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.

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.

Costume designer Barbara Darragh is the creator of Xena’s iconic outfit, Billy T James’ look as the Tainuia Kid in Came a Hot Friday, and has won awards for her work on the feature films The End of the Golden Weather and River Queen. Darragh’s television credits include Under the Mountain, Greenstone, Hercules and Xena, and, most recently, Spartacus.

In this ScreenTalk, Darragh talks about:

• Helping create special effects on the classic TV series Under the Mountain
• Using an assortment of odds and ends to create Billy T James’ Tainuia Kid costume for Came a Hot Friday
• Scouring old photo albums to create a vintage feel for The End of the Golden Weather
• How winning an award for the film’s costumes recognised the costume designing craft
• Having fun creating costumes for the ‘sandals and swords’ fantasy show Hercules
• Never intending to create a lesbian icon when designing the signature costume for Xena
• Using an incredible amount of blue dye for the soldiers’ uniforms on River Queen
• Managing tension on set over different views on how the film should look
• How beauty, pain, dirt and nudity make designing for Spartacus a ‘dream’

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

From appearing alongside Lucy Lawless and baby ‘Stanley’ in the 90s ASB Bank ads, to headlining the hit Aussie drama Packed to the Rafters, actor Erik Thomson has built a solid career and a loyal fan base. He has appeared in TV shows such as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, All Saints and The Alice, short films (Snap) and the features We’re Here to Help, The Black Balloon and Somersault.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Thomson talks about:

• Spilling wine over himself on his very first TV shoot on Marlin Bay
• Playing a US soldier in Bread and Roses
• Bringing a ‘Woody Allen’ touch to playing Hades in both Hercules and Xena
• How presenting the Australian travel show Getaway was not as glamorous as it sounds
• Why Packed to the Rafters has been a huge hit due to its ‘everyman’ approach to characters
• How a TV critic had to eat his words after claiming the show would not work
• Never dreaming he would have the career path he has had

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

Danielle Cormack began acting on stage, but in her mid-teens won a coveted role in the popular 80s soap Gloss. Growing up on screen led her to a one-year stint on Shortland Street, playing sweet and innocent nurse Alison Rayner. Cormack starred in the TV show Topless Women Talk About Their Lives and then went on to the film version of the project. Her pregnancy was incorporated into the film and her performance earned her a best actor award at the 1997 Film and TV Awards. Cormack has appeared in a number of feature films including The Price of Milk, Channelling Baby, and Separation City. She recently appeared in the TV drama The Cult.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Cormack talks about:

• Growing into womanhood while appearing on Gloss
• Playing the lovable nurse Alison Rayner on Shortland Street
• Being the first of the original cast to leave the soap
• Appearing in Xena and not always enjoying the intensity of the show’s fans
• How becoming pregnant changed Topless Women Talk About Their Lives
• Giving birth on screen a week after giving birth in real life
• Why Channelling Baby was her favourite filmic experience
• Working with a deliciously naughty cast and crazy director on Separation City
• Feeling a little isolated on the set of The Cult

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

Michael Hurst is an acclaimed theatre actor and director, but has also featured in a broad range of television and film roles, including his long-running gig as sidekick Iolaus in the American TV series Hercules.

In the mid-90s Hurst also began directing for the screen, initially on episodes of Hercules and Xena, but also helming the feature film comedy Jubilee, and TV mockumentary drama Love Mussel.

Hurst talks about his early days in theatre, his first television appearance in 30 Minute Theatre – Tinkling Brass, and his first major roles in the Sunday Theatre one-off Casualties of Peace, and rock band drama Heroes.

He also talks about his first feature film role, in the 1984 David Blyth splatter film Death Warmed Up, and reveals that he hated seeing himself in the film and thought he had “made an appalling job of it”.

After Death Warmed Up, he decided he would never work in film again, but recovered from that fairly quickly with the feature Dangerous Orphans in 1985.  His work on 1993 classic Desperate Remedies made him “love film again.”

Hurst discusses the making of Desperate Remedies, in particular the delights of working with celebrated cinematographer Leon Narbey.

Hurst also tells the story of how he won the part of Iolaus in Hercules, and of his on-going connection to the role through Hercules and Xena fan conventions.

And he discusses how Hercules and Xena led him into television and film directing, including the feature Jubilee and the television mockumentary Love Mussel.

Hurst closes the interview talking about his latest project – a feature film called Bitch Slap.

This video is also available on YouTube.

Credits: Interview by Clare O’Leary, Camera and Editing by Leo Guerchmann.

American producer Rob Tapert talks to NZ On Screen about hearing that New Zealand was “an undiscovered production treasure” in a studio carpark and he discusses the internationally popular syndicated TV programmes that he’s brought here (Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules) that have helped realise that vision.

These productions were instrumental in building the skill base of the NZ cast and crew. Many NZ actors found fame through their characters, particularly Lucy Lawless (now married to Tapert) and Michael Hurst (Iolas in Hercules).

Tapert talks about his beginnings in the industry: dropping out of grad school in Michigan (where, “Hollywood might as well have been as far away as New Zealand”) to make films with long time business partner and Hollywood director, Sam – Evil Dead, Spider-Man – Raimi. Tapert also discusses:

• Making blood mixture on their first feature, Evil Dead.
• The inherent difference between feature films and television.
• His involvement in Hercules and the challenges of juggling global productions.
• His commitment to local cast and crew and the unlikely inspiration for Hercules’ cast (Desperate Remedies).
• His inspirations for Hercules’ spin-off Xena and the internet’s influence on Xena becoming a pop culture icon.
• Why local actors and directors have succeeded on these productions, but NZ writers haven’t managed the crossover and why post-production effects were done in the US.

Tapert continues to bring new productions to NZ, and is about to cast a new R-rated series for US Cable TV based on the Roman slave story, Spartacus. He has recently finished producing another major TV series in Auckland, Legend of the Seeker.

This video is available for distribution on YouTube as Part One and Part Two.

Credits: Direction and Interview – Clare O’Leary, Camera and Editing – Leo Guerchmann