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 My Demon Brother (scored by Mick Jagger), Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (which anticipated 60's psychedelia), and Lucifer Rising (the final piece in the acclaimed Magick Lantern cycle). Titled simply Kenneth Anger, the book has already been hailed as one of the definitive pieces on the notoriously difficult and reclusive artist. A Film Journal review describes Hutchison's work as "stunningly produced … Gaining permission [from Anger] to reproduce a huge range of film stills, many of them not previously published, is Hutchison's triumph." Read the Listener story on Hutchison's book here. 
(November 2005)

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 United Nations's Millennium Development Goals, which include eradicating extreme hunger and poverty and reducing child mortality by 2015. Campion’s piece, The Water Diary, addresses environmental stability. The AU$6.4 million project is helmed by French producer Marc Obéron, who hopes to have it completed in time for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to launch at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
(19 October 2005)

Richard Curtis: Love is the edge
The BBC screened the latest work by screenwriter and director Richard Curtis, The Girl in the Café, on the eve of the 2005 G8 meeting at Gleneagles. Curtis’s script faces the most important issue of 2005: will this be the year when world powers seriously address the issue of world poverty - once and for all? Born in Wellington New Zealand in 1956, Richard Curtis is the son of Australian parents, his father was a Unilever executive who went onto postings in Manila, Stockholm, Folkestone and Warrington UK. He is the writer of some of the most successful romantic comedies ever made - Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary, Love Actually – produced by Working Title, the London film studio co-founded by Queenstown’s Tim Bevan. Curtis wrote Blackadder and Rowan Atkinson’s stage shows. He is co-founder and vice-chairman of Comic Relief, and a member of the Make Poverty History campaign. The Girl in the Café follows the story of a hard-working civil servant and his life-changing relationship with a mysterious girl whom he meets in a café opposite Downing Street. The Guardian’s 2003 feature on Curtis called him “a global power in cinema…Curtis's trick in his films has been to make the parochial global. He's a Big Englander: someone who, like Richard Branson, gambled that his personal values might be more widely shared.” CNN said “No doubt about it: "The Girl in the Cafe" is the best romantic comedy set at a G-8 summit you're ever likely to see… besides packing a weighty message -- significant reduction in global poverty and infant mortality is now within the grasp of world leaders -- this lovely film can hold its own against any love story as it depicts a mismatched couple struggling to connect.” Socialist Unity called The Girl in the Café: “a jingoistic political broadcast on behalf of New Labour…Curtis could have weaved into the script the beginnings of colonialism and the slave trade, through to the decades following independence when the ex-colonial powers reasserted their control through creating the debt slavery system, and to the present day with G8 countries and their corporations queuing up to benefit from has been called "the new scramble for Africa".” 
(14 July 2005)

Teaser goes down a treat
The global screening of the inaugural trailer for the Chronicles of Narnia caused hysteria amongst fans eager for a glimpse of Kiwi Andrew Adamson’s creation. “The snow-globe fantasyland of the most popular book in C.S. Lewis' treasured literary collection comes to swirling life with mythic beasts, snarling wolves and white vistas punctuated by a thunderous roar. No cutesy creatures. No anachronistic wisecracks. What rushes by is like flipping through a picture book full of rich images.”
(6 May 2005)

Miramar the seat of power
The June issue of Premiere magazine (US) named Peter Jackson the most powerful person in Hollywood, ahead of Steven Spielberg, Pixar animations duo Steve Jobs and John Lasseter, Tom Cruise, and Tom Hanks. According to the article, Jackson is “one of the few one man band productions that are changing the grid of the power structure in Tinseltown.” In other Jackson news, the director is suing New Line Cinema for its handling of revenues generated by Fellowship of the Ring (2001). According to the New York Times, "the claim strikes at the heart of the modern vertically integrated media company," and is subsequently being followed intently in Hollywood. Jackson's lawyers believe he has been left more than US$100 million out of pocket.
(6 May 2005)
    

The real super heroes
Kiwi stuntwoman Zoe Bell (Xena, Kill Bill, Catwoman) is the joint subject of an American documentary on women in her profession, entitled Double Dare. The film charts the very different careers of Bell and Wonder Woman stuntwoman Jeannie Epper. “The real women behind these two world-famous icons are at drastically different crossroads in their lives. One, a grandmother, struggles with the aging process and Hollywood's dearth of older female roles; the other, a young woman, is brash and unaware of the feminist history that has paved her way in this notoriously macho field. When Jeannie becomes a mentor for Zoë, these two women from opposite sides of the world and opposite ends of their careers find a way to survive in the industry together.”
(May 2005)
   

Crowe’s Cinderella
Russell Crowe stirs the first Oscar-talk of the season: “An exquisite ode to a working-class hero, "Cinderella Man" takes the almost impossibly perfect elements of the saga of underdog boxer James J. Braddock and fills it with emotional gravitas, wrenching danger and a panoramic sense of American life during the Great Depression. Oscar winner "A Beautiful Mind" seems a warmup to this main event, in which helmer Ron Howard grasps the full measure of artistry he's often reached for, and gifted thesp Russell Crowe limns a role he seems born to play. Universal's summer release strategy seems riskier than Braddock's final bout, but solid, sustained B.O. boosted by glowing critical response -- with a late-round re-release during awards season -- could deliver winning results.”
(19 May 2005)

Boy oh boy
Welby Ing’s Boy won the Best Short Narrative Film award at the 2005 Cinequest Festival in San Jose, which qualifies it for consideration for next year's Oscars. The film tells the story of a young male prostitute in small-town NZ, who tries to reveal the truth behind a fatal hit-and-run accident. New York’s Filmmaker Magazine describes Boy as "a haunting, visually inventive tale about coming of age and into sexuality.”
(22 April 2005)
    

2 films, much praise
Taika Waititi’s acclaimed short film Two Cars, One Night was nominated for an Oscar at this year’s awards. It is now touring the US alongside fellow nominees as part of an Oscar 2005 shorts package distributed by Apollo Films. The Boston Globe picks 2 Cars as one of the best of the bunch, praising Waititi’s ability to “[humorously capture] a universe of preadolescent attraction, in which boy and girl go from vulgar to sweet.” Waititi’s second film, Tama Tu, received an honourable mention at this year’s Sundance Festival. Read the Listener’s interview with Waititi here.
(25 March 2005)
   

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 and Lucinda, and Death in Brunswick. He was chief executive of Fox Icon, a cooperative venture between 20th Century Fox and Mel Gibson's Icon Productions, and until last year headed Working Title Australia, the Antipodean branch of the UK production house behind Bridget Jones, Billy Elliot and Four Weddings and a Funeral. White describes working on No.2 as the best homecoming he could ever ask for in an interview with Stuff. "I was really drawn to finding a story that explored the incredibly vivid, energetic Pasifika culture and the very thing that made Auckland attractive in a way that I'd never really appreciated long ago." His next project is Scarfies director Robert Sarkies' film about the Aramoana massacre. 
(11 December 2005)

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 an aging, quixotic hero … a feel-good Christmas movie and a potential hit film among the over-25 set." Variety: "The film offers no complexities, details about Burt's earlier life and family or even hints about why his old bike is so much faster than new models. Button-pushing score emphasizes the most obvious emotional notes of the story. LA Times: "[Hopkins is a] wild dark horse in the Best Actor derby." 
(November 2005)

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 (aka "The Rock"), Doom has impressed critics and film-goers with its innovative take on the game-to-movie genre, if not for its intricate plot and characters. During his promotional run for the film, The Rock (who spent time in Grey Lynn as a child and whose mother is Samoan) spoke to NZ's Sunday Times about his origins: "My Samoan heritage is extremely important to me … I don't get to see them as often as I would like to but the love is there, and to all my family in NZ, talofa lava." 
(21 October 2005)

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 first installment in the Chronicles of Narnia follows the journey of four siblings through an enchanted wardrobe into a magical wonderland of mythical creatures, fantastic adventures, Aslan the Lion and the White Witch. With a reported budget of $100m (US), the cast features Tilda Swinton and Liam Neeson as well as a number of New Zealand actors including Elizabeth Hawthorne and Shane Rangi. Adamson was pleased to have the opportunity to bring C.S. Lewis's much loved story to the big screen. "It's a classic already and I couldn't pass up this opportunity to film what is such a special story to millions of people. I really want the movie to be as lasting as the book."
(21 October 2005)

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 tells the dual stories of a Ukrainian-American gunrunner (Nicholas Cage) and the Interpol agent (Ethan Hawke) determined to bring him down. Hawke had this to say of Niccol in an Australian Vogue interview: "I really believe in him. Andrew thinks differently from anybody else making movies. I feel he could really wind up being the Kubrick of our generation." 
(16 October 2005)

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 join Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Noni Hazlehurst in a powerhouse Australasian cast. Henderson in particular has earned rave reviews for his performance as crippled speed dealer Ray – a far cry from his usual romantic lead or love interest roles. Sam Neill plays an underworld kingpin on the wane and Tobeck his sinister lieutenant. Those in the know can also spot a cameo by Bic Runga as a cabaret singer. Sunday: “[It’s] the characters of Little Fish you remember. The actors and their director have brought such veracity to them that the film has the complexity and unpredictability of real life.” Little Fish opened the Melbourne International Film Festival and will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival.
(9 September 2005)
   

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 with key distributors clamouring to secure it. Anthony Hopkins plays New Zealander Burt Munro, a man who spent several decades modifying a 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle. The film follows Munro as he fulfills his lifelong ambition to race at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where he eventually sets the land-speed world record that still remains unbroken. Shot on location in New Zealand and Salt Lake City, Utah, Donaldson describes it as “an uplifting and inspirational story in the spirit of such films as Rocky, Billy Elliot and Chariots of Fire." 
(August 2005)

Shattering cinema
Another fantastic review for award-winning NZ film, In My Father’s Den. “They say that NZ wears its people lightly: the land is so strong, so exciting, so varied and so remote that its people could be blown away and it would hardly notice. But the people in this film would take some blowing away, being entangled with each other and bound to the place by memories, guilt and hatred … The drama is hidden within many layers. Peel away one and we uncover more of the dark secrets, the suppressed and ancient tragedies of the small town. The climax is shattering.”
(28 June 2005)
   

Wilding at heart (2) 
A stylish black and white music video by LA-based nzer Anna Wilding (and relative of Wimbledon chamption Anthony Wilding) reached final competition of the first ever Los Angeles Femme Festival held in May. The film festival platforms the commercial work of current and emerging A-list women film makers. Over 1500 music video and feature film entries were received for the festival. Rebel in Me was one of six music videos in final competition. The fluid and inspiring music video, which is a remake of the Jimmy Cliff song Rebel in Me, was filmed on 16mm and features Polynesian artist Moana and the Moa Hunters. Wilding is also in the film. 
(24 May 2005)

Standring gets teeth into international market
According to Empire magazine, Glen Standring’s Perfect Creature is NZ’s largest ever international film sale. Set in an alternate 1960s/70s NZ, the highly original vampire tale stars British actors Dougray Scott and Saffron Burrows. Perfect Creature has been purchased by 20th Century Fox and will receive widespread international release. Standring’s debut feature, The Irrefutable Truth About Demons, also sold strongly overseas.
(15 May 2005)
  

My Favourite Ape
Compared with his work as an Oscar-winning director and the filmmaker behind the most popular trilogy in movie history, Peter Jackson's first attempt to remake King Kong was by any measure amateurish. Jackson painted the Manhattan skyline on an old bedsheet, constructed the Empire State Building out of cardboard and pinched his mother's shawl to craft the giant gorilla's fur. It didn't look like much, Jackson admits, but then again he was 13 years old. If filming The Lord of the Rings was Jackson's cinematic passion, remaking King Kong has been a lifelong obsession. For as much resolve as the 43-year-old Jackson exhibited in adapting JRR Tolkien's books about hobbits and elves, the director has shown even more perseverance in retelling the legendary beauty-and-the-beast story. Jackson essentially owes his career to the original 1933 King Kong: Had he not seen it, he says, he might not have become a filmmaker.
(5 February 2005)

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, its spectacle, and its spine-tinglingly beautiful vision of 1930s New York, it is a thing of wonder," raves the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. "There's no cage strong enough for the sheer brute strength of Jackson's movie, a muscularity matched by its ingenuous love for the great beast himself. Like his tiny blonde worshipper, you will be in the palm of his hand." New York Times reviewer A.O Scott is similarly effusive. "[Jackson], who not so long ago was making low-budget monster movies in his native NZ, clearly wants to hold onto the artisanal, eccentric spirit of the past - his own and that of the art form he loves … He succeeds through a combination of modesty and reckless glee, topping himself at every turn and revelling in his own showmanship." 
(9 December 2005)

Mt Roskill meets Utah… and the world 
No.2, the debut feature film by playwright Toa Fraser, has been selected for competition at Sundance 2006. Based on his award winning play of the same name, No.2 stars a mixture of international and local actors - including Ruby Dee (Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing) in the central role of Nanna Maria. "From a backyard in Mt. Roskill to the Sundance Film Festival, it's crazy and very cool, a big honour," says Fraser in Arts Calendar. "I'm very proud of the film and can't wait for audiences to get to see it." The 2006 Sundance Festival sees a return to its independent roots, with a slimmed down program and greater emphasis on the discovery of new faces and names. No.2 is one of just 16 films selected for the festival's international dramatic section. 
(29 November 2005)

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 Hollywood. Starring two of the biggest Latino film and television sensations Carlos Ponce and Eduardo Verastegui, the romantic comedy follows Luis Montero, an heir to a wealthy hotel chain and one of Miami's most eligible bachelors, as he and his best friend Eduardo board a plane to New Zealand to win back Luis' childhood sweetheart Julia, played by Tara Leniston. The film was shot in nine weeks, seven of those in Christchurch and two on the Californian coast. The Christchurch actors include Brigid McClelland, Richard Burtt, Nicholas Bollen and Claire Bruce. Meet Me in Miami is produced by Lisa Abbott, and directed by Eric Hannah and Iren Koster. Christchurch based Abbot said, "It is a huge honour for Meet Me in Miami to be included at the LA Latino International Film Festival where it will be up against some of the very best Latino films in the world. Rarely are comedies invited to compete in this competition so I am thrilled Meet Me in Miami has been considered for this year's festival and is nominated for the competition awards." 
(30 October 2005)

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 extensive selection of behind the scenes images in a King Kong portfolio by Art Streiber and Jackson's online diary entries found on kongisking.net. The "post-production diaries" started last September, chronicle the making of King Kong in bite sized three to four minute installments of footage, that when complete will have a collective running time of nearly six and a half hours. "The Kongisking journals are more than a mere tease. They have blossomed into a real-time documentary about the making of King Kong, the world's first comprehensive, downloadable study of how a $175 million movie gets made, down to the last fleck of modeling clay." 
(October 2005)

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 Viking child (Urban) left behind during a battle between Native Americans and Norse warriors in pre-Columbus America. Urban is also reportedly a contender to take the reins from Pierce Brosnan as the next James Bond. According to Bond fan-site MI6, he is the right age, is a recognizable but not yet big name, and has proven himself adept at genre fare.” The next Bond film – Casino Royale – will be directed by fellow Kiwi Martin Campbell, who also made 1995’s Goldeneye.
(15 August 2005)
  

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 and is based on the book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham. The film stars Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand with Sean Bean, Woody Harrelson and Sissy Spacek. Theron delivers another gritty performance in the role of single mother Josie Aimes, who rallies her female coworkers to rise above unfair treatment they face at a local mining company. Caro said: "With North Country, I was so shocked that these events had happened in such recent history. I was very intrigued by the fact that every person in every industry I've talked to has heard of sexual harassment. And yet, in a cinematic culture that damages and demoralizes female characters with embarrassing regularity, making a film about sexual harassment seemed like a bold act. Nobody's made this film before."
(20 October 2005)

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 compelling reality television,” says Fox Reality COO David Lyle. “Our audience responds to human dramas in Reality Television whether they take place with Americans in a Honduran resort, British on the Costa Del Sol or even, we hope, New Zealanders racing around a Pacific Island.” All three shows were produced by Touchdown New Zealand.
(7 August 2005)
   

Buggin’ out
NZ entomologist, writer, broadcaster and educator, Ruud Kleinpaste, is a hit in the US as the host of Animal Planet's Buggin' With Ruud. "In Buggin' With Ruud, the energetic, fearless Kleinpaste subjects himself to no small amount of indignities to show the amazing things that bugs can do - from crawling into a freezer (with a temperature probe 'up his bum') to show how NZ crickets survive the winter, to being locked into a hyperbaric chamber to make a point about dragonflies and oxygen."
(19 June 2005)
  

Wild about Buddha
Anna Wilding’s feature length documentary Buddha Wild sold out its sneak preview sessions at Rialto Cinemas as well as in Thailand, with all proceeds going to the tsunami appeal. Expect big things on the international festival circuit.
(February 2005)
   

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 design and build company and COO of MME Worldwide, a music entertainment and management company based in Hollywood, Costa takes charge of celebrities homes and careers including actress and songwriter Princess Ann Claire who stars in the Hit reality show “ Love is in the Heir “ that recently finished its first season screening on E! The show is based on reality, improv and humor. Princess Ann Claire, Iranian royal heiress, rejects the royal lifestyle in search of her own identity, which means living in Los Angeles and Nashville, looking for an acceptable husband and pursuing a career as a country singer. The “Princess”, managed and mentored by Costa, is proud to be half Kiwi (her great-grandmother was the first woman to wear slacks and drive a Ford in New Zealand).
(2005)

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 as Catholic Outreach and the National Association of Evangelicals intend to use the film - and its projected sequels - as a preaching tool to reach the masses, due to its overtly Christian themes and symbolism. Bill Pullman, acclaimed fantasy author and vocal critic of Narnia's creator, C.S Lewis, describes the popular series as "a peevish blend of racist, misogynistic and reactionary prejudice; but of love, of Christian charity, [there is] not a trace." Disney's marketing campaign for the first Narnia instalment - filmed in NZ by Kiwi Andrew Adamson - is one of the biggest in recent cinema history. 
(16 October 2005)

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 30-year dream for Donaldson, who made a documentary about the film's subject - Invercargill land speed record holder Burt Munro - back in 1971. As well as speaking about the movie itself, the US-based director talks about the present state of the NZ film industry ("pretty impressive… NZ seems to make a fair mark for itself") and his own desire to make more films back home. "I've got some [films] in development and some more movies I'd like to make in NZ," he says. "If I had a great science fiction movie to make or something like that I'd definitely think about making it in NZ … I'm always looking for some excuse to come back." 
(October 2005)

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 the Emmy Awards. Keoghan has co-created and co-produced a number of successful shows since leaving New Zealand. He recently returned to New Zealand to film the documentary New Zealand: Movie Paradise, a one hour look at what attracts US movie makers to this country, aimed at promoting New Zealand to the American tourist market.
(29 September 2005)

The sweet sound of success
Dilworth School alum Mark Petrie (above right) is carving an impressive career in film and television scoring in LA. Petrie completed a degree in film composing at Boston’s Berklee School of Music in 1999. He is now working for the company which creates music for reality TV shows The Apprentice, Rock Star INXS and The Biggest Loser, as well as running his own music production house, MX IN. Last year Petrie won the award for Best Score for his work on Cuban-American film Café and Tobacco at the Moondance International Film Festival in Boulder, Colorado.
(August 2005)
  

Hot property
Actor Martin Csokas is hailed as “the new Russell Crowe” in the July issue of Australian Vogue. Csokas’ recent projects include The Bourne Supremacy with Matt Damon, Asylum with Natasha Richardson and Sir Ian McKellen, Ridley Scott blockbuster Kingdom of Heaven, WW2 action flick The Great Raid, and the hotly anticipated Aeon Flux with Charlize Theron. “I’ve had a run of films, now I’m getting myself together,” he says. “[LA] is as nice a place as anywhere and it’s practical.”
(July 2005)
   

Cinderella Man
Russell Crowe won widespread acclaim for his role in Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man. Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “At the centre of all [its] richness is another irresistible star turn by Crowe. As his Oscar-winning performance in Gladiator proved, no contemporary actor is better at conveying an uncluttered personal integrity and nobility of spirit. You just want to hug the guy.” Kansas City Star: “If there were ever any doubt that Russell Crowe is the greatest screen actor of his generation, Cinderella Man should put matters to rest." Read Interview's pre-phone fracas profile here.
(June 2005)

Olympus comes to Aotearoa
Hercules, a Hallmark Productions (US) telemovie starring Leelee Sobieski, Sean Astin, and Timothy Dalton, used the NZ countryside as a stand-in for ancient Greece. “The story requires a bigger-than-life place,” says Dalton. “It needs to be ... something like an Eden, raw and pure and majestic. And that’s what NZ was.”
(16 May 2005)
    

Reports of the list of Hollywood's power people compiled by Premiere magazine for their June issue have revealed that Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson is the most powerful. According to the reports, director Steven Spielberg came second while Steve Jobs and John Lasseter, heads of Pixar jointly came third. Stars Wars creator George Lucas was 11th, while Tom Cruise was the highest placed actor at No14. (9 May 2005)

One for the mantelpiece
Sam Neill won the Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama for his role in Jessica at Australia’s 47th annual TV Week Logie Awards. Neill also presented the Gold Logie, which was won by comic and presenter Rove McManus.
(2 May 2005)
    

Russell Crowe - The Hard-Ass
GQ's feature on the ten greatest actors of our generation leads with Wellington-born Russell Crowe and his passion for connecting emotionally with an audience. Does this peg him as a dinosaur? “In those respects—credibility, integrity for the work—absolutely. I don’t think there needs to be another bloke who wants to be a superhero. I think there needs to be more people who are prepared to do the nuts and bolts of the job emotionally, and to take people on those sort of journeys. I just did a movie about a boxer, and I’ve seen it, and I’ve seen its effect on people already, and this isn’t a movie with tricks. There’s no animated bits, no bits of cartoon, no utility belt, no laser guns. It’s just one bloke, you know? I mean, I’m 40 years old now, so to get in that sort of shape…. Jack Aubrey was 228 pounds, Jimmy the Boxer was 172. So there’s all the training up to the shoot, but then during the shoot you have to keep training. But I watch the film, and I see its effect on people, and I know that every one of those miles has something to do with that depth of connection.”
(28 February 2005)

Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens are to develop the Alice Sebold novel The Lovely Bones as their next film after King Kong. Though "The Lovely Bones" is not on the order of a major fantasy trilogy, Jackson said the book has its own complexities. The book opens with the revelation that 14-year old narrator and main character Susie Salmon was raped and murdered. From heaven, she watches how the people left behind handle her tragedy. "It's the best kind of fantasy in that it has a lot to say about the real world," Jackson said. "You have an experience when you read the book that is unlike any other. I don't want the tone or the mood to be different or lost in the film." The most perplexing problem, said Jackson, is how to convey Susie in heaven. "It's cleverly not described that well in the book, because Alice wanted your imagination to do the work and decide what Susie's heaven looks and feels like," Jackson said. "We will have to show something on film. It has to be somehow ethereal and emotional."
(18 January 2005)