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James Ashcroft’s debut Coming Home in The Dark (2021) is one of our bleakest contemporary thrillers and his sophomore feature The Rule of Jenny Pen (2025) is equally as dark. When it isn’t lingering in the frailty of the elderly or the sad reality of those same people being abandoned by their loved ones, it’s chock full of psychological & physical abuse at the hands of genuine madman. But don’t let that scare you away! The Rule of Jenny Pen is a brilliantly deranged slice of cinema with one hell of a scumbag for a villain.

Ashcroft and his writing partner have a real knack for bringing author Owen Marshall’s deliciously sadistic antagonists to life (Marshall being the original writer of the short stories which Ashcroft’s two features are based). John Lithgow, no slouch in the pantheon of evil bastards delivers a wickedly wacky performance as a retirement home predator,...

In a twist straight out of a movie script, Guy Pearce was nearly cast in Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, but something dark and blood-curdling kept him out. Nolan, known for his precision in casting, had a strange reason for not bringing Pearce on board. It wasn’t about talent or timing – it was something far more sinister.

Guy Pearce in a still from Memento | Credits: Summit Entertainment

Pearce’s vibe just didn’t mesh with the dark and gritty world Nolan had built. You’d think this was just another Hollywood near-miss, but it’s a tale that’s bound to give you chills and leave you questioning what could have been.

Warner Bros. exec blocked Guy Pearce from Nolan’s films, but he’s ready for round two Guy Pearce in a still from Memento | Credits: Summit Entertainment

“I’m never going to employ Guy Pearce.” Those chilling...

Plot: When a preacher arrives at a British settlement in 1830s New Zealand his violent past is drawn into question and his faith put to the test as he finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Māori tribes.

Review: When many of us picture Maori culture, the first film that comes to mind is usually Once Were Warriors. Director Lee Tamahori’s contemporary 1994 drama looked at the modern legacy of the Maori people. After four decades of Hollywood fare, including Mulholland Falls, The Edge, XXX: State of the Union, and the James Bond film Die Another Day, Tamahori returns to the subject of his feature debut but through a very different lens. The Convert is an epic yet intimate look at Maori culture in the early 19th Century, just as the British Empire expanded its colonialization. Told through the experiences of a preacher welcomed into tribal society,...

Over a year since Guy Pearce came to the Toronto International Film Festival to bless audiences with The Convert, the historical drama is now ready to whisk viewers back to the 1830s from the comfort of their homes on DVD and Blu-ray. The first feature in seven years for xXx: State of the Union and Once Were Warriors director Lee Tamahori stars Pearce as a lay preacher caught in a conflict between Mori tribes in New Zealand and forced to reckon with his faith and his own violent past. To celebrate its physical release, Collider is excited to share a new sneak peek highlighting the violence inflicted by the tribes as Pearce's Thomas Munro watches on.

Guy Pearce found the trauma of his character in The Convert challenging to carry, especially the past military attack involving innocent deaths. Pearce says his approach to acting has evolved, allowing him to put emotional complexities aside when not filming, improving his performance over time. Guy Pearce says the serious subjects of warfare and violence in The Convert draw parallels to current wartime atrocities.

It's often hard to articulate what I either get out of something or what journey I've had to go through to portray a character, Guy Pearce recently told MovieWeb about his character in the mind-bending new historical drama, The Convert. The film finds Pearce playing minister Thomas Munro, a man who relocates to New Zealand to build a new life and spread the good word. Hes soon pulled into the racial tensions swirling about in 1830. Specifically, between the British and the Mori people.

I think the...

Wherever you go, there you are; you take yourself and your personal dilemmas with you no matter where you travel. You cant outrun them. Thats the complex learning curve Guy Pearces determined British preacher, Thomas Munro, must face in director Lee Tamahoris gripping yet bloated new historical drama, The Convert. The story takes place in 1830 with a shipbound Munro sailing with British traders across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, where the main dramas unfold. Munro hopes to begin a new life; fate has other plans for him.

This project sat in gestation for many years 11 years before the cameras rolled and the pandemic created further delays. The film hit the Toronto International Film Festival and was praised for its stunning cinematography and Pearces solid performance as Thomas Munro. Written by Tamahori, Michael Bennett, and Shane Danielsen, the film notably benefits from Tamahoris keen eye and senses, having turned heads...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

The Animal Kingdom (Thomas Cailley)

In The Animal Kingdom, an Un Certain Regard-selected science-fiction romp from France, human-animal mutations are the new norm. Director Thomas Cailley begins things in media res with a familiar disaster-movie scene: François (Romain Duris) and Émile (Paul Kircher)––father and son, respectively––are stuck in traffic, making chit-chat, when something slowly begins capturing the attention of other drivers. An ambulance across the way begins to rumble. Then a man with a large winged arm bursts out, causing some damage before scurrying down a tunnel. Only mildly ruffled, François exchanges a jaded aphorism with another driver over: “Strange times.” – Rory O. (full review)

Where to Stream: Hulu

The Bikeriders (Jeff Nichols)

Using photographer Danny Lyon’s iconic The...

Working in his native country seems to enliven New Zealand-born director Lee Tamahori, whose best film remains his 1994 debut feature Once Were Warriors. His Hollywood career has been a mixed bag, including such clunkers as the Nicolas Cage starrer Next and the ill-fated xXx: State of the Union, not to mention Die Another Day, one of the most forgettable of recent James Bond films. Tamahori demonstrates something of a return to form with The Convert, a 19th century-set historical drama starring Guy Pearce, about an English minister who travels to New Zealand to preach at a British settlement only to get caught up in the violence between warring Maori tribes.

Like Tamahori’s 2016 feature, The Patriarch, The Convert is uneven and doesn’t fully live up to its thematic ambitions. But it’s handsomely made and thankfully avoids falling victim to white savior syndrome.

Set in 1830, the story begins with...

Who says 1994 was a classic year for cinema? Netflix begins today to make that argument, curating a release of 17 films that turned 30 this year. The streamer has its list below. I have mine, and with the exception of the seminal Farrelly Brothers-directed Dumb & Dumber with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, and Luc Besson’s Leon: The Professional, the film that stars Jean Reno and a sinister Gary Oldman and introduced the world to the outsized talent Natalie Portman, and maybe Ron Howard’s The Paper, there’s a lot missing. How about Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Clear and Present Danger, Sicario, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Interview With the Vampire, Speed, Ed Wood, and the other two films in a starmaking year for Jim Carrey, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask. Speed, Once Were Warriors, and Ang Lee...

Dark Winds and Blood Quantum actor Kiowa Gordon and Sera-Lys McArthur (Café Daughter, Outlander) have joined the cast of Many Wounds, a contemporary re-imagining of Lee Tamahori’s ground-breaking 1994 Maori film Once Were Warriors, set among indigenous communities in Canada.

Skye Pelletier (Prey) stars in Many Wounds as Mashka, a young teenager on the cusp of being swallowed up by a colonial system meant to further the goals of assimilation who becomes a warrior to protect his family.

Ojibway filmmaker Jeremy Torrie, who wrote and is directing Many Wounds, and producing the film together with Métis producer Tanya Brunel, said he drew on his own personal, painful experiences growing up indigenous in Winnipeg for the script.

“Our intention with this film is to reveal some uncomfortable truths about the effects of generations of forced assimilation and genocide by the Canadian government toward our peoples for a society largely unaware of how deep the wounds go,...

No Maori Allowed, directed by Corinna Hunziger was named the winner of the Pasifika Award and recipient of a $5,000 cash prize at the Hawaii International Film Festival.

It recounts the story of a teacher who unearths a secret past in the town of Pukekohe. That causes Maori community figures to come forward to share personal stories that shaped their lives.

The festival’s Kau Ka Hōkū or shooting star award for an international emerging filmmaker making their first or second feature film, was awarded to “Asog,” by Sean Devlin. It is a tragicomic road film that follows a non-binary Filipino comedian pursuing their dream of becoming a pageant queen.

The jury also provided honorable mentions for performance to “Mustache,” directed by Imran Khan and to “Tiger Stripes,” directed by Amanda Nell Eu.

This year’s Best Made In Hawai‘i Feature winner was Hōkūle‘a: Finding The Language of the Navigator,...

Since his breakthrough 1994 feature Once Were Warriors, a troubling and fiery coming-of-age story indie set in New Zealand’s Maōri community, Lee Tamahori has almost exclusively resided in the realm of pulpy B-grade action cinema. From directing Pierce Brosnan’s final Bond in Die Another Day to Ice Cube in XXX: State of the Union to making a Guy Ritchie-lite actioner about Saddam Hussein’s son (The Devil’s Double), Tamahori has a strong familiarity with cheesy espionage plotlines and passable entertainment. Both sides of Tamahori’s filmography come together in his latest historical epic The Convert––results are expectedly mixed.

Presented in a decidedly prestige manner with sweeping camerawork and a plotline that decides to burn slow in building the relationships of its characters, The Convert tells of John Munro (Guy Pearce), a British preacher who is brought to the settlement of Epworth to help serve the community of settlers there.

Once Were Warriors, the classic New Zealand novel that unflinchingly depicted modern Māori life, is coming to TV. The novel was previously adapted into an acclaimed movie in 1994. Deadline reports that producer Rick Selvage and Alan Duff, the author of Once Were Warriors, are producing a new adaptation of the 1990 novel that brings the story thirty years into the future, and will feature a new generation of characters and stories.

Exclusive: Classic New Zealand novel Once Were Warriors, memorably adapted for film by Lee Tamahori in 1994, is getting a TV adaptation from Wheel Of Time exec Rick Selvage and the novel’s author Alan Duff.

A companion novel penned by Duff called Once Were Warriors: Generations is also being lined up.

Duff is teaming with Onphaya’s Selvage and the latter’s producing partner, Peta Johnson, who will both serve as executive producers.

In the original novel and film a family descended from Māori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.

Once Were Warriors: Generations will bring the Heke family forward 30 years to the present day with a new generation of characters and stories.

According to producers, “political aspirations, financial schemes, cultural clashes, and a search for redemption are at the core of this series filtered through the distinctive Māori culture...

New Zealand-born director Lee Tamahori has dabbled in big-budget Hollywood film-making as well as more intimately-scaled films exploring his Māori heritage. So he brings both skills to bear in his sweeping, early 19th-century period drama about Māori conflict— ostensibly crafting a founding myth for New Zealand.

Continue reading ‘The Convert’ Review: Guy Pearce Stars In Lee Tamahori’s Stunning, Sweeping & Action-Packed Historical Epic [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Beware! New Zealand is ready to hear the roar of its first “authentic” monster movie, “Taniwha.”

“If you ask any New Zealander what our own unique Indigenous monster is, they will immediately reply: Taniwha!” explains director Libby Hakaraia.

“In our Māori culture, they are very real: Every tribe has their own. They inhabit waterways, mountains, rivers, oceans and forests, and take many shapes. They are to be feared and respected as guardians, and they are avengers of wrongs.”

Now, they will also star in the film produced by Tainui Stephens and Desray Armstrong (Māoriland Productions), recently presented to the industry insiders at Canada’s Frontières.

The “monster thriller,” already in the advanced development stage, will boast the participation of Wētā Workshop.

“In the world of this film, Aotearoa [Māori name for New Zealand] had the world’s largest birds. The moa, a flightless bird over 2.6 meters tall and the pouakai, an eagle with a wingspan of 3-4 meters.

While the titular sharks steal the spotlight in Meg 2: The Trench, there are plenty of recognizable stars in the movie's cast, including returning icons Jason Statham and Cliff Curtis and exciting new additions like Wu Jing and Skyler Samuels. When it was released in 2018, The Meg was a surprise hit with audiences, grossing more than $530 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), so a sequel was a no-brainer. This time, instead of contending with just one megalodon — and later an even bigger one — like Statham did in the first movie, Meg 2 sees him taking on a bunch of megalodons as they begin hunting in packs.

Based on Steve Alten’s 1999 novel The Trench, which is the second installment of his Meg series, the sequel was written by the returning trio of Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris. Replacing the original's director, Jon Turteltaub, and making his big-budget blockbuster debut,...

Cliff Curtis has been cast in a recurring role in Jason Momoa’s upcoming Apple series “Chief of War.”

Per the official logline, the nine-episode series “follows the epic and unprecedented telling of the unification and colonization of Hawaii from an indigenous point of view.”

Momoa stars in the series, with other cast members besides Curtis being Luciane Buchanan, Temuera Morrison, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, newcomer Kaina Makua, Moses Goods, Siua Ikale’o, Brandon Finn, James Udom, Native Hawaiian actress Mainei Kinimaka, and Te Kohe Tuhaka.

Curtis will appear as Keōua, the cousin of Kamehameha (Kaina Makua) who believes himself to be the rightful leader of Hawai’i.

Curtis most recently appeared in the blockbuster film “Avatar: The Way of Water” as Tonowari. He is also known for roles in films like “Training Day,” “Once Were Warriors,” “Sunshine,” and “Whale Rider.” In television, he previously starred in the AMC series “Fear the Walking Dead...

Welcome back to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast, I am your host Valerie Complex — assistant editor and film writer at Deadline. Had some technical difficulties so that’s why this latest episode didn’t publish Tuesday, but it’s a new day, and here we are.

On today’s episode, I chat with native New Zealanders actor Cliff Curtis and director Tearapa Kahi about the new film Muru, which had its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this year. In the discussion, Curtis and Kahi talk about the incident that inspired Muru, police brutality within the Maori community, and their personal encounters with the police.

Inspired by actual events, Muru is the powerful story of local Police Sergeant “Taffy” Tāwharau who recently returned home to the remote Ruatoki valley to look after his sick father.

Taffy’s father’s close associate, Tame Iti, runs a series of boot camps in the...

Production is underway in the lush and remote northern tip of New Zealand on “Far North,” a premium drama series for Sundance Now.

The fact-based series stars local acting legend, Temuera Morrison and award-winning actress, Robyn Malcolm (“Top of the Lake”) as an everyday couple who foil an international crime ring’s largest ever deal in the Pacific.

The series was researched and created and is being directed by David White. The screenplay was written by White, Suli Moa and Mingjian Cui.

Filming will take 14 weeks in total, with seven of those on location in Ahipara, where the real events took place. The completed show will be delivered as six one-hour episodes, with All3 Media International handling rights sales outside of the producer territories.

South Pacific Pictures and White Balance Pictures are producing for Sundance Now (U.S.), Paramount+ (Australia), Warner Bros. Discovery (New Zealand) and All3Media International. The show...

Guy Pearce and Te Kohe Tuhaka lead the cast of “The Convert,” an epic New Zealand-set action drama film being directed by Lee Tamahori. Mister Smith Entertainment is representing sales rights and will launch the project at the Cannes film market.

The story sees Pearce portray a lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement in 1830s New Zealand. His violent past is soon drawn into question and his faith put to the test, as he finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Maori tribes. The script was written by Shane Danielsen (“Errors of the Human Body”) and Tamahori, after originating from a screen story by Michael Bennet (“Matariki”).

The producers on the film are Robin Scholes, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Andrew Mason and Troy Lum.

“The Convert” is an official New Zealand Australia co-production, between Auckland based Jump Film & Television and Sydney based Brouhaha Entertainment. Film...

Guy Pearce is to play the lead in epic action feature The Convert from Die Another Day director Lee Tamahori.

Mister Smith Entertainment will launch global sales at Cannes later this month on the feature, which is set in early 19th century New Zealand and kicks off principal photography in September.

The King’s Speech and Mare of Easttown star Pearce will play Thomas Munro, a lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement in 1830s New Zealand. His violent past is soon drawn into question and his faith put to the test, as he finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Māori tribes.

Tamahori said it has been “20 years since Guy Pearce and I talked about working together.”

He added: “Guy is a brilliant actor and to have him onboard will allow me to sleep easy at night, for I know he will inhabit the...

The action feature is set in 1830s New Zealand.

Guy Pearce has signed to star in Lee Tamahori’s The Convert which UK sales outfit Mister Smith Entertainment will introduce to international buyers at Cannes this month.

The action feature will shoot later this year.

It is co-produced by Auckland-based Jump Film & Television and Australia’s Brouhaha Entertainment. It follows a lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement in 1830s New Zealand where his violent past is drawn into question and his faith is put to the test when he’s caught in the middle of a war between Māori tribes.

For Rena Owen, it was the role of a lifetime.

Since rocketing to international prominence in 1994 in Lee Tamahori’s Once Were Warriors, in which she played an abused wife in a family descended from Maori warriors, the New Zealand actor has had a steady career of film and TV roles, including parts in Steven Spielberg’s A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001) and George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2002), alongside Vin Diesel and Elijah Wood in The Last Witch Hunter (2015), and in recurring roles in Freeform fantasy series Sirens, and Seth MacFarlane’s The ...

For Rena Owen, it was the role of a lifetime.

Since rocketing to international prominence in 1994 in Lee Tamahori’s Once Were Warriors, in which she played an abused wife in a family descended from Maori warriors, the New Zealand actor has had a steady career of film and TV roles, including parts in Steven Spielberg’s A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001) and George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2002), alongside Vin Diesel and Elijah Wood in The Last Witch Hunter (2015), and in recurring roles in Freeform fantasy series Sirens, and Seth MacFarlane’s The ...

Exclusive: Cornerstone is heading to the virtual EFM with New Zealand drama Whina, which stars Siren, Once Were Warriors and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones actress Rena Owen as revered Maori activist and female rights advocate Whina Cooper.

See an exclusive first look image of Owen as Cooper above.

Cornerstone will launch worldwide sales, excluding Australia/Nz, on the film which heralds from writer-directors James Napier Robertson, who directed 2014 festival favorite The Dark Horse, and Paula Whetu Jones (Waru).

Whina (pronounced fee-nah), will see Owen play the role of Cooper, the beloved Māori matriarch who worked tirelessly to improve the rights of her people, especially women. At nearly 80-years-old Cooper became nationally revered as the ‘Mother of The Nation’ when she led the first Māori Land March over 1,000 kilometers from Te Hapua in the Far North to Wellington at the bottom of the North Island of New...

Stars: Uli Latukefu, Nathaniel Lees, Jay Laga’aia, Shavaughn Ruakere, John Tui | Written by John Argall | Directed by Kiel McNaughton

Imagine Taika Watiti directed a mash-up of Once Were Warriors, with a sprinkling of Kung Fu Hustle; then add a touch of Lock Stock, oh, and some WWE Raw and you have This movie!

I bloody love it when I’m right… You know when you see a trailer for a movie or a poster or even just the box for the movie, and you think man that looks and sounds so damn good?! So you spend some hard earned cash (well in this case fire off an email) and sit down to watch it, only to find that you have uncovered an absolute gem of a movie. That dear reader is The Legend of Baron To’a. An absolute joy of a movie that had me smiling from ear-to-ear all the...

Bill Gavin in Cannes in 1988 (Photo credit: © Richard Blanshard).

Former producer, exhibitor and sales agent Bill Gavin has died in Auckland after a short illness, aged 83.

“Bill Gavin’s long career touched on almost every aspect of the screen industry and he was great friend to the many filmmakers whose careers benefited from his touch,” the New Zealand Film Commission said.

A former journalist who covered motor racing in Auckland and internationally, his entrée into filmmaking came when he wrote the narration for John Frankenheimer’s sports drama Grand Prix, which starred James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, Brian Bedford and Jessica Walter, in 1966.

In the early 1970s he moved into the music business, joining Gto in the UK where he managed a number of acts including Sweet and The New Seekers.

At Gto he helped set up Gto Films to make movies promoting its musical acts and later into distribution,...

Bill Gavin, the former Goldcrest executive and general manager of Australia’s Hoyts Theatres, has died at the age of 83 at his home in Auckland, New Zealand, after a short illness.

Gavin moved to the UK in the early 1960s after securing a contract to cover New Zealand’s then highly successful Formula One drivers, going on to write a biography of UK driver Jim Clark. He segued initially into the music business and established Gto Films to promote glam rock acts, the company then branched into distribution and worked on the UK release of Weir’s classic Picnic At Hanging Rock and the original version of Swept Away.

In 1978 he moved to Australia to become general manager of Hoyts Theatres and spearheaded the company’s entry into distribution. His down under success distributing the first Muppet Movie caught the eye of Lew Grade, who invited him to join Itc Films’ sales team in London.

Gavin worked on films including ‘Gandhi’ and ‘Whale Rider’.

Bill Gavin, a former executive at the UK’s Goldcrest Films who worked on films including Gandhi and Whale Rider, has died aged 83 at his home in Auckland, New Zealand after a short illness.

The industry veteran worked on several award-winning features throughout his career as an independent sales agent, distributor, exhibitor and producer.

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Gavin began his career as a motor racing journalist and moved to the UK in the early 1960s after securing a contract to report on successful Kiwi Formula One drivers competing overseas.

Exclusive: Jeremy Thomas’s Brit sales and production firm HanWay is rebranding catalog label HanWay Select to The Collections as part of a drive to highlight and propel its significant library of more than 350 movies.

HanWay has struck a deal with UK distributor Arrow Films to handle distribution and restorations in the UK of the Jeremy Thomas collection, with films including multi-Oscar winning epic The Last Emperor, John Malkovich-Debra Winger romance The Sheltering Sky and David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch. Arrow recently re-released HanWay’s David Bowie-starrer Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.

HanWay is currently restoring around five titles a year with recent updates including David Cronenberg’s Crash, which screened at Venice. Upcoming is Gary Oldman’s Nil By Mouth.

We also understand the company is close to striking a deal with a well known filmmaker to bring around 20 movies into The Collections fold.

The catalog drive...

Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not seen “The New Decas,” the season 5 premiere of Showtime’s “Billions.”

Can the group of hardcore characters who fuel the “Billions” universe overcome their baser instincts to find success and happiness? These are the broad themes of the fifth season of “Billions,” Showtime’s twisty-turny drama series set against the backdrop of New York’s investment and high-finance community.

Brian Koppelman and David Levien, series co-creators and showrunners, join the Variety After Show, presented by National Geographic, to break down the season premiere and offer some insights about the rest of the season ahead. The opener, “The New Decas,” was penned by Koppelman and Levien and directed by Matthew McLoota.

In the Q&a with Variety business editor Cynthia Littleton, Koppelman notes that the challenge of steering a new season is always to take the characters to new places while continuing the overarching storylines.

There is a pathetic beauty to Calm With Horses which breaks and warms your heart in equal measure. The characters in Nick Rowland’s West of Ireland set film speak wistfully of Cork as if it is a far off land and for most of them – shackled tight to their ugly lives – it is as far out of reach as the escape to Mexico a bumbling minion proposes when things start to go awry.

Douglas ‘Arm’ Armstrong (Cosmo Jarvis) is a man of few words. His life as a promising young boxer derailed after a fight went horribly wrong and sent him careening into the deadly embrace of The Devers. This shambolic crime family rule over the cracked pavements, terraces and cattle sheds of the locale with nicotine-stained fists and perplexing priorities.

Arm was recruited into the fold by Devers nephew Dympna (Barry Keoghan), a smalltown rat boy whose family...

Lyon, France — Manuel Chiche is riding high. Since June, his boutique distribution outlet The Jokers set admission records with Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” selling nearly 1.7 million tickets in France and still going strong as the film heads into its 19th week in theaters. Indeed, “Parasite” is now the second most successful Palme d’Or winner of the 21st century at the French box office – but don’t expect Chiche or any of his outfits to scale up as a result.

“We want to remains as artisans, in a business that doesn’t always allow for that,” says the French exec, who also runs reissue outfit La Rabbia. On the occasion of this year’s Lumière Festival, Variety sat down with Chiche for a kind state of the industry on the French reissue landscape.

Is there a particular time of year most amenable to reissues?

In France, it’s always in the summer.

Rena Owen.

When Rena Owen weighs up whether to accept roles, her main goal is to portray characters who are not the same as or similar to those she’s played before.

That maxim has served the Kiwi actress well in a screen career which spans 30 years since her debut in the Nz police series Shark in the Park.

Currently she is in Hobart playing yet another unique individual – Grace, who runs a community drop-in centre for wayward kids – in The Gloaming, an eight-part drama commissioned by Stan and Disney’s ABC Studios International.

Owen was in Vancouver getting ready to shoot the final episode of the second season of mermaid drama Siren, which screens on Disney’s young-adult Us cable network Freeform, when she was asked to audition for The Gloaming.

Her schedule was so hectic her initial response was that she had no time to do a self-test.

Cliff Curtis and Taika Waititi at the Nz premiere of ‘Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen’.

Cliff Curtis has more 50 screen credits as an actor but he is just as passionate about his role as a producer and executive producer – and he may soon direct his first feature.

“My interest in trying to understand my trade and craft took me behind the camera,” Curtis tells If on the line from his home in Rotorua. “When I got into producing I discovered there is a totally different aspect of my brain and how I think about things.

“With acting you are expected to play to the crowd and to be gregarious. I have that part to my nature but there is another part where I’m very private and I like to spend time on my own, isolated and within my head.

”As a producer you are there at the genesis of the project,...

(L-r) Josh Mauga, Cliff Curtis, Dwayne Johnson, Roman Reigns and John Tui in the new Fast & Furious

Actor Cliff Curtis modestly acknowledges he is not a brand or a marquee name, despite a vast body of work which includes Once Were Warriors, Whale Rider, The Dark Horse, Blow, Three Kings, The Insider, Sunshine, Training Day, Collateral Damage and Crossing Over.

That could soon change as Curtis plays a key role in the latest iteration of Universal’s Fast & Furious franchise, followed by a recurring character in all four of James Cameron’s Avatar epics.

In Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw he plays the brother of Dwayne Johnson’s character, diplomatic security agent Luke Hobbs, who teams up with mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) to stop a new threat — “super-human” terrorist Brixton (Idris Elba). Directed by David Leitch, the action adventure is due to open in August.

The actor...

To celebrate the home entertainment release of Occupation which will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download 21st January 2019, we have a copy of the Blu-ray up for grabs, courtesy of Altitude Film Entertainment!

War of the Worlds Aussie-style, as small-town residents fight alien invaders in a slam-bang sci-fi epic packed with dazzling effects and bug-eyed beasties.

Luke Sparke follows up his hugely enjoyable action-horror Red Billabong with a no-nonsense alien invasion epic that mixes Red Dawn into Independence Day for an explosive burst of Ozploitation sci-fi entertainment, that has proved such a big hit in cinemas down under that a sequel is already being filmed.

Sparke has assembled the cream of the crop of Australian acting talent, with Dan Ewing (joined by fellow Home and Away stars Stephany Jacobsen and Rhiannon Fish) swapping the safety of Summer Bay for a small town invaded by aliens; also appearing is Temuera Morrison,...

Iconic New Zealand film maker, Geoff Murphy, known for “The Quiet Earth” and work on “Dante’s Peak,” has died. He was 80.

Murphy’s death on Monday was confirmed by the New Zealand Film Commission. The organization called him “one of the leading figures in New Zealand cinema’s renaissance of the late 1970s and 1980s.”

A writer, director and producer, Murphy directed three films in that period – “Goodbye Pork Pie,” “Utu,” and “The Quiet Earth” – that were timely and locally-rooted. They are now considered as Kiwi classics.

Murphy’s creative career kicked off as a founding member of musical, theatrical troupe Blerta. His first film, “Wild Man” was largely developed and improvised by Blerta regulars. Murphy’s road movie “Never Say Die,” gave Temuera Morrison his first starring role.

“At the end of the 1980s, Geoff worked mainly in the U.S., directing films like ‘Young Guns II,’ and...

Cannes 1988 (L-r) John Maynard, whose feature The Navigator was in competition, Nzfc chief executive Jim Booth, Lindsay Shelton and distributor/producer Barrie Everard.

Many of our earliest highlights were at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 1980 we took New Zealand films to the market at Cannes for the first time. We persuaded Geoff Murphy to rush completion of Goodbye Pork Pie and it became New Zealand’s first commercial hit in terms of sales: Six contracts for distribution in 20 countries.

John Laing’s Beyond Reasonable Doubt and Roger Donaldson’s Smash Palace earned success in the market in our second year – with Roger’s film getting one of our first deals for theatrical release in the USA.

In 1982 New Zealand earned official selection at Cannes for the first time with Sam Pillsbury’s The Scarecrow in Directors’ Fortnight.

That was followed in 1983 by Geoff Murphy’s Utu in official selection out...

Taika Waititi isn’t afraid to say it: Hollywood needs some new inspiration. But the “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” director is happy to look for a silver lining. At a Monday morning Toronto International Film Festival Master Class, where the New Zealand filmmaker sat for an hour-long conversation with the festival’s artistic director Cameron Bailey, Waititi got honest about the current state of the industry.

“We’re in a really cool place right now: Hollywood is running out of ideas,” Waititi said. “They are scrambling for ideas and stories, and where do they turn? Indigenous people, ethnic people, they turn to Korea, Japan, they turn to anywhere outside of America for films that they can remake for things that are outside of their comfort zone, because that’s where the interesting stuff is.”

He said that meant new opportunities for a range of filmmakers to produce original work,...

From Saban Films comes Occupation, a story of survival and fighting off an alien invasion. The sci-fi film is arriving on Blu-ray, DVD and digital from Lionsgate. Read all the details below.

Prepare for invasion when the sci-fi epic Occupation arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital), DVD, and Digital September 25 from Lionsgate. This film is currently On Demand. When a fleet of spaceships cover the sky in darkness and invade Earth, a small group of civilians band together to fight off their attackers to save their lives along with all of humanity. Featuring eye-grabbing special effects, the high-stakes action film stars Dan Ewing, Temuera Morrison, and Stephany Jacobsen. Occupation will be available on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD for the suggested retail price of $21.99 and $19.98, respectively.

Official Synopsis

A town is suddenly plunged into darkness. In the sky, a fleet of spaceships appears. The aliens have been watching Earth for centuries...

Temuera Morrison is a legend, plain and simple. From Once Were Warriors to the new Australian alien invasion epic Occupation, Morrison has been a constant in the New Zealand and Aussie film scene. He also graces us with his presence from time to time in Hollywood, playing iconic roles like Jango Fett in Attack of […]

The post Interview: Temuera Morrison Talks Occupation and Aquaman appeared first on Dread Central.

We now have further evidence that James Cameron's long-delayed Avatar 2 and its sequels are finally happening. Shooting is expected to start later this year. And the casting process is well under way in order to keep things on schedule. Fear the Walking Dead star Cliff Curtis has joined the cast for all four Avatar sequels in a new lead role.

The news comes courtesy of Deadline, who report that Cliff Curtis is playing a new character named Tonowari, the leader of the Metkayina, a reef clan from Pandora. James Cameron has been saying for years that a lot of Avatar 2, and presumably the other sequels, will be taking place underwater. With this new casting, it looks like that will indeed be the case.

As far as Cliff Curtis goes, if you don't know him from Fear the Walking Dead, he also starred in the Oscar-winning drama The Piano,...

Disney’s Moana hit Digital HD this week and we have some special bonus clips to share with you.

Helmed by Clements and Musker, the directing team behind The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and The Princess and the Frog, and co-directed by Chris Williams & Don Hall (Oscar®-winning Big Hero 6 -Best Animated Feature Film in 2015), Moana” is produced by Osnat Shurer (Lifted, One Man Band), and executive produced by John Lasseter. Jared Bush (Zootopia) wrote the screenplay. Moana features original songs from a diverse and dynamic team that includes Tony®-, Emmy®- and Grammy®-winning lyricist/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (Broadway’s Pulitzer Prize-winning and multiple Tony-winning Hamilton, Tony-winning In the Heights), Mark Mancina (Speed, Tarzan The Lion King) and Opetaia Foaʻi (founder and lead singer of the award-winning world music band Te Vaka). Mancina composed the original score.

Easter Eggs

Writing “We Know the Way”

Moana stars Auli‘i...

Burbank, Calif., Jan. 13, 2017 — Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Moana, the sweeping story of a spirited teenager who sets sail on a daring adventure to save her people, starring newcomer Auli‘i Cravalho as the voice of brave and tenacious Moana and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (HBO’s Ballers, Central Intelligence) as the larger-than-life demigod Maui, has dazzled both critics and audiences. The film earned a 95% critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes and the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office opening weekend. Now, Moana sets a new course, arriving to homes on Digital HD/3D and Disney Movies Anywhere (Dma) on Feb. 21, and on Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand on March 7.

Continuing the fun-filled adventure, families can continue their journey filled with hours of extensive and entertaining bonus offerings including: a new, hilarious mini-movie featuring Moana and Maui; an in-depth look at how the people, cultures and heritage of...

The early '90s were a magical time for independent cinema. There has always been a lot of talk about how American independent cinema became a major cultural force during those years. Books like Spike, Mike, Slackers, & Dykes focused on the renaissance that brought filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch, Kevin Smith, and Spike Lee down from the film festival stratosphere and into the popular consciousness. However, similar breakouts were happening all around the world, and one of the most potent films of the decade was Lee Tamahori's story of a dysfunctional modern Maori family, Once Were Warriors. In discussing this film with friends and colleagues over the last few weeks, the general consensus was that it was a powerful film for its time, but it seems...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Dramas don't come more powerful than this one -- a Maori family might escape their slum existence if it weren't for the father, an emotionally volatile monster whose brutality knows no limits. The show took in awards everywhere -- it's a stunningly affecting tragedy not completely without hope. Once Were Warriors Blu-ray Film Movement Classics 1994 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date September 6, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Julian Arahanga, Taungaroa Emile, Rachael Morris Jr., Joseph Kairau, Cliff Curtis, Pete Smith. Cinematography Stuart Dryburgh Film Editor Michael Horton Original Music Murray Grindlay, Murray McNabb Written by Riwa Brown from the novel by Alan Duff Produced by Robin Scholes Directed by Lee Tamahori

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

In 1996 or so, working at MGM, I learned about a movie coming out with a definite neo-noir theme -- Mulholland Falls. Then I was told that its director was a New Zealander whose...

In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the weeks of August 30th, 2016 and September 6th.

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Episode Notes & Links News Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) Star Trek: The original Series – The Roddenberry Vault Blu-ray The Skull Blu-ray Olive Films Announce November Titles The Bruce Lee Premiere Collection Blu-ray: The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, Game of Death 50% Off Arrow DVDs & Blu-rays | Barnes & Noble Amazon.com: Middle-earth Limited Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray + DVD): Various: Movies & TV American Buffalo (1996) Going Out Of Print September 12th!! – Screen Archives Entertainment Links to Amazon

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Arrow: Season 4 Barbarosa Chimes at Midnight Destiny The Immortal Story The Jungle Book The Night Manager Star Wars Rebels: The Complete Season 2 Disco Godfather Evils of the Night Eyewitness Hangmen Also Die! People of the Mountains Sid And Nancy...

If you happened to be tuned into the Olympics last night, you saw a new extended TV spot for the Dwayne Johnson-led Moana, and now Disney Animation has released it online. Their newest venture after the colossal success of Zootopia follows the titular Moana (Auli’i Cravalho), who sails with her hero and companion, the demi-god Maui (Johnson) to a legendary island using her navigational skills. Dwayne looks to play the sweet, goofy, shape-shifting Maui well, hitting a nice counter-note to the brave, venturous Moana to make the perfect pairing.

It promises to be a touching, rousing adventure that should continue Disney Animation’s winning streak, especially in the hands of long-time Disney writer-directors Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin). See the extended TV spot below, along with character photos, for the film that also stars Alan Tudyk, Jermaine Clement, and Nicole Scherzinger.

Dwayne Johnson (HBO’s “Ballers,...