly a decade. “Hyperbole can’t…
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 a full set of armour…
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 before moving to Leicester, where…
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 them in your gut, Tama…
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 Darkness, and Radiohead. “Dividing the…
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 in Kill Bill, and Halle…
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 Brad McGann and based on…
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 in 1979. She sings in…
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 incendiary) articles available online, sourced…
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, “The Ball is a hilarious…
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. The Cambridge-bred quartet will open…
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 surprise hit of the US…
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 the iconic 1933 original, which…
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 – begins in August of this…
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 are incredible … I…
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 board. The screenplay, written by…
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 initially crowned the victor before…
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 prevent his son from being…
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 the world have completed the…
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, on the face of it,…
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 a cult following all over…
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 Disney blockbuster draws a minimum…
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. Born in NZ to Greek…
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 for his lead role in…
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 new show entitled ‘Lonely Knights.’…
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 from NZ exceeded expectations in…
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. ” possesses that elusive balance of…
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 dark complexion means he is…
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 … set out to be the…
