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Kura Forrester
Kura Leigh Forrester (born 1985) is a New Zealand comedian, actor and writer. In 2019, she won the Billy T Award for best emerging comedian, for her show ''Kura Woulda Shoulda''. She currently appears as core cast member Desdemona Schmidt on prime-time soap opera ''Shortland Street''. Biography Forrester was born in Lower Hutt, Wellington to parents Amos (Ngāti Porou) and Robyn, who is Pākehā. Her early years were divided between Wellington and Dunedin. She attended high school at Wellington Girls' College, where she was involved in drama productions and the kapa haka roopu. Following that, Forrester studied performing arts at Auckland's Unitec Institute of Technology – graduating in 2005. She also trained for eight weeks at Philippe Gaulier's prestigious theatre school in Paris. Among her inspirations, Forrester cites Rachel House, Nancy Brunning, Miriama McDowell, Madeleine Sami, Billy T. James, Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Hannah Gadsby, Jackie van Beek and her family – pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy T Award
The Billy T Award is a New Zealand comedy award recognizing up-and-coming New Zealand comedians with outstanding potential. It has been presented annually since its inception in 1997 when Cal Wilson and Ewen Gilmour shared the award. The Billy T was shared between two comedians until 2001 when it became a solo award.NZ On Air, Press Release: ‘New Zealand Laughs On Air’ 23/4/02. The awards are an initiative of the New Zealand Comedy Trust to ‘foster and encourage outstanding New Zealand talent.'NZ International Comedy festival, Press Release: ‘2007 Billy T Nominees’ 16/1/2007 Billy T James The Billy T Awards were named in honour of New Zealand comedian Billy T. James. The winner receives ‘the yellow towel’ in tribute to the towel worn by James in some of his most famous sketches. Judging The winner is selected from five nominees performing during the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. Five judges select a winner based on their proven comedic ability, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy T
William James Te Wehi Taitoko (17 January 1948 – 7 August 1991) better known by his stage name Billy T. James, was a New Zealand entertainer, comedian, musician and actor. He became a key figure in the development of New Zealand comedy and a household name during his lifetime. Early life Taitoko was of Waikato Tainui and Clan Campbell descent, leading him to reflect humorously in one routine, "I'm half Maori and half Scots. Half of me wants to go to the pub and get pissed, and the other half doesn't want to pay for it.". Career Taitoko joined the Maori Volcanics Showband in the 1970s and performed around the world. Prince Tui Teka encouraged him to embark on a solo career which saw him in great demand for his skits and impressions and his cabaret singing. He adopted the stage name Billy T. James because "it was something the Australians could pronounce". In 1980 he appeared in the variety show ''Radio Times'', the success of which led to his own comedy sketch show in 1981, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
What We Do In The Shadows
''What We Do in the Shadows'' is a 2014 New Zealand mockumentary horror comedy film written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi and the first installment in the ''What We Do in the Shadows'' franchise. The film also stars Clement and Waititi, along with Jonathan Brugh, Ben Fransham, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, and Jackie van Beek. The film's plot concerns several vampires who live together in a flat in Wellington. '' What We Do in the Shadows'' premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2014. It was released theatrically on 18 August 2014 by Madman Entertainment and received critical acclaim. The film earned $6.9 million on a $1.6 million budget. Plot A documentary crew follows four vampire housemates—Viago, Vladislav, Deacon, and Petyr—who share a flat in the Wellington suburb of Te Aro. All of the vampires possess supernatural powers, including levitation and the ability to transform into animals. Viago is a 379-year-old dandy from t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mockumentary
A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictional setting, or to parody the documentary form itself. While mockumentaries are usually comedic, pseudo-documentaries are their dramatic equivalents. However, pseudo-documentary should not be confused with docudrama, a fictional genre in which dramatic techniques are combined with documentary elements to depict real events. Also, docudrama is different from docufiction, a genre in which documentaries are contaminated with fictional elements. Mockumentaries are often presented as historical documentaries, with B roll and talking heads discussing past events, or as '' cinéma vérité'' pieces following people as they go through various events. Examples emerged during the 1950s when archival f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement (born 10 January 1974) is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of the same name for both the BBC and HBO, for which he received six Primetime Emmy nominations. He has had featured parts in films such as Eagle vs Shark (2007), '' Men in Black 3'' (2012), '' People Places Things'' (2015), '' Humor Me'' (2017), '' The Festival'' (2018) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). He has also done voice-work for '' Despicable Me'' (2010), '' Rio'' (2011), '' Rio 2'' (2014), '' Moana'' (2016) and ''The Lego Batman Movie'' (2017). In 2014, he made his directorial debut with '' What We Do in the Shadows'', which he also co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in with Taika Waititi, and later adapted into a show for FX Television series of the same name. Early life Clement, quote=...says the actor, whose own middle n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taika Waititi
Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards. His feature films '' Boy'' (2010) and '' Hunt for the Wilderpeople'' (2016) have each been the top-grossing New Zealand film. ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world on its annual list in 2022. Waititi's 2003 short film '' Two Cars, One Night'' earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. He co-wrote, co-directed and starred in the horror comedy film '' What We Do in the Shadows'' (2014) with Jemaine Clement, which was adapted into a television series of the same name in 2019. The series has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. His most recent directing credits include the superhero films '' Thor: Ragna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand International Comedy Festival
{{Short description, Annual comedy festival in New Zealand The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is held simultaneously over three weeks during April/May in Auckland and Wellington. From its beginnings as a 2-day event, the Festival has now developed into a major nationwide event with a total attendance of over 100,000 people each year. The Festival is run by the New Zealand Comedy Trust. Main events Each year the Festival features over 200 shows and involves around 250 performers. The Festival contains a wide range of comedy performances – from emerging artists through to NZ comedy industry veterans and stars of the international comedy circuit. Similarly, the Festival caters for a wide range of audiences with specific shows aimed at children and teenagers, and a diverse offering of comedy fare. The opening of the Festival is the televised Comedy Gala, a showcase of performances by the top local and international comedians appearing in the festival. Past venues includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jarred Christmas
Jarred Christmas (born 1980) is a comedian from New Zealand who now lives and works in the United Kingdom. He won the Chortle Comedy Award for Best Compere. Early life Christmas grew up in Christchurch. He attended an all-boys secondary school where he did not fit in because he was not into sport. In 1996, he went to Hagley Community College for fifth form (now called Year 11) and credits the school with turning his life around, saying "For the first time in my life I met people who were themselves. It really changed my life." Christmas moved to Britain in 2003. Career Television and film Christmas has appeared on radio, film, television and stage. On television, he has appeared as a performer and guest panellist on shows such as BBC Two's '' Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' and '' Mock the Week'', BBC Three's '' Russell Howard's Good News'', Channel 4's '' 8 Out of 10 Cats'' and Dave's ''One Night Stand''. In 2008 he appeared in Pot Noodle television advertisements. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overseas Experience
Overseas Experience (OE) is a New Zealand term for an extended overseas working period or holiday. Sometimes referred to as "The big OE" in reference to the extended duration of the travel - typically at least one year, and often extended far longer. It is however generally expected that the person returns after a few years; armed with the work and life experience, and wider outlook obtained overseas. This is important especially to the career development especially among professionals. From the 1950s, OEs were often centred on London, and were described as ''going home'', a ''working holiday'', or an ''overseas trip'' until the term OE was popularised by New Zealand cartoonist and columnist Tom Scott in the mid 1970s.''...was coined by the father of Massey University lecturer John Muirhead, who used it in the 1960s. Writer Tom Scott heard it when he was a student as Massey, and later used the term freely in his "Listener" column, and it rapidly became part of the language.'', Max ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gisborne, New Zealand
Gisborne ( mi, Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa "Great standing place of Kiwa") is a city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne District (or Gisborne Region). It has a population of The district council has its headquarters in Whataupoko, in the central city. The settlement was originally known as Turanga and renamed Gisborne in 1870 in honour of New Zealand Colonial Secretary William Gisborne. Early history First arrivals The Gisborne region has been settled for over 700 years. For centuries the region has been inhabited by the tribes of Te Whanau-a-Kai, Ngaariki Kaiputahi, Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. Their people descend from the voyagers of the Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru, Horouta and Tākitimu waka. East Coast oral traditions offer differing versions of Gisborne's establishment by Māori. One legend recounts that in the 1300s, the great navigator Kiwa landed at the Turanganui River first on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokomaru Bay
Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community located on the isolated East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi. The district was originally known as Toka-a-Namu, which refers to the abundance of sandflies. Over the years the name was altered to Tokomaru Bay. The two hapu or sub-tribes that reside in Tokomaru Bay are Te Whanau a Ruataupare and Te Whānau a Te Aotawarirangi. The ancestral mountain of Tokomaru Bay is Marotiri. The ancestral river is Mangahauini. History and culture The seven-kilometre wide bay is small but sheltered, and was a calling place for passenger ships until the early 20th century. Captain Cook spent time here on his 1769 journey of discovery, and later European settlement included a whaling station. A visit by missionaries William Williams, William Colenso, Richard Matthews and James Stack heralded the coming of Christianity to the district in 1838 and their cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie Van Beek
Jackie van Beek (born 10 May 1976) is a New Zealand film and television director, writer and actress. Early life Van Beek was born and raised in Wellington and attended Onslow College. She studied contemporary dance at the Wellington Performing Arts Centre, then completed a linguistics degree at Victoria University of Wellington, graduating in 1998. Throughout her studies she wrote and produced plays in Wellington theatres and schools. Career In 1999 van Beek moved to Auckland and worked on theatre productions, and she spent a year at Ohio Northern University as the writer-in-residence. In 2006 van Beek moved to Australia and began making short films. Her first feature film was ''The Inland Road'', which was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival, followed by her second feature film, ''The Breaker Upperers.'' Van Beek has won a number of filmmaking awards, including SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year in 2013, as well as act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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