Michael Hurst (game Designer)
Michael Eric Hurst New Zealand Order of Merit, ONZM (born 20 September 1957) is a New Zealand actor, director and writer. He acted in the television programs ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and companion series ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' as Iolaus, and directed the Starz series ''Spartacus: Blood and Sand'' and ''Ash vs Evil Dead''. Biography Hurst was born in Lancashire, England, the eldest of three brothers. When he was seven his family moved to Christchurch, New Zealand. He enrolled at Papanui High School, then University of Canterbury, but for only one year. He is married to New Zealand actress Jennifer Ward-Lealand and they have two sons. In 1984, Hurst won the lead role of David Blyth's ''Death Warmed Up'', New Zealand's first splatter movie. The plot saw Hurst's character weathering institutionalisation, sundry wackos, and a motorcycle chase in the tunnels below Waiheke Island. The film won the grand prize at a fantasy film festival in Paris. The same year Hurst ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Zealand Order Of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits", to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity. In the New Zealand order of precedence, order of precedence, the New Zealand Order of Merit ranks immediately after the Order of New Zealand. Creation Prior to 1996, New Zealanders received appointments to various British orders, such as the Order of the Bath, the Order of St Michael and St George, the Order of the British Empire, and the Order of the Companions of Honour, as well as the distinction of Knight Bachelor. The change came about afte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sophie Lee
Sophie Lee (born 7 August 1968)TV Hits Sophie Lee Collect-a-Card is an Australian film, stage and television actress and author. Career Lee worked as a model early in her career, both in Australia and Japan''Lunch of Blood'' by Antonella Gambotto. pp160-171. Random House. appearing in print and on TV. Her first feature film was ''Raw Silk'' in 1988. She first rose to fame in 1990 for hosting ''The Bugs Bunny Show'' on Australian TV. The Nine Network series, which had previously not been hosted, featured ''Bugs Bunny'' and other Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons, plus occasional other material, such as an interview between Sophie and Kylie Minogue. She was cast by executive producer David Lyle out of 150 candidates. In 1991, Lee started playing the ongoing role of Penny Wellings in the drama series ''The Flying Doctors''. That year Lee also formed a pop group, Freaked Out Flower Children, performing on saxophone and vocals. In December that year ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2005 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)
The 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 6 June 2005. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour. New Zealand Order of Merit Distinguished Companion (DCNZM) * Chief District Court Judge David James Carruthers – of Paraparaumu. For services to the District Court. * Cassia Joy Cowley – of Wellington. For services to children's literature. * George Vjeceslav Fistonich – of Auckland. For services to the wine industry. * Professor Linda Jane Holloway – of Dunedin. For services to medicine. * Judge Anand Satyanand – of Wellington. For public services, lately as an ombudsman. File:Joy Cowley ONZ (cropped).jpg, Joy Cowley File:Anand ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arts Foundation Of New Zealand
The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The foundation produces award programmes that provide recognition and money prizes to New Zealand artists working in across all art forms. This includes writers, fine artists, musicians, dancers, choreographers, theatre-makers and screen artists. Background The concept of setting up an organisation to raise private funding for the arts was initiated by Creative New Zealand in 1997. Its chair Brian Stevenson approached Richard Cathie to chair a working party on the subject and Sir Ronald Scott was appointed consultant, with help from Gisella Carr. Early working party members and trustees included Mary, Lady Hardie Boys; Gillian, Lady Deane; Dame Jenny Gibbs; Sir Paul Reeves; Sir John Todd; Sir Miles Warren; and Sir Eion Edgar. The foundation was incorp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Viagra
Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is also sometimes used off-label for the treatment of certain symptoms in secondary Raynaud's phenomenon. It is unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in females. It can be taken orally (swallowed by mouth), intravenously (injection into a vein), or through the sublingual route (dissolved under the tongue). Onset when taken orally is typically within twenty minutes and lasts for about two hours. Common side effects include headaches, heartburn, and flushed skin. Caution is advised in those with cardiovascular disease. Rare but serious side effects include vision problems, hearing loss, and prolonged erection (priapism) that can lead to damage to the penis. Sildenafil should not be taken by people on nitric oxide donors such as nitroglycerin, as this may result in a serious drop in blood pressure. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mockumentary
A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues in a satirical way by using a fictional setting, or to parody the documentary form itself. The term originated in the 1960s but was popularized in the mid-1990s when ''This Is Spinal Tap'' director Rob Reiner used it in interviews to describe that film. While mockumentaries are comedy, comedic, pseudo-documentary, 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. Nor should either of those be confused with docufiction, a genre in which documentaries are contaminated with fictional elements. Mockumentaries are often presented as historical documenta ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kevin Smith (New Zealand Actor)
Kevin Tod Smith (16 March 1963 – 15 February 2002) was a New Zealand actor and musician, best known for starring as the Greek God of war, Ares, in the TV series '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and in its two spin-offs – '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and '' Young Hercules''. Early life Kevin Smith was born in Auckland in 1963. His mother was of Tongan and German ancestry and his father (of English descent) hailed from New Zealand. Smith's family moved to the South Island town of Timaru when he was eleven. He attended Timaru Boys' High School from 1976 to 1979. He was involved in the drama club at his high school. Smith played in rock and roll bands during high school, working out each morning at the gym and watching television in the afternoon.''New Zealand Herald'' (17 February 2003). He painted and played rugby and hoped to become a member of New Zealand's world-famous rugby team, the All Blacks. At the age of 17, Smith moved to Christchurch, where he lived in a fl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stephen Sinclair
Stephen Sinclair is a New Zealand playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the co-author of stage comedy '' Ladies Night''. In 2001, the French version won the Molière Award for stage comedy of the year. Other plays include ''The Bellbird'' and ''The Bach'', both of which are prescribed texts for Drama Studies in New Zealand secondary schools. He has co-written several films with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, notably ''Meet The Feebles'', ''Braindead'', and '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''. He also wrote and directed the feature film '' Russian Snark'', which premiered at the 2010 New Zealand Film Festival in Auckland, and won numerous international awards. Sinclair has written the novels '' Thief of Colours'' (Penguin Books, 1995), and '' Dread'' (Spineless Press, 2000), and a book of poetry, ''The Dwarf and the Stripper'' (2003). Plays * ''Le Matau (The Fish Hook)'' (1984), co-written with journalist Samson Samasoni. Premiered at New Depot Theatre, Wellingt ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Braindead (film)
''Braindead'' (also known as ''Dead Alive'' in North America) is a 1992 New Zealand zombie comedy splatter film directed by Peter Jackson, produced by Jim Booth, and written by Stephen Sinclair, Fran Walsh, and Jackson based on an original story idea by Sinclair. It stars Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody, and Ian Watkin. The plot follows Lionel, a young man living in South Wellington with his strict mother Vera. After Lionel becomes romantically entangled with a girl named Paquita, Vera is bitten by a hybrid rat-monkey creature and begins to transform into a zombie, while also infecting swathes of the city's populace. Made on a budget of $3 million, ''Braindead'' was Jackson's most expensive film up to that point. Although it received positive reviews from critics, it was a box office bomb. It has since received a cult following, and is now widely regarded as one of the goriest films of all time. Plot In 1957, on Skull Island, zoo official Stewart Mc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cliff Curtis
Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis (born July 27, 1968) is a New Zealand actor and film producer. After working in theatre, he made his film debut in Jane Campion's Academy Awards, Oscar-winning film ''The Piano'' (1993), followed by a breakout role in the drama Once Were Warriors (film), ''Once Were Warriors'' (1994). He has won four New Zealand Film Awards, Best Actor for ''Jubilee'' (2000) and The Dark Horse (2014 film), ''The Dark Horse'' (2014) - which also earned him the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor, Asia Pacific Screen Award - and Best Supporting Actor for Desperate Remedies (film), ''Desperate Remedies'' (1993) and ''Whale Rider'' (2002). Curtis' international film credits include ''Three Kings (1999 film), Three Kings'', ''Bringing Out the Dead'' (both 1999), ''Blow (film), Blow'', ''Training Day'' (both 2001), ''Collateral Damage (2002 film), Collateral Damage'' (2002), ''Sunshine (2007 film), Sunshine'', ''Live Free or Die Hard'' (both 2007), ' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jubilee (2000 Film)
A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning a recurring religious observance involving a set number of years, that notably involved freeing of debt slaves. Emperors of ancient Rome customarily marked anniversaries of their rule with celebrations, although they did not use the term "jubilee." Nonetheless, the term came into English usage from the Bible, together with customary celebration of a reign, and is now often used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of monarchs after a milestone number of years have passed. Religious usage The jubilee ( ''yovel'') year (every 50th year) and the sabbatical year (every seventh year) are Biblical commandments concerning ownership of land and slaves. The laws concerning the sabbatical year are still observed by many religious ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kevin Sorbo
Kevin David Sorbo (born September 24, 1958) is an American actor. He has had starring roles in two television series: as Hercules in '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' (1995–1999) and as Captain Dylan Hunt in '' Andromeda'' (2000–2005). In between his years playing Hercules, Sorbo played his first leading film role in the 1997 fantasy film '' Kull the Conqueror''. Sorbo is also known for acting in Christian films, such as '' God's Not Dead'' (2014) and ''Let There Be Light'' (2017). Early life and education Sorbo was born in Mound, Minnesota, on September 24, 1958. He is of Norwegian descent. He was raised in a Lutheran family. Sorbo attended Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he double majored in marketing and advertising. To help pay for tuition, he began to work as a model for print and television advertising. Career Early work In the mid-1980s, Sorbo traveled around Europe and Australia working in television commercials and also modeling for print advertis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |