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 in Australia, and was written, produced, acted, and filmed entirely by the students. “The school has a lot of children from the Middle East, Iran and Iraq,” says Rogers, a sessional teacher in media at Victoria’s RMIT. “I think telling these stories verifies them and makes them important. When you come to a strange place and none of the stories on TV reflect your reality, I imagine that's very strange.” On her role as a NZ filmmaker she is equally eloquent: “When you're in NZ you feel like you're falling off the end of the world. There's this incredible sense of cultural isolation. And I think that that's made NZ artists strive harder to find their own voice - you see it with novelists, painters, poets, artists of all sorts.”
(6 December 2004)
 

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 the duo's recent show in Montreal, which he described as "hilarious songs accompanied by hilarious stage banter." Although music will play a major role in the upcoming series, Hirschfeld insists "it will be all based in character comedy, [as] that's what we love about them."
(8 October 2004)

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 to a gamble. The million dollars has yet to be won.
(4 October 2004)
 

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 when travelling by plane to avoid excess baggage charges. “The reactions I get can be pretty amusing,” he says. “Some people are very interested, some people laugh and some people can't even look at me.”
(30 September 2004)
   

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 summer, beating out heavyweight competition from Spiderman 2 and Troy.
(5 September 2004)

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 online questionnaire, which centres on the question, ‘Where, in your imagination, is Middle Earth?’
(24 August 2004)

The world hears our stories
Fracture, an adaptation of Maurice Gee’s novel Crime Story by Larry Parry, is to make its North American debut at the 28th Montreal World Film Festival (26 August – 6 September). Starring Kate Elliott, Jared Turner, John Noble, and Cliff Curtis, the film has already shown at Sicily’s Taormina Festival and will feature in Germany’s Hof Festival in October. Four other NZ films were selected for Montreal; Fleeting Beauty (Virginia Pitts), My Father’s Shoes (Samantha Scott), Tiga e le Iloa (Popo Lilo), and Boy (Welby Ings).
(30 July 2004)    

Short & sweet
Two NZ short films have been selected to compete at both the Montreal World Film Festival in August and the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain in October; Boy, a silent film about a teenage male prostitute by AUT professor Welby Ings, and Fleeting Beauty, a dialogue between an Indian immigrant and her Pakeha lover written by Auckland University film lecturer Shuchi Kothari.
(21 June 2004)

Jackson gets the youth vote
The Return of the King won the coveted prize for Best Film at this year's MTV Awards in LA. Other big winners were Pirates of the Caribbean and Kill Bill Vol.1.
(7 June 2004)
 

Greenbacks for green ogre
Shrek 2 (directed by Kiwi Andrew Adamson) confounded US box office analysts by taking an incredible US$104.3 million on its first weekend of release - $20 million more than predicted. This makes it the second largest film debut in history, behind Spider Man in 2002. In addition, 70% of moviegoers planned to see Shrek 2 a second time, according to a Dream Works survey. The film repeated its success across the Atlantic, debuting at No.1 in UK box office rankings and taking £16.2 million in it opening weekend.
(24 May 2004)

Aotearoa in demand
New York Times article asks ‘what’s next?’ of the post-Rings NZ film industry. Insiders predict a slew of big budget international projects, thanks to the government’s recent promise that it would reimburse 12.5% of the production costs of films with budgets exceeding $10 million. First to benefit from the grant is The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson (Shrek) and co-financed by Walt Disney Studios and Walden Media.
(12 February 2004)

Call of the wild
A combined BBC and ABC production team has spent 3 years filming the first comprehensive nature program on Australasia. The 6-part series - Wild Australasia - uses state-of-the-art technology and daring camera-work to bring virtually unexplored regions to the screen. The Age mentions infra-red footage of foraging kiwis, and kea terrorising parked cars at NZ ski-fields as two particular highlights.
(28 January 2004)

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 year, with a projected December 2005 release date. Jackson plans to treat the film "as a drama ... not as a fantasy ... It has to have a sense of reality – an island with dinosaurs and a gorilla, set a little bit in the past to try and make people believe it."
(2004)

Connolly lost for words?
Billy Connolly’s World Tour of New Zealand screened in Scotland over December, to widespread appreciation. “Driving his three-wheeled motorbike through some of the world’s most dramatic scenery with the sun blazing overhead, Connolly looks like he’s having the time of his life … [If] Connolly the performer is as rude and lewd as ever, the offstage persona is a world apart. Climbing through the Waitomo caves with their stalagmites and visiting a volcano, Mount Tarawera, he seemed humbled by nature and genuinely interested in everything going on around him.”
(28 December 2004)

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,” who only joined a talent agency because her younger cousin did and almost didn’t bother auditioning for her award winning part. Her Majesty is set in NZ in 1953, against the backdrop of Queen Elizabeth’s royal tour.
(24 October 2004)

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 the humble manner in which McGann overcame his “new kid on the block status” to create a masterpiece of NZ film. So far, In My Father’s Den has won the International Federation of Film Critics prize at Toronto and the Youth Jury Prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain. It also made the cover of Australia’s Inside Film October edition, which described it as simply “superb.” “What was wonderful about In My Father's Den was that it was like coming back to a little patch of land in NZ,” says McGann in The Age. “When you start digging in your own soil, it's interesting how satisfying it is to realise the wealth of material you become conscious of.”
(22 October 2004)
 

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 Berry in Catwoman. She specializes in fights and harness work, and has experience with air rams, fire burns and high falls.
(19 September 2004)

Kong’s first fan-club
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 Mirimar] are incredible … I didn't know what I expected, but [Jackson has] created a studio and post-production house that rivals anything elsewhere.” Naomi Watts: “It's like nothing I've experienced before, that's for sure. There's a lot of genius at work.” Jack Black: “I think it's going to be gorgeous … It could be the greatest film of all time.”
(1 September 2004)

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 the Chicago Tribune, “Urban, playing Kirill like an Olympic athlete of death, has blood-freezing moments,” making him a key figure in “a crack supporting cast.” Also starring Martin Csokas as another evil doer.
(August 2004)

Neill on board
Sam Neill is to star in a BBC Two adaptation of William Golding’s acclaimed sea trilogy, To the Ends of the Earth. Directed by David Attwood, the three 90-minute programs will be filmed in South Africa. Executive Producer Justin Bodle: “[This] is event television in its purest sense, an ambitious production that brings together a highly respected team that have the talent and tools to realise William Golding's vision magnificently on screen.”
(16 July 2004)   

Harry Potter gets Edge makeover
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has received reviews far outstripping the first two films in the franchise, thanks largely to its radical new director cinematographer team of Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien) and NZ's Michael Seresin (Bugsy Malone, Angela's Ashes, Midnight Express). Cuaron explained his "unexpected but inspired" choice of partner in an American Cinematographer profile on Seresin: "I've been a fan of Michael's work for a long time. I always like his reliance on a single light source, and the fact that he's pretty uncompromising [...] He grounded the whole film in reality. It doesn't have a storybook kind of look; it's something grittier."
(June 2004)
   

Something to Crowe about
Russell Crowe's Maximus (Gladiator) is the greatest movie hero of all time, according to a poll by a British video rental company. Crowe beat Christopher Reeve in Superman, Mel Gibson in Braveheart, and Sigourney Weaver in Aliens  to take top honours.
(24 April 2004)
   

King of the consoles
Peter Jackson has joined yet another elite Hollywood club: director’s who earn as much – if not more – from helping create video games as they do from making movies. Riding on the success of the LotR video games, Jackson has signed a deal with Ubisoft and Universal Pictures which gives him significant creative control over (and financial reward from) the future King Kong game. In the US last year, video games created $10 billion in revenue in comparison with movie tickets’ $9.5 billion.
(12 April 2004)
 

Hidden treasures
Time Asia recommends Marlborough’s Old St Mary’s Convent, Wanganui’s Bridge to Nowhere lodge, and The Station in Paekakariki to readers wishing to stay off the beaten track. “There's plenty of the country's dreamscape left for those who want wide-screen scenery but don't care for Middle Earth hype.”
(29 March 2004)

Riding her wave of success
Whale Rider star, Keisha Castle-Hughes, spoke to the New York Post about her week spent in Hollywood prior to the 2004 Academy Awards - for which she was the youngest ever nominee in the Best Actress category. Her engagements included presenting The Simpsons creators with an animation prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, featuring as a guest on Oprah, and attending the Independent Spirit Awards with Peter Jackson. Castle-Hughes wore a dress by NZ designer Liz Mitchell to the Oscars, with a whale pin in her hair for good luck.
(28 February 2004)

Stopping traffic
Cliff Curtis is one of the key protagonists in the US miniseries Traffic - an adaptation of the Oscar-nominated film by the same name. Ever the ethnic chameleon (previous roles include Cuban, Iraqi, and Colombian characters), Curtis plays an illegal immigrant from one of the former Soviet states. Indy Star: "This is an explosive role, cast with a strong actor."
(25 January 2004)
 

King of the castle
The Return of the King has ruled them all at this year's awards season, having won Oscar glory with 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. The final film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy won 4 awards at the Golden Globes (Best Movie Drama, Director, Original Score, and Movie Song), 4 at the Critics Choice Awards (Best Film, Director, Score, and Ensemble Cast), 5 Baftas (Best Film, Best Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay, Special Effects, and Film of the Year), and the Producers Guild of America's (PGA) Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Theatrical Motion Picture. Peter Jackson received the Modern Master award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and became the first filmmaker in history to be nominated for the prestigious Directors Guild of America (DGA) award three years in a row. 
(2004)
 

Return of the cast
If Peter Jackson ever decides (and has the time) to make a film version of The Hobbit, he has the backing and blessing of his LotR cast. “People want it so much,” says actor Billy Boyd (Pippin). “There was talk of us playing our characters' relatives. I'm sure we'd all make ourselves free for that.” Cast members including Elijah Wood (Frodo) have expressed interest in buying communal property in NZ to help Jackson cut down on-set costs.
(11 December 2004)
 

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 car park of a rural NZ pub beat 50 other contenders in the international short category. Two Cars has already won a slew of international awards, including best drama at the Aspen Shortsfest, best short film at Berlin’s Panorama Film Festival and best fiction short at the Melbourne International Film Festival, and is now eligible for Oscar contention.
(18 November 2004) 

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, which featured such films as Tae Guk Ki, Yopkijogin Kunyo and Untold Scandal. NZ will also host its first major Korean art exhibition at the Waikato Museum of Art and History next year. Entitled 'Poetics of Line and Color: Korean textiles and costumes of the Choson Dynasty,' the show focuses on traditional Korean wrapping cloths (bojagi).
(27 October 2004)

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 University of Melbourne to teach film, TV, and media studies at Auckland University. Slow Water is a fictional account of the trial William Yate; an English missionary charged with the capital crime of homosexuality in colonial Australia. The novel has also been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin award.
(19 October 2004)
 

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 the novel by Maurice Gee, festival judges praised the film for its “emotional maturity, striking performances, and visual grace.”
(19 September 2004)
 

 
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 Tauranga’s Lance and James Morcan, was promoted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, earning widespread interest from investors. McKenzie was born in South Africa but won weightlifting medals for England and NZ at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games respectively. He currently lives in Auckland. See Scoop story for further details.
(1 September 2004)
    

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 slated for the ethnic roles in Hollywood – so far he has been Hispanic in Training Day, Colombian in Blow and Arab in Three Kings. Here he's an unhappy, illegal Chechen cab driver, Adam Kadyrov, whose dogged search for his missing wife and child induces a high level of sympathy and anxiety.”
(3 August 2004)    

Snakes alive
NZ company Silverscreen is collaborating with British and Taiwanese financiers on a film version of an ancient Chinese legend. Lady White Snake will be filmed in English with a budget of US$40 million. Cast and crew are at present under wraps, but a "leading-edge woman from New Zealand" is rumoured to be in the director's seat.
(13 July 2004)

Prime slot for Kiwi production
In My Father's Den opened this year's Sydney Film Festival - the first time a NZ feature has done so in the event's 50-year history. Directed by Brad McGann, the film is based on Maurice Gee's novel of the same name and stars British actor Matthew MacFadyen, Australia's Miranda Otto, and Kiwi newcomer Emily Barclay. "It really is one of the best films that I have seen for a very long time," says festival director Gayle Lake. "It examines the bigger questions in relation to how we feel about family, how you can never run from the past and at some point to achieve a level of redemption in your life, you have got to face up to the music."
(10 June 2004)

Go speed racer
NZ director Roger Donaldson is bringing the life of Invercargill's legendary motorcyclist Burt Munro to the silver screen, with Sir Anthony Hopkins in the starring role. Entitled The World's Fastest Indian (after the 1920 Indian bike Munro spent decades building), the film is a tribute to the man who broke numerous land-speed records in Utah in the 1960s, and continued racing until the age of 76. Production begins in August. 
(21 May 2004)
   

More than just a pretty face
The NZ High Commission in India hosted a festival promoting cultural exchange between the two nations in Delhi, April 5-28. Entitled Aotearoa: The Land of the Long White Cloud, the event included a film festival, art exhibition, lecture program, and a musical concert. NZ High Commissioner to India, Caroline McDonald: “There are a couple of reasons for organising Aotearoa in Delhi. One, we want to showcase aspects of NZ beyond its cricket and picturesque locales. Secondly, despite rapid developments in the Indo-NZ relationship, there has hardly been any interaction at the cultural level.”
(5 April 2004)

Crowning glory
Return of the King - the third and final film in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings series - made a clean sweep of the 2004 Academy Awards, winning 11 Oscars including Best Picture and Director. It is the only film ever to win in every category for which it was nominated. The total number of awards won brings it level with record-holders Ben Hur (1960) and Titanic (1998). Said an elated Peter Jackson, "I'm so honoured, touched and relieved that the members of the Academy have supported us, that they've seen past the trolls, wizards and hobbits (by) recognizing fantasy this year. Fantasy is an F-word that hopefully the five-second delay won't do anything with." The number of Kiwi accents on stage prompted host Billy Crystal to quip, "It is now official: There is nobody left in New Zealand to thank … You know people are moving to New Zealand, just to be thanked." 
(1 March 2004)
    

Another award for the kete
Niki Caro’s Whale Rider was named Best International Film at the 2004 IFP Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles. The IFP website calls Whale Rider a “radiant story of an exceptional little girl's coming of age, and of a proud Maori community's struggle to embrace new ways of thinking.”
(28 February 2004)

A delightful upset
Peter Jackson may have been a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination, but the inclusion of first-time thespian Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) in the Best Actress category came as a welcome surprise. At just 13 years of age – 11 at the time of filming - Castle-Hughes is the youngest ever actor to be nominated in her category. Her agents had been plugging for a Best Supporting Actress nomination, but instead Castle-Hughes is up against the formidable competition of Diane Keaton, Charlize Theron, Samantha Morton, and Naomi Watts. Castle-Hughes recently won the Young Actor gong at the Critics Choice Awards in LA.
(27 January 2004)
   

From Hollywood to Bollywood
NZ actor Martin Henderson is currently starring in Torque, the big-budget Hollywood motorcycle flick by the makers of 2 Fast 2 Furious and xXx. He describes Torque as a movie that "doesn't take itself too seriously. It's like a cartoon, we're taking the piss out of the (action) genre ... we're kind of winking at the audience." Henderson also plays Britney Spears' cheating boyfriend in the pop star’s latest music video, Toxic.
(12 January 2004)

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, before promising that the film’s sets and FX would rival those used in the award-winning LotR trilogy.
(10 December 2004)

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 fifth season presenting Emmy Award-winning reality show, The Amazing Race, Keoghan’s next starring role is fronting the highly anticipated serialised TV adaptation of No Opportunity Wasted for the Discovery Channel.
(16 November 2004)

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 are delighted by Fracture's success,” says NZ Film spokeswoman Kathleen Drumm in Stuff. “These awards have substantially increased its chances of being picked up by a US distributor in Los Angeles.”
(28 October 2004)

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 African community. The festival website describes Is It? as "a dream-like journey through London that explores the question every visitor has to ask: is the grass really greener on the other side?" Ansell and Blignaut won £500 and a 4-week 16mm film course at the New York Film Academy.
(4 October 2004)

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 homage to and critique of Jane Campion's The Piano … In a few brilliantly crafted images, The Ball manages to score major laughs of recognition, as the mute heroine, Ada, travels to NZ to meet her new husband with her Scottish terrier and her soccer ball. Mistaking refugee-challenged Australian Prime Minister John Howard for her husband, Ada must deal with his strange demands and the loss of her precious ball.”
(12 September 2004)

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 he claims “inspired [him] to want to become a film-maker” when he first saw it as an 8-year-old.
(3 September 2004)
 

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 of 16,000 viewers a week. “I'm so humbled by all of it but it gets a little scary sometimes,” said Merito to the NZ Herald. “Sometimes I wonder how did this Maori boy from Okere Falls in Rotorua get here?” NZ performers play five of the nine principal roles in the show, as well as two ensemble parts.
(14 August 2004)

Miramar Mentor
Peter Jackson was ranked 20th in pay and 12th overall in Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 List. The accompanying feature was full of praise for NZ's newest national hero. "Filmmaker Peter Jackson - assiduously disheveled, frequently barefoot and barely 5-and-a-half feet tall - is a giant in Hollywood [...] Now NZ's favorite native son is betting it all on his homeland. He is ploughing upwards of $50 million of his own money into building a studio empire here ... "I could go to Hollywood and I wouldn't have to build any of this," says Jackson. "I value being a New Zealander who is able to make films in his own country. So we've had to spend our own money to increase the infrastructure."
(5 July 2004)

“The estimable John Clarke”
Telemovie adaptations of Shane Maloney’s novels Stiff and The Brush Off by NZ comic John Clarke were a critical and ratings success in Australia, the former netting more than 1.3 million viewers on its one-off screening. Age: “Both films exhibit an infectious sense of the absurd and are graced by the especially tasty flavour of Clarke's distinctive writing. Not only does it spice both films but much of the time [David] Wenham even appears to be channelling Clarke in his performance (in much the same way that Kenneth Branagh does Woody Allen in Celebrity).” Clarke scripted both films and directed Stiff; fellow Kiwi Sam Neill directed The Brush Off.
(29 June 2004)

Taking Maori stories to the world
Whale Rider star Rawiri Paratene visited Hawaii in mid-April to discuss cultural themes in the film and NZ as a tourist destination. “Whale Rider has been a boom for Maori filmmakers,” said Paratene, who is now writing dramatic segments for the newly instated Maori television network. “It’s a validation that our stories can reach the world and affect people.” To conclude his Star Bulletin interview Paratene described co-star and Oscar nominee, Keisha Castle-Hughes, as “New Zealand’s best marketing tool.”
(14 April 2004)

Just in case you missed that one..
The Return of the King picked up yet another prize en route to the Oscars; Best International Film at the inaugural Directors Guild of Great Britain awards.
(22 February 2004)
 

Two Cars, too beautiful
Two Cars, One Night by Taika Waititi was named Best Short Film at Germany’s prestigious Berlinale festival. The film, which also showed at Sundance 2003, explores the relationship which develops between two children while waiting for their parents at a rural NZ pub. Said the Berlinale judges; “This beautifully photographed black-and-white film reflects human codes and behaviour in a charming and poetic way.”
(10 February 2004)

Under Gollum's skin
The latest must-have for LotR enthusiasts is Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic. Written by Andy Serkis – who played Gollum in the trilogy – the book includes extracts by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and several of the animators who helped bring the character to life. “It's like my diary of the past four years, which was such an unusual journey,” says Serkis. “I was the strand that held Gollum together, the emotional strand. But the animators, directors, they were the pearls.”
(20 January 2004)
   

Taranaki’s Hollywood ambassador
Tom Cruise sang the praises of Aotearoa to the US on his promotional tour for The Last Samurai, the Japanese military epic filmed largely in Taranaki. As well as the beautiful scenery and friendly locals, he was particularly taken with the adventure tourism the region had to offer, namely surfing, caving and sea kayaking. Age: “Qantas has John Travolta as its Hollywood face. Perhaps New Zealand should sign up Tom Cruise.”
(12 January 2004)