ScreenTalk

Comedian Te Radar (aka Andrew Lumsden) has made his mark in stand-up comedy, documentaries, and the top-rating popular factual series Off the Radar. His other screen credits include Pulp Comedy, Homegrown, Intrepid Journeys, B & B, and Hidden in the Numbers – a three part documentary series about statistics.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Te Radar discusses:

• The genesis of the name ‘Te Radar’
• Why he thinks Pulp Comedy was one of the most important NZ comedy programmes
• Why it took years for him to appear in an episode of Intrepid Journeys
• His fight for life after being bitten by a scorpion in Mali
• The chaos and fun of the talk show/sitcom B & B
• How Hidden in the Numbers made statistics ‘fun’
• His delight that Off the Radar was a hit with children
• And the state of NZ TV comedy

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

Credits:  Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Director Niki Caro has made movies in East Coast townships, French vineyards, and Minnesota coal mines. Caro’s latest feature The Vintner’s Luck has just been released, inspired by Elizabeth Knox’s tale of angels and winemakers. Although feature films Memory and Desire and the breakthrough hit Whale Rider made Caro’s international name, her early career was also rich, and much of it can be sampled on NZ On Screen.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Caro talks about:

• the question she asked winemakers prior to making The Vintner’s Luck; and the similarities between making wine, and making movies
• starting off in film
• discovering her love for working with actors, while directing offbeat TV drama The Summer the Queen Came (1992)
• reaching for “a potent visual storytelling” on Sure to Rise, a short film with hardly any dialogue
• the terrors of the Cannes Film Festival, after Sure to Rise was one of only eight short films in the world invited to compete
• the delights of making Footage (1996), an unusual documentary about the cult of the shoe
• how she bypassed the head-turning success of Whale Rider thanks to being pregnant with her first child
• a tale of toilets, trucks and self-doubt, from the first day of shooting North Country

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

New Zealand inherited 15-year-old Jaquie Brown from England. Following a stint at Auckland’s 95bFM in her late teens, Brown soon became ensconced in the intriguing world of New Zealand television. Her first TV role was as co-host of youth culture show Space with Dominic Bowden in 2000, before becoming one of the two main anchors on burgeoning music channel C4.

From there, Brown moved into “grown up” TV with John Campbell and Carol Hirschfeld, in the series A Queen’s Tour, before becoming a reporter on the current affairs show Campbell Live.

Brown then stepped into the challenging realm of programme-making, forming her own production company with Gerard Johnstone. One season later and The Jaquie Brown Diaries is a hit with critics and viewers, and was named Best Comedy at the 2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards. The series was released on DVD, played on SBS in Australia and is part of Air New Zealand’s in-flight entertainment.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Brown reveals:

• how she looked as a 15-year-old
• how she handled her first live broadcast
• how a shocking night club revelation helped secure her role on the TV show Space
• the joys of live TV, working with Clark Gayford, and the subsequent trials of being mistaken for Jackie Clarke… before beating her up
• what it’s like working with John Campbell
• which of her character’s mortifying experiences in The Jaquie Brown Diaries actually happened
• some of the behind-the-scenes challenges of making TV

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

Credits:  Interview, Camera & Editing – James Coleman

The Cult star Sara Wiseman first got the acting bug while volunteering on the set of Peter Jackson’s feature film Heavenly Creatures. She began her career as a stuntwoman alongside Zoe Bell, but gained her first big acting break in the drama series Street Legal. Her best known role is Dr Nicky Sommerville on Mercy Peak. Some of Wiseman’s other screen credits include Mataku, Sione’s Wedding, Outrageous Fortune and Jinx Sister.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Wiseman discusses:

• How Street Legal introduced her to television acting
• The awkwardness of a sex scene with Jay Laga’aia
• The agony of auditioning for Mercy Peak
• Why she loved playing Nicky Sommerville
• How Outrageous Fortune gives actors the freedom to explore their characters
• The intensity of filming The Cult on location in winter
• Breaking her foot on the set of Jinx Sister

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

Credits: Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Hori Ahipene could perhaps be described as New Zealand’s most ‘diverse’ actor, having played both male and female characters in TV comedies and dramas.

In the 90s Ahipene gained a loyal fan base by appearing in the TV sketch shows Away Laughing, Skitz and Telly Laughs. Two of Ahipene’s popular gender-swapping roles were Mrs Semisi in Skitz and The Semesis, and Beverley Best in the Maori Television sitcom/chat show B&B. Ahipene has also appeared in TV dramas such as Maddigan’s Quest, Mataku, and Shortland Street. In 2009, Ahipene returned to wearing a frock on screen playing ‘Angel’ – a transgender prostitute in Outrageous Fortune. Ahipene’s film credits include Jubilee and The Piano.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Ahipene discusses:

• His love of Skitz and the chance it gave him to become a director
• Why hosting the 1998 Hero Parade terrified him
• Dedicating his role in Jubilee to the memory of his father
• How satisfying it was to work with Māori crew on the TV series Mataku
• Working with Te Radar on the sitcom/chat show B&B
• Learning acrobatic skills on the set of Maddigan’s Quest
• And playing a transgender hooker in Outrageous Fortune

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

Credits: Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside