ScreenTalk

Vivacious actor Nicole Whippy has created some memorable characters on our television screens. She debuted playing a warrior queen on Xena and then appeared in the film Vertical Limit. She made a splash on the drama Jackson’s Wharf before appearing in a slew of TV series such as Mercy Peak, Being Eve, The Strip and Outrageous Fortune. In 2011, she starred in the comedy/drama hit Nothing Trivial.

In this ScreenTalk, Whippy talks about:

• Being terrified having to ride horses on Xena
• Having all her acting flaws pointed out by a producer on Jackson’s Wharf
• How a sexy costume helped her create Elektra in Being Eve
• Being taken on an intense emotional journey on the set of Mercy Peak
• Filming scenes from The Strip in a real strip club and refusing to go in the spa pool
• Playing an extreme version of herself on Outrageous Fortune
• How people on the street had some negative reactions to the role
• Auditioning for a role on Nothing Trivial that was modeled on her
• Feeling that her role on the show is the ‘big one’ in her career

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Actor Theresa Healey first appeared on screen entertaining a generation of kids on Play School. She became a household name playing the popular character Carmen on Shortland Street for five years. Since then she has been in a range of New Zealand TV dramas including Marlin Bay, Mercy Peak and Go Girls. She has starred in the films Jubilee and Savage Honeymoon.
In this ScreenTalk, Healey talks about:

• Learning not to look bored on the set of Play School
• Not knowing the director’s intentions in cult classic Kitchen Sink
• Loving playing the ‘sassy’ Carmen on Shortland Street
• Filming an embarrassing sex scene in Marlin Bay,
• Being unhappy with her performance in Jubilee
• Being tired and rundown but loving the experience of Dancing with the Stars
• Playing a money obsessed blonde mother in Go Girls

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Catherine Saunders has had a long career in both broadcasting and PR. She began her media career as a radio announcer in 1961 and produced a number of radio documentaries before crossing over to television as a continuity announcer. In the mid 60s, Saunders was a reporter on the current affairs programme Town and Around. She was also a panelist on Beauty and the Beast for 12 years, and co-hosted the chat show Saunders and Sinclair. In the 90s, Saunders hosted 50 Forward with Gordon McLauchlan – a show aimed at older viewers.

In this ScreenTalk, Saunders talks about:

• Doing ‘silly’ stories on the current affairs show Town and Around
• Working with intelligent articulate women
• How female presenters today have thin waists and perky breasts
• Shooting three weeks of shows in a day on Beauty and the Beast
• Tackling controversial topics on the show and offering serious advice
• How the audience didn’t want advice from men on the show
• Working with the genius that was host Selwyn Toogood
• Being surprised by a mass protest on the chat show Saunders and Sinclair
• The reason co-host Geoff Sinclair left the show
• Having fun at a gym with Gordon McLauchlan on 50 Forward

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Veteran entertainer Ray Woolf has appeared on television and film as a pop singer, song and dance man, TV host and actor. Starting out as a singer, Woolf made a splash on television in the swinging 60s music shows C’mon and Happen Inn. His career took an unusual direction when he turned up as co-host on the long-running children’s show Play School. Showing his versatility as a performer, Woolf also hosted his self-titled chat show The Ray Woolf Show, and has appeared in a number of TV dramas such as Xena, Marlin Bay, Street Legal and The Strip. In 2011, he had a guest role in the hit show Nothing Trivial.

In this ScreenTalk, Woolf talks about:

• Pre-recording and miming to songs in a tiny studio for the music show C’mon
• Loving being part of Happen Inn, and how it gave him a strong public profile
• How hosting Play School made him a hit with young mothers
• Feeling intimidated by big name celebrities guests on The Ray Woolf Show
• Playing bad guys on the set of Xena
• Being impressed by the huge scale and skill of everyone involved in the show
• The “incredible experience” of working with Peter Jackson on King Kong
• Having fun with a coffin on the movie Insatiable Moon
• Enjoying playing a philanderer on the TV show Nothing Trivial
• Coping with the fast paced shooting on set

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Actor Jim Moriarty cut his teeth on the early dramas Pukemanu and Close to Home, then went on to appear in a number of other TV projects such as Inside Straight and City Life. He has starred in films The Strength of Water, No Petrol No Diesel, and played Jesus in Saving Grace. As well as acting, Moriarty has directed in television and theatre, and works with at risk Māori youth. In this ScreenTalk, Moriarty talks about:

• How actors were allowed to help develop the scripts on Close to Home
• Incorporating political and social issues into the show
• Being thrown from a horse on the set of The Lie of the Land
• Making ‘love’ the central focus of playing Jesus in Saving Grace
• Being give the freedom to improvise while making The Waimate Conspiracy
• How the film No Petrol No Diesel gave at risk youth a chance of participating in the industry
• Having an emotional reaction to the story in The Strength of Water
• Not regretting turning down the role of Jake in Once Were Warriors

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Kate Elliott began her life on screen after attending an audition at school. Since winning that role – as a bulimic, sexually abused, self-mutilating teenager in House of Sticks – Elliott has starred in many of New Zealand’s major television productions including Street Legal, The Insiders Guide to Love, The Cult, Shortland Street, and played Katherine Mansfield in tele-feature Bliss. Her film credits include Toy Love, The Locals, and Fracture.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Elliott talks about:

• Why she chose to be an actor
• How she began her screen career at age 14
• Making out with Madeleine Sami while wearing a school uniform in the Harry Sinclair production Pale Blue
• Her experiences on TV series Street Legal
• How strippers at Mermaids taught her how to act while under water in Toy Love
• Using what she learned on Toy Love for under water scenes in Bliss
• Her character in The Insiders Guide To Love
• Appearing in the Whittaker’s chocolate TV commercials
• Playing Katherine Mansfield for the first time in An Indiscreet Journey and how her character differed from the Katherine Mansfield in Bliss
• Juggling a new baby and her role in The Cult
• The fight to land her leading role in Bliss
• The unique skills involved in working on Shortland Street

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Tom Finlayson is a producer, director and writer who has an impressive track record in New Zealand television. He began his TV career as a reporter on Town and Around, but quickly moved on to news producing, and eventually TV drama production. Finlayson produced the highly acclaimed kidult show Under the Mountain and the successful police drama Mortimer’s Patch, as well as the films Other Halves and The Grasscutter.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Finlayson talks about:

• His excitement and naivety upon becoming a reporter on Town and Around
• The cynicism behind the wholesome family show Stars on Sunday
• How producing the TV series Under the Mountain was one of his best experiences
• Using mirrors to create in camera effects for the show
• The real reason for shooting Mortimer’s Patch in the countryside
• The courage of director John Laing in picking street kids to act in Other Halves
• The challenge of casting The Grasscutter in Belfast with director Ian Mune

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence

Will Hall fell into a screen career by accident after hanging out with filmmakers at Lincoln University – an unlikely scenario given his study towards a commerce degree. Since then, Hall has forged a career both in front of and behind the camera. Hall’s introduction to trans-Tasman film work had some teething problems, but on returning to NZ the “boy from Christchurch” landed a key role in The Insiders Guide to Happiness. Roles in Eagle vs Shark, Shortland Street and tele-feature Bloodlines followed, as well as Underbelly – Land of the Long Green Cloud and 30-something TV series Nothing Trivial. Hall also co-produced and acted in his own feature film Netherwood, described as NZ’s first modern day western thriller.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Hall talks about:

• His earliest experiences with filmmaking at university
• Being cast in Australian feature Fat Pizza
• Troubles with his first Australian agent
• How he landed his role in The Insiders Guide to Happiness
• Breaking expensive props on Eagle vs Shark
• His role as a pot smoking, skateboarding doctor on Shortland Street
• Producing and acting in feature film Netherwood, NZ’s first modern day western thriller
• How he approached his role as Detective Roberts in Bloodlines
• Insights into his portrayal of Greg Ollard in Underbelly – Land of the Long Green Cloud
• Violent public reaction to his character in Nothing Trivial

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger (Ngāi Tahu, Rangitane) can thank a childhood lisp for his busy career as a screen director today. Having been sent to speech lessons, he found himself in the wrong class, and discovered the joys of performance in a drama class at a young and impressionable age. Since then, Burger has directed numerous film and television productions, including Until Proven Innocent, which won five Qantas awards in 2009, The Tattooist, Fish Skin Suit, short film Turangawaewae, staring the late Wi Kuki Kaa, as well as the TV series Outrageous Fortune, Go Girls and The Cult.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Burger reveals:

• How he started out behind the camera
• The joys and anxieties of directing the late Wi Kuki Kaa
• Why editing short film Tama Tū was so satisfying
• How he came to be bestowed the title of Matai while making feature film The Tattooist
• How he approached his work on Outrageous Fortune
• Interesting insights into how lead actor Cohen Holloway created his character in tele-feature Until Proven Innocent
• His thoughts on making Billy, the tele-feature about the life of Billy T James

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Veteran broadcaster and journalist Ian Johnstone helped pioneer current affairs programming in New Zealand by hosting and reporting on the shows Compass and Close Up in the 1960s. Johnstone was the first host of the regional magazine programme Town and Around and went on to co-host Tonight at Nine after the debut of South Pacific Television. Since then Johnstone has been involved in a variety of TV series and documentaries, and has even turned his hand to a bit of character acting in television dramas. Johnstone is perhaps best remembered as the long-time host of the Crimewatch series.

In this ScreenTalk, Johnstone talks about:

• Learning on the job as the host of the original Close Up current affairs show
• How government officials were baffled on camera
• Becoming a household name on Town and Around
• Coming to terms with working in a police state for the ground-breaking documentary South Africa – the Black Future
• Realising that one of their ‘helpers’ was a government informer
• How being tall, English, and bald got him an acting role in Pioneer Women
• Bringing the drama of crime to the screen in Crimewatch
• Loving the live aspect of the show

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence