News
Aussie actors fight to save jobs due to law change
Taken NZ Herald, by Charisse Ede.
Australian actors as facing one of their toughest gigs - saving Australian roles for Australians. Imagine Packed to the Rafters with an American lead, or the cast of Neighbours dominated by British actors, or the blockbuster film Australia starring non-Australians.
This is what the actors' union, Actors Equity, says the Australian production industry could become if the federal government brings in proposed changes to the rules allowing foreign performers in local productions.
About 100 Australian actors met in Melbourne on Sunday to express thei anger and concern over the draft Foreign Performers Certification Scheme Guidelines, prepared by the Office of the Arts.
They are threatening to take industrial action not seen in the Australian production industry for more than 30 years if the issue isn't resolved to an "acceptable outcome".
Read the full article here.
Stuff's short film festival: The Orchard
Taken from Stuff, by Kirsty Johnson.
The latest film to screen in Stuff's short film festival is a little different this week - it's animated.
The Orchard (watch it here) was created by Bob Stenhouse, who is notable for being the first New Zealander to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short for his previous short film The Frog, The Dog and The Devil in 1986.
The Orchard is based on a Japanese folk tale and tells the story of a small community hit by an earthquake and the old man who saves them from a tsunami.
It uses the same techniques used in The Frog, The Dog and The Devil. Each frame was hand-drawn by Stenhouse when the film was made around 15 years ago.
The Orchard is the 13th film to be hosted on Stuff during its short film season.
The first was Six Dollar Fifty Man, second Poppy, third Only Son, fourth Amadi, fifth Careful with that Crossbow, sixth This Film is a Dog, seventh Infection, eighth Day Trip, ninth Two Cars, One Night, 10th Warbrick, 11th Roof Rattling and 12th Vostok Station.
Stuff's short film festival is produced in conjunction with the New Zealand Film Commission and NZ On Screen.
Nothing Trivial: Hitting the right answers
Taken from NZ Herald, by Jacqueline Smith.
Pub quizzes are a Tuesday night staple. All over Auckland, hotch-potch teams assemble, bevies in hand, to "name that celebrity/vegetable/musical score" and recall "who has won the most medals in this obscure sport: A, B, C, or D".
It's a bit of fun, and an excuse to drink with purpose, but it's also a mighty tough competition.
As Blair Strang, who plays a pub quiz regular on TV One's new series Nothing Trivial says, "social competition in New Zealand man, there's no such thing, we're a competitive lot."
The idea for a show about a group of characters in their mid-thirties and early fourties, whose lives intersect at a pub quiz comes from Rachel Lang and Gavin Strawhan, who recently masterminded Go Girls and This Is Not My Life.
"We had some characters in mind but we couldn't quite find the right place for them to come together. And then Rachel went to a quiz night with her brother and thought 'ah'," says Strawhan. "We thought an underlying theme could be that these people are busying themselves answering all the small questions and hoping the big ones will take care of themselves."
Read the full article here.
My Big Week: Liesha Ward Knox
Taken from NZ Herald, TimeOut.
Friday night drinks? Meet me at:
The Wine Cellar. It's quirky, relaxed and has an authentic air of unpredictability.
Where I'll be wearing my new:
Winter boots. I don't care what the dress code is, I'm wearing them, it's cold.
And this weekend I'm planning on:
Sneaking in a few rehearsals for a play I'm doing in this year's Short+Sweet festival. It's a cool little 10 minute, 2 person piece called Perfect. The people I am working with are wonderful - it's nice when life dishes up the good stuff.
But first I'll need to refuel at my favourite cafe:
Jaffa on Richmond Rd. Try the Balinese sticky rice, it tastes like summer.
Saturday evening. If my dreams come true there would be a gig by:
Dream gig would be: An Evolution of Pop Spectacular, starting from the 50s right through to now, all of the main players performing their hits live. Gah, that would be cool.
Reality based Gig:
There are two Wellington bands that really make me smile till it hurts, the recently disbanded (excuse the pun) Odessa and The Wellington International Ukelele Orchestra.
But if there's nothing else doing I'll probably just:
Mooch. Slowly doing everything and nothing.
On my stereo/headphones right now is:
This American Life - great podcast; they make fun of it on The Simpsons, so it must be good.
The books I can't put down are:
Any book of riddles - Google "Who owns the fish?" Einstein came up with it and said 98 per cent of the population wouldn't work it out. I know someone who solved it in half an hour, while watching TV. I have 3 pages of DIY flow charts and am still going ...
The TV show I take the phone off the hook for:
NZ's Next Top Model, for so many reasons.
The movie I've been dying to see:
Russian Snark, a NZ film playing at Rialto about a Russian film-maker who comes to NZ to realise his dreams. Apparently it's fantastic.
A non-cooking Monday night means takeaways from:
Ponsonby Rd Food Court, where you are guaranteed to find good food and a friend to share it with.
Or a splash-out Wednesday night restaurant would be:
Clooney, they make food into foam and foam into food, just magic.
Liesha Ward Knox is in Perfect at the Herald Theatre until Saturday. Short+Sweet Theatre runs until 17 July.
Brooke Williams in the NZ Herald
Taken from NZ Herald, by Jacqueline Smith.
A year ago, you might have been forgiven for not knowing Kiwi actress Brooke Williams, but then she stripped off, whipped out a convincing Russian accent and became quite a talking point.
Audiences fell in love with Elena, her character on Outrageous Fortune, who married Van after he doggedly pursued her after seeing her in life-drawing class.
In between, she's also sported an English accent to play Aurelia on Spartacus: Blood and Sand and an American one in Legend of the Seeker. A few months ago she showed off her natural Kiwi twang when she played the begrudging, gothic goddess Eva on The Almighty Johnsons.
And this week she turns up in Ferndale.
It's fair to say that Williams, 27, is now a lady in demand. She had just a week between wrapping up on the set of Spartacus: Gods of the Arena before she was due on the set of Shortland Street.
"I'm very lucky because I went from a job where I was covered in blood and dust to this one where I am wearing amazingly gorgeous hand-constructed vintage outfits, and beautiful makeup. It's very glamorous, very different to what I wear but a real treat."
Read the full article here.
Nothing Trivial
SOUTH PACIFIC PICTURES
screening from 20 July on TV One, 8.30pm
Nothing Trivial is a new romantic comedy/drama from the creators of Go Girls, This Is Not My Life and Mercy Peak. Light hearted and fun - it also deals with some of the bigger questions about life, love and the pursuit of happiness.
The show is set in the convivial and highly competitive world of Pub Trivia and is based around a pub trivia team of five late 30/early 40 year olds, who have one thing in common. Each of them is unhappy or unlucky in love.
Watch the promotional segments here.
Nothing Trivial features Auckland Actors Mike Edward, Katrina Wesseling, Barnie Duncan, Damien Avery and Manon Blackman.
On Demand audiences on the rise in NZ
Taken from Throng.
More and more kiwis are heading online to catch their favourite NZ TV shows according to TVNZ and TV3.
The two broadcasters' online catch-up services are attracting larger audiences than ever before, with home-grown shows high on the priority list for viewers.
TV3's service attracted roughly 180,000 in a "good week" with shows such as New Zealand's Next Top Model, Outrageous Fortune and The Almighty Johnsons proving the most popular.
TVNZ's service last year attracted around 320,000 weekly views with Shortland Street the most popular series.
MediaWorks interactive director Siobhan McKenna said the On Demand service had gained 20 per cent more viewers since this time last year.
"We've spent a long time getting smart about our approach to running it well and that means we haven't needed to continue throwing millions of dollars at it," McKenna said. "The big shows from [TV3] and Four are what we throw most resources at."
V48 Hours 2011 Grand National results
Taken from V48 Hours, by Ant Timpson.
Congratulations to all the teams who were nominated by especially to the big winners on the big night. Thank you all for a truly outstanding year. It's been one crazy ride.
Remember the Best of the Fest starts on TVNZ U (Skychannel 16, Freeview 6) from July 3rd. Every night at 10pm. Now go start 'Chumpin'!
GRAND NATIONAL RESULTS
Grand National Champ
GRAND CHEVAL - The Child Jumpers - Fad Movie
Grand National Runner Up
LENSE FLARE - Copy That - Road Movie
Grand National Third Place
MUKPUDDY - Meanie Pants - Quest Movie
Panasonic Cinematography
COUCH KUMARAS - Sketch - Road Movie
Images & Sound Sexiest
MR MANAGER - The Gardener - Quest Movie
Rialto Channel Rising Talent Award
SLURPEDO
Unitec Aspiring Filmmaker Study Prize
Alan Parr
MINI Best Road Movie
HAYNES TEAM - Stuck in the Mini With You - Road Movie
Loop Best Original Song
RUBBER SOUL - Well Strung - Musical/Dance Movie
Media Design Best Animation
MUKPUDDY - Meanie Pants - Quest Movie
Best Incredibly Strange Film
VAULT502 - Blue Rising - Road Movie
Best Actress
IDIOTVISION - Headshot - Mia Pistorius (Watch the short film here)
Best Actor
RUBBER SOUL - Well Strung - Dinnie Moeahu Ash Haimona
Read the full list of results here.
Stuff's short film festival: Vostok Station
Taken from Stuff, by Kirsty Johnson.
Kiwi sci-fi film Vostok Station (watch it here), depicts the isolating and oddly beautiful experience of a sole survivor trapped on the Arctic ice after an unexplained, cataclysmic disaster.
Written and directed by Auckland animator and designer Dyla Pharazyn, Vostok Station tells the story of a wounded man, played by Matt Sunderland (Out of the Blue) dazed and alone, wandering the ice.
Roaming bloody among a polar landscape - pocked with beached container ships - he experiences a moment of sky-splitting beauty.
The film was shot on a tight budget at Mt Ruapehu over three days during winter in 2006 but it took the makers some time to secure a 35mm print, enabling Vostok Station to be submitted to international film festivals.
Following an unsuccessful trip to Bangkok by Pharazyn, the film gained sponsorship from Auckland's post production facility, Digital Post (Lord of the Rings, Thirty Days of Night). Its significant special effects were added and the Dolby mix finished.
Producer Richard Collins said the change in production values ultimately meant the film took longer to finish.
"There was a huge amount of additional work to complete with the change in resolution and we were committed to completing the film to international standards."
But he says the final film is an "incredible achievement" which showcases some of New Zealand's best creative talents and technologies.
Vostok Station is the 12th film to be hosted by Stuff during its short film season. The film was selected for Sundance (where it was nominated for a New Frontier award), Valladolid (Spain) and onedotzero (London) film festivals.
The first was Six Dollar Fifty Man, second Poppy, third Only Son, fourth Amadi, fifth Careful with that Crossbow, sixth This Film is a Dog, seventh Infection, eighth Day Trip, ninth Two Cars, One Night, the tenth Warbrick and the 11th Roof Rattling.
Stuff's short film festival is produced in conjunction with the New Zealand Film Commission and NZ On Screen.
Simon Ward on Nightline
Watch Auckland Actors' Simon Ward, interviewed on Nightline about his V48 Hours film Headshot.
Watch it here.