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

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

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

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

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

As well as her TV credits, Mathias has written eight books about food and travel, and leads food tours to her favourite gastronomic hot spots around the world. She also recently set up her own production company, Red Head Media, to create cooking DVDs.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Mathias discusses:

• How she was discovered and her first TV audition
• The impact Taste New Zealand had on local cuisine
• How her outrageous outfits were a deliberate strategy
• What she thinks of TV food shows
• Why she ended up cooking on Hudson and Halls’ old stove
• Why her Intrepid Journey to Bolivia was hell on earth
• And the practical reason behind setting up her own production company

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

Credits:  Interview, Camera & Editing – Andrew Whiteside

Waititi, aka Taika Cohen, appeared in feature films Scarfies (Alex), and Snakeskin (Nelson), the TV show The Strip, and on stage as a stand up comedian and one half of the comedy duo Humourbeasts, before turning his creative energies towards writing and directing.

His award-winning short film Tama Tū, based on the experiences of The Maori Battalion in WWII, was recognised at festivals in Berlin, Stockholm and at Sundance.

Waititi’s first short Two Cars, One Night was nominated for an Academy Award, and his debut feature film Eagle vs Shark was released in 2007 to critical acclaim.

He has directed several music videos, including two for Wellington band The Phoenix Foundation.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Waititi reveals:

• The trials of working with kids in Two Cars, One Night
• The story behind the now infamous “falling asleep” gag at the Oscars, and how he was left holding the baby
• Details on how the amazing, lifelike set for short film Tama Tū was realised
• The crazy story behind creation of the script for Eagle vs Shark
• How he approached writing and directing on Flight of the Conchords
• His general thoughts on choosing a career as a filmmaker
• An insight into the layout of his hill-top castle-themed mansion

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

Credits:  Interview, Camera & Editing – James Coleman

For more than 20 years, actor Peter Elliott’s career has spanned theatre, film, television and radio. His most notable screen credits include playing Rex on Gloss, Dr David Kearney on Shortland Street, and more recently he was the TV ad face encouraging us to take civil defence seriously.

As well as TV drama, Elliott has fronted and narrated a range of documentary TV series such as Captain’s Log, Explorers, Frontier of Dreams and Secret New Zealand. He also wrote and presented Jungle Rain, a documentary about Agent Orange. Elliott was the first celebrity to appear in Intrepid Journeys. Now 50, Elliott has recently added a new skill to his repertoire – directing theatre.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Elliott discusses:

• The experience of being a ‘star’ in Gloss and why he had to pretend to be single
• How he got burned out and burned by his four years on Shortland Street
• Why he thinks male characters get a rough deal on the soap
• How being part of Captain’s Log was a dream come true and a boost to his morale
• What a confronting experience it was visiting Kenya in Intrepid Journeys
• The great experience of being in Until Proven Innocent and the talent of co-star Cohen Holloway
• And how he has finally become comfortable with himself and his transition into being a director

Andrews began his career as a broadcast journalist, later moving to producing and directing.

In this ScreenTalk interview he talks about:

• the story of his rather short-lived career presenting the early TV current affairs show Gallery
• producing the ground-breaking documentary series Landmarks in the early 1980s
• his involvement in the start-up of TV3, and how the network’s direction changed over time, moving it away from the public service style programming that he had hoped for
• his independent production company George Andrews Productions, and some of the programmes he has enjoyed making over the years
• how his 2006 documentary Made in Taiwan – starring Oscar Kightley and Nathan Rarere – came about
• and finally he tells the story of how Made in Taiwan led to his 2008 documentary Allan Wilson – Evolutionary, about the pioneering and controversial New Zealand-born biologist. The programme was funded by the University of California, Berkeley, where Wilson spent much of his career.

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

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