ScreenTalk

Ilona Rodgers has starred in a huge array of theatre, film and TV roles in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.

As well as appearing in many British and Australian TV shows screened in New Zealand, Rodgers has been a stalwart of locally made programmes such as Close to Home and Hunter’s Gold.

Probably best known for playing Maxine Redfern in Gloss, some of Rodgers’ other screen credits include The Billy T James Show, Marlin Bay and the film Utu.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Rodgers discusses:

• Close to Home and the pioneering days of New Zealand television
• Frightening tourists on the set of Hunter’s Gold
• The joy of being paid to be a well-dressed bitch on Gloss
• Taking a gamble on Marlin Bay
• The privilege of working with Billy T James
• Plunging off a balcony on the set of Utu
• Reflections on how “lucky” she has been in her career

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

Credits:  Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Director Gaylene Preston has been stretching New Zealand film in new directions since her early short films and her first feature, the genre and gender-bending Mr Wrong (1985). Long devoted to “communicating local stories to local audiences”, Preston features in Deborah Shepard’s newly-released book Her Life’s Work: Conversations with Five New Zealand Women (AUP), and has a new film Home by Christmas due out next year.

In this ScreenTalk interview Preston talks about:

• how she started in film thanks to a job as an art therapist in an English asylum, and the elopement of a friend
• her longtime interest in “the stories that hold secrets, the things that you’re not allowed to talk about”
• working with producer Robin Laing, and discovering that when they went to meetings people kept looking nervously toward the door
• the challenges of pitching “comedy thriller ghost story” Mr Wrong
• being won over by Graeme Tetley’s script for comedy of manners Ruby and Rata
• making mini-series Bread and Roses, based on the life of the late activist/politician Sonja Davies
• the low number of New Zealand women directing film, then and now

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

Credits: Direction and Interview – Ian Pryor.  Camera and Editing – Alex Backhouse

Jon Bridges was born in America. Since moving to New Zealand at the age of three, he has made hundreds of hours of television for NZers – not only from in front of the camera, but also behind it.

Bridges’ comic dexterity came to light on our screens in the early 90s with TV shows like A Bit After Ten and Away Laughing, but his first big TV role was as co-presenter of the long-running TV3 series Ice TV, which debuted in 1995.

Since Ice TV, Bridges has written, directed, produced and starred in numerous documentaries, dramas, game shows and films. He is currently producing TV3’s well-received comedy panel show 7 Days.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Bridges shares his experiences on:

• Working with the fledgling TV3
• The evolution of TV skit comedy in NZ
• How back room reservations meant a change from Ice TV’s original name
• Working with director Mike Huddleston on the documentary Who Ate All the Pies?
• The perils of being cast twice on Shortland Street
• Writing for the youth dramas S.A.M. and Amazing Extraordinary Friends
• Regretful moments in NZ television
• Producing the TV panel show 7 Days

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

Credits:  Interview, Camera & Editing – James Coleman

Englishman David Bellamy is a world famous botanist, author, broadcaster and conservationist. He came to prominence in New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s with numerous natural history programmes. His trademark beard, larger than life personality and ability to make science understandable made him a popular addition to family viewing time.

In 1990 he came to New Zealand to host Moa’s Ark, a landmark documentary series telling the history of our country’s unique evolutionary past. In recent years, Bellamy has become a more controversial figure with his claims that Global warming is just part of the earth’s natural climate cycle.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Bellamy discusses:

• The making of Moa’s Ark, and the pleasure of working with Kiwi producer/director Peter Hayden
• His involvement in the campaign to save the Whirinaki Forest from loggers
• What he thinks of nature shows on TV now
• His controversial views on global warming
• And his appearance in the famous Old Man’s Beard TV commercials

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

Credits:  Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside