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Issue 63 JUNE 2015

Games Editor Paul Jones Creative Director Karl Lock DVD Consultant Jason Hewitt

EDITOR’S LETTER O ne of the interesting things about the huge success of the Fifty Shades of Grey novels was that eBook sales vastly outnumbered the traditional print version – the theory was that many people didn’t want to be seen reading an S&M novel so they opted for the anonymity of a digital version. So if you were wary about going to the cinema to see the blockbuster movie version, now’s your chance to watch it in the safety of your own home. Not that you should feel embarrassed about buying it anyway – let’s face it, it’s more 9 ½ Week s than Story of O – but if you are, you can always hide it amongst some of this year’s Oscar winners: Birdman , The Theory of Everything and Still Alice are all out in June, and are featured alongside Fifty Shades of Grey in this month’s STACK . Elsewhere in your essential home entertainment guide, we profile rising star Chris Pratt, explore the Batman Arkham video game trilogy, and chat to Brit popster Florence +The Machine . And closer to home, we also talk to TheWarratahs and Cairo Knife Fight , plus one of the Weta Workshop wizards behind Chappie .

Games Consultant Sachi Fernando Production Manager Craig Patterson Social Media Manager Sally Carlier-Hull Contributors Graham Reid, Judy Ewens, Gareth Thompson, Duncan Holland, Scott Hocking, Jonathan Alley, Zoë Radas, Alesha Kolbe, Doug Wallen, Ryan Huff,

BIRDMAN • FLORENCE+ THEMACHINE • BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT

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Simon Lukic, Michael Dwyer, Chris Murray, Doug Wallen, Denise Hylands, Bec Rowlands Correspondence 31B Bertram Street Warkworth Auckland 0910

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All information believed correct at time of printing. All images used for promotional purposes only. Copyright of respective owners is acknowledged. © 2015 Scribal Custom Pty Ltd. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the written permission of the publisher. Further details read fine print

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The large print giveth, the small print taketh away. RIPRufus (Jack) 2002–2014

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OSCAR EXCLUSIVE! Complete this year’s Oscar winners collection at JB Hi-Fi this month.

A lejandro Iñárritu’s dark comedy Birdman was the big winner at this year’s Oscars, taking home four major awards, and arrives on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultraviolet on June 11. As well as the best director statuette for the Mexican filmmaker, the film was named best picture and also won Academy Awards for best original screenplay and best cinematography. And to mark its release JB Hi-Fi has lined up a very special exclusive Blu-ray edition, which includes alternative cover art and a series of striking art cards. This month also sees

June 3, as is The Theory Of Everything , the moving biopic that earned rising British star Eddie Redmayne the best actor award for his portrayal of the motor neuron disease-stricken Stephen Hawkings. Incidentally, if that sounds a little too heavy, note that you can also catch Redmayne in a somewhat campier mode as the villain in Jupiter Ascending , which is out on June 24. Also due in June are a number of other films that featured prominently in the 2015 Oscars, including the true stories Foxcatcher – which was nominated in five categories but went home empty handed – the Martin Luther King drama Selma (up for best picture but in the end had to settle for best song) and Wild (a best actress nod for Reece Witherspoon).

With no official announcements of late about Alien 5 , the rumour mill is in overdrive at the moment. The new installment of the blockbuster saga is to be directed by Neill Blomkamp – pictured above on the set of his latest sci-fi hit Chappie, which is out on DVD and Blu-ray this month – has hinted that the movie may now be more closely aligned with the upcoming Prometheus sequel and may not even be called Alien. Other scuttlebut suggests Sigourney

the release of the two films that bagged this year’s top acting Oscars. Still Alice, which saw Julianne Moore pick up the best actress statuette for her moving performance as a professor suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease, is out on

Weaver won’t be taking a lead role in the new film, although Bill Paxton – who appeared in Aliens – has apparently put his hand up to reprise his character. We’re sure it will all become clear shortly; in the meantime, make sure you check out JB Hi-Fi’s exclusive two disc Blu-ray edition of Chappie , available from June 17.

The latter is available in an exclusive JB Hi-Fi edition, which features a collectable ‘Life After Wild’ story extension from author Cheryl Strayed.

COLUMBO HAS NEVER LOOKED SHARPER Television’s shabbiest detective Columbo has been spruced up for release on Blu-ray. Guest stars in the first

three seasons include Johnny Cash, Vincent Price, Leonard Nimoy, Martin Landau and Roddy McDowell, while the pilot episode was directed by a young

The first three seasons of the cult ‘70s TV show are due out on BD on June 11, with each of the movie length episodes restored from the original 35mm negatives. Audiences were first introduced to the seemingly shambolic but razor-sharp LA lawman Lieutenant Columbo – memorably played by Peter Falk – in 1971, with the show going through a number of re-boots over the decades before concluding in 2003. What made Columbo unique was that the murderer was revealed at the very beginning of each show; instead the series was all about how the wily detective would trick the killer into incriminating themselves.

Steven Spielberg. Another key figure behind the scenes was Steve Bochco ( Hill Street Blues , NYPD Blue ), who served as story editor on the first two seasons.

Cauterize is the eagerly awaited sophomore album from former Creed man Mark Tremonti’s eponymous group. Co-produced by the band and his old pal Michael ‘Elvis’ Baskette (Falling In Reverse, Amity Affliction), Cauterize is the follow-up to 2012 debut All I Was and sees the man himself backed up by Eric Friedman (guitar), Wolfgang van Halen (bass) and Garrett Whitlock (drums). “We feel it is our best work to date,” reckons Tremonti. In fact, the recording sessions were so productive,Tremonti plan to quickly follow Cauterize with a new record, provisionally entitled Dust .

LIVE ACTION MAKEOVER FOR ATTACK ON TITAN

A live action version of the anime smash Attack on Titan is due in cinemas later this year. Release dates are still to be announced but the film is set in world where the remnants of humanity live inside a series of giant walled cities, built to keep out the ferocious, flesh-eating Titans.

The director is Shinji Higuchi, whose anime credits include the Neon Genesis Evangelion re-boots and who is also attached to the big budget Japanese reboot of Godzilla . For more on Japanese animation, check out our regular Anime round-up on page 40.

Cauterize is due out on June 6

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The dark comedy Birdman – due on DVD in May – was the big winner at this year’s Oscars. Kiwi production house behind Thunderbirds reboot at work on newAustralia/NZ sci-fi series Cleverman . CLEVER NEW PROJECT FOR TAYLOR

NEW FANDANGO FOR PHOENIX FOUNDATION Wellington outfitThe Phoenix Foundation will return inAugust with their sixth studio album Give UpYour Dreams . Despite the somewhat downbeat title, co-frontman Samuel Scott says the LP represents “something quite defiant, joyous and celebratory” that channels the “beauteous side” of their last album Fandango . With a new drummer Chris O’Connor on board, Scott and fellow singer/guitarist Lukasz Buda have for the first time taken their writing cues from the rhythm section. “I was convinced we had to have a different sounding record,” he says. “So we completely removed any trace of acoustic guitar. It was important to leave room for the band to take it somewhere else and make way for a new vitality.” P ukeko Pictures, the company co-founded by Weta supremo Sir Richard Taylor, has joined forces with Australian production outfit Goalpost Pictures for the futuristic six part series Cleverman , which has just begun shooting in Sydney. Described as a “smart, sexy and dangerous drama set in the near future”, the series tells the story of two estranged indigenous brothers who are forced together to fight for their own survival in a dystopian landscape populated by humans and other-worldly creatures. The all-star ensemble is headed up by Game OfThrones regular Iain Glenn and Australian star Frances O’Connor ( The Missing), with other familiar faces including Ryan Corr ( TheWater Diviner ), Robyn Nevin ( Top of the Lake ) and Deborah Mailman ( The

Sapphires ). Weta Workshop will provide the creature designs, with sister company Park Road Post Production looking after visual effects and sound. Cleverman will be the first major live action production for Pukeko, best known for the animated series TheWotWots, Jane and the Dragon and Thunderbirds Are Go!, which makes its DVD debut this month. As with the original, the series follows the adventures of the five Tracy Brothers, whose International Rescue organisation swings into action whenever disaster strikes. Thunderbirds Are Go! is a joint production with British TV giant ITV, which has already committed to a second season.

Thunderbirds Are Go! Vol 1 & 2 is out on June 24

Thunderbirds Are Go

E3 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER

I ncredibly, it's that time again where we pack up the laptop, throw a notebook in the pack and procure a box full of headache pills and Beroccas. Yes, we're heading to E3 in mid-June and will bring you all the news and views in our next issue, in-store on July 3. What can we expect from the show this year? Well, there's been plenty of talk about Microsoft's line-up being strong and the existing evidence already supports that. Bethesda are beating everyone to the punch on the Sunday before E3 week with its very own press conference, and they wouldn't be pulling that without some stellar announcements ready to be made. With so much promised, we're particularly

looking forward to spending time with Halo 5: Guardians , busting to get in front of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End , Just Cause 3 , Star Wars: Battlefront , Assassin's Creed: Victory , Mass Effect 4 and MGS5: TPP to name a few. We’ll keep you up to date with daily reports from the show as our intrepid reporters on the ground in Los Angeles (well, actually there’s only one) brave the crowds, body odour and the desire to spend the entire show playing just Uncharted 4 and Halo 5.

Make sure you keep an eye on our social media channels for regular E3 updates during that week.

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STACK SOCIAL Listening to you lot chatting and interacting with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is all kinds of awesome! Make sure you get involved and follow us on: STACK Magazine NZ @STACKMag stackmagazine What you've been loving on social this month:

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Bradley Cooper stunned audiences in American Sniper , and now you can relive his deadly performance on DVD and Blu-ray. Head to stack.net.nz for your chance to win a copy on Blu-ray.

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like tears in rain. Time to die." Roy Batty, Blade Runner (1982)

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Happy Birthday Johnny Depp (June 9, 1963)

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Q1 What do the movies American Graffiti , Die Hard , Clue and Attack the Block have in common, plot-wise? Q2 Who, following his death, was described as "that rarity of rarities, a Method Action Hero"? Q3 In which movie was the fictional educational establishment 'Welton Academy' featured?  Q4 Who starred in a 1985 mega-flop that was so savaged by the critics that the actor waited four years before he

appeared on the big screen again? Q5 Which film is narrated by a fully clothed dead man floating in a swimming pool? Q6 Who, in 2000, made a cameo appearance in the remake of his 1971 movie, but not in his original role? Q7 In which movie were the gangs The Baseball Furies, The Saracens and The Lizzies featured? Q8 Ginger Rogers and Jerry Lewis played the same key role in different

movie versions of the same story. Titles of both movies please. Q9 What film involves a businessman and a salesman trying to get home for Thanksgiving and running into adversity at every turn? Q10 Who played the part of a movie soundman, who whilst standing on a bridge recording night sounds, witnesses a car plunging into the river, an incident which drags him into a web of intrigue and murder?

QUIZ

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The Valley of the Giants, released in 1919, 1929 and 1938 respectively

song "They're Either Too Young or Too Old" The 4th remake of 3 previous versions of

A10. The Big Trees starring Kirk Douglas:

(1939) A9. Paul Newman, who considered his debut movie

(1936) A8. The Return of Dr X

A7. After The Thin Man

The Silver Chalice to have been the worst movie ever made in Hollywood

A6. She sang a

A5. Shadow Dancer

A3. The Gambler A4. Kay Kendall (but played off-screen by trumpeter Kenny Baker)

JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz A1. Gift Horse & Attack on the Iron Coast A2. They have all portrayed Anne Boleyn onscreen

Quiz Answers May 2015 (Issue 62) -

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JB Hi-Fi has more than just blockbusters!

BLU-RAY

The Theory Of Everything June 3 Eddie Redmayne won an Oscar for his brilliant portrayal of Stephen Hawking, in this moving biopic.

Birdman June 11 This limited edition version of this year’s big Oscar winner includes a series of stunning art cards. Only at JB Hi-Fi!

Selma June 17 Martin Luther King’s momentous civil rights march in Alabama is chronicled in this powerful drama.

BLU-RAY

BLU-RAY

Wild June 17 A collectable ‘Life After Wild’ story extension is included in this exclusive edition of an uplifting true story.

The Cobbler June 17 Adam Sandler’s latest sees him literally step into other people’s shoes, thanks to a magical sewing machine.

Chappie June 17 Fab two-disc collector’s edition of the sci-fi blockbuster about a robocop, who starts thinking for itself.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby June 24 Acclaimed drama about love and marriage from two very different perspectives.

Ray Donovan: Season Two June 24 The fixer to the stars is back – although his biggest headaches usually involve his dysfunctional family.

Supermensch June24 Comedy star Michael Myers directs this affectionate documentary about legendary music manager Shep Gordon.

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Sound bites

THE DANCING DONOVANS? Ray Donovan’s Liev Schreiber on series two, and the cast’s hidden talents.

Danish director Kristian Levring, on giving theAmerican western a Nordic makeover inThe Salvation, in which Mads Mikkelsen sets out to avenge the death of his family. “The Salvation is a tribute to the classicWestern.The people who lived and died in what was called the ‘WildWest’ were European immigrants.These people had fled from wars or poverty in the hope of making a new life.TheWild West’s history is also our history; it is a tale about people who no longer had a viable life in Europe. But whilst developing the script, we not only found inspiration in the classicWestern but also in the Nordic sagas.The sagas have a spare-ness in the way they describe big themes like revenge, lost love and greed. “

the dramatic finale at the marina. But while Ray’s day job of helping celebrities extricate themselves from sticky situations continues, Schreiber says the focus this time is much more on family issues. “I think what separates this season from the first is a deeper thread for all of the characters, now that secrets they were keeping have been revealed. These were very painful secrets and dealing with the repercussions of those secrets coming out is really bringing us back to what I think is the core strength of this show, which is the notion of family and how to protect that and survive it.” And to Schreiber that has always the main attraction of the role. “I think the question of what it takes to be a father – particularly in the world of show business – is a question that I’m constantly confronted

B y now, we know that the family at the centre of Ray Donovan all possess some unique talents. But dancing? “We’re a dancing cast!” jokes the show’s titular lead Liev Schreiber, when asked about co-star Jon Voight’s predeliction for strutting his stuff on the dancerfloor in the acclaimed TV series. “There are a lot of very, very good dancers in the cast. Not many people know this, but Dash Mihok is an amazing dancer, Eddie Marsan was nearly a professional dancer and everybody knows how wonderful Jon is. Some day we might take that show on the road - the Dancing Donovans!” Not quite sure that the world is ready yet for ‘The Ray Donovan Variety Hour’. However, with a third season set to go to air shortly in the US, audiences clearly cannot get enough of the adventures of the fixer to the stars and his dysfunctional family. Season two, which is released on

with and intrigued by,” he says. “The notion of how to protect your family from the outside worldare themes that are universal for all people raising families.”

DVD and Blu-ray this month, picks up pretty much where the first series

Ray Donovan: Season 2 is out on June 24

finished, with the Donovans dealing with the fall-out of

The Salvation is out on DVD and Blu-ray on June 11

Selflessness is important to you – how you were you convinced to be the subject of this documentary? I had that surgery and I didn’t really know if I was to live or die; I was still in the hospital and very drugged up, feeling sorry for myself. Mike [Myers] called up and in that moment my ego really came through and I said “Yes.” It was completely from wanting some kind of external symbol of self-worth. Three weeks later when I was back home I called him up and I said, “Listen, Mike, I know I said yes, but I didn’t really mean it.” And he said, “way too late, I staffed up already.” You have many hilarious stories about ‘creating popularity’ throughout Alice Cooper’s career. Do you think this kind of artificial construction happens today?

How much input into guiding or assembling the film did you have? I purely did nothing at all. When I say I did nothing, I lived my life and I opened everything I had up to [Mike]. I never saw it until it was done. Sylvester Stallone describes you as a ‘protector’ – who do you think your protector is? My father, I always felt, lived a life of sacrifice from me and my brother. He gave up his life. His sole enjoyment came from providing for us. You can’t do any more than that. I realised I do the same sort of thing but I never knew why. It wasn’t like these people were my children. When I look back at it, I see it as sort of a way for me to live my fathers’ life of sacrifice.

I understand the choice of words, ‘artificial construction,’ but I look at it differently. It’s getting to the cultural route of what your popularity is about, and fuelling that. I think if it’s intelligently done, it’s combining cultural, visual, theatrical things with the core of what the music is driving towards. Why do you think your theory of ‘compassionate business’ is so important? We’re living in a time when the human condition is not fantastic. It’s hard to find good humans. I think it’s a general problem with the human species rather than just the entertainment business. There’s so much information and so much bombardment, [that it’s] so hard not to get greedy.

Shep Gordon

Mike Myers’ documentary about the life and times of music manager and all ‘round incredible man Shep Gordon will blow you away. Zoë Radas spoke to the icon from his home in Maui, Hawaii.

Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon is out on June 24

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Sitting down with Justin Hawkins, the darkness

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Q1/ The clip for Open Fire looks like classic MTV: were you going for that? Those oceanic moments are instant. We drove around Ireland looking for places. Simon Emmett, who directed it, is a fashion photographer; he’s more about capturing moments with stills. It’s a bit different to other Darkness videos, it hasn’t got a plot. [It's] a video done by a fashion photographer who’s used to making things that aren’t beautiful, look beautiful. Q2/ Tell us about the speech on Barbarian , that opens the album. It was supposed to sound like somebody, generations after the Viking Invasion, sitting on a clifftop – that’s why you can hear all the wind. It's like the beginning of The Fog , when he’s addressing the children around the campfire. But the guy was Dan’s gardener! He was cutting the grass, into amateur dramatics, so we asked him to come in. He’s a Norfolk bloke in his mid-60s! We’re now on our fourth drummer. Not bad! Four albums, four drummers! Emily Dolan Davies did a great job on the album. We were looking to make it permanent, but when it came to negotiating, her and the band had different expectations – it was personal. It got out that we were looking for a drummer, and Brian May’s guitar tech said "try Rufus." He’s a bit younger, but he comes from a proud heritage of drummers. He’s awesome in his own right. You can tell his father’s a rock star, you know what I mean? Q4/ You left the band in 2006, in well-documented circumstances. Do you regret anything? Unless you’re prepared to take that journey, you might as well stay home. Not an option if you’re going to be in The Darkness. We had a f***ing great time, literally living the dream! It got unsustainable, damaging to my health, so I had to make a change. It definitely enriched my life. Q3/ How did Rufus Taylor, son of Roger Taylor from Queen, end up in the band?

Barry Saunders onTheWarratahs’ quickfire new album EASY COME, EASY GO

A lthough 2012’s 25th anniversary country-rock icons’ The Warratahs’ first new studio album in nine years. And Barry Saunders and the rest of the band – Nik Brown (violin, mandolin), Mike Knapp (drums) and Nick Theobald (bass, collection included a bonus CD of new songs, Runaway Days is New Zealand

he agrees. “I have started playing harmonica a bit more lately. I used to play the harmonica when I was a youngster in bands – it is a great instrument, but it’s an instrument that is much abused. I try and keep it cool, and don’t try and play massive solos. The first harmonica players I ever heard were people like Brian Jones, who played really simply but effectively, and I thought I would just try and do that.”

vocals) – didn’t waste any time in recording it; in fact, the bulk of the tracks were laid down over a couple of days. “We didn’t actually have a plan,” the affable Saunders explains to STACK . “We went into the studio in Devonport just to do

Saunders is looking forward to getting back on the road to promote the new album, although the days of big tours are long behind The Warratahs. That said, the band have recently been on tour with The Eastern, one of the

We just banged these songs down and sang them at the same time

something out of town because we’ve done all our previous stuff in Wellington. We just banged these songs down and sang them at the same time, so that’s what you hear, really. It was a bit rough around the edges but we liked what we heard and we brought it back here to mix it.” While still recognisably The Warratahs, there’s a rawer, more stripped back, edge to Runaway Days and with Saunders’ harmonica to the fore on a number of the tracks, there also something of blues feel to it. “It is a bit bluesier,”

leading lights of the new wave of Kiwi country/ folk bands centred around Lyttleton; in many ways, The Warratahs could be seen as our Godfathers of Country Rock. Saunders is not so sure, but is pleased that new local roots bands are emerging. “A lot of them say they got into us through their parents’ records – it makes you realise we are getting on a bit now! But that’s all cool – I take it as a big compliment.”

Last of Our Kind by The Darkness is out now via Kobalt/Inertia.

Runaway Days by The Warratahs is out on June 19.

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MAN OF THE MOMENT

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INTERVIEW

CINEMA

Guardians of the Galaxy

Parks and Recreation

Jurassic World

Three years ago, Chris Pratt was known only to Parks and Recreation fans, as the lovable, if dozy, Andy Dwyer. He’s since transformed from sitcom slacker to the hulking head of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy . Now, in Jurassic World , he’s set to rejuvenate the dinosaur franchise.

C hris Pratt’s success story could be a movie script in its own right. Aged 19, the struggling actor was living in a tent before managing to land minor roles in hit teen TV shows The O.C and Everwood . The ever ambitious Pratt auditioned for blockbusters Star Trek and Avatar but found his niche in the idiosyncratic Parks and Recreation . Then Zero Dark Thirty came along, and suddenly casting agents from Guardians of the Galaxy were knocking. Pratt’s career trajectory was subsequently revolutionised and frankly, he’s still getting his head around it. “I was the big comedy guy, the fat friend, sidekick, and I was working. I didn’t want to fix it if it wasn’t broken…Then Zero Dark Thirty came out and I suddenly saw myself as this believable badass.” Pratt the ‘badass’ is now taking on another beloved franchise, playing Owen Brady, a dinosaur behaviourist, in Jurassic World . He calls it a milestone role. “A milestone like it’s marked your journey into manhood. [ Jurassic Park ] is one of the most influential movies in my life,” he says, adding, “I’m precious about Jurassic Park, so I didn’t want this f–ed up.” For a childhood superfan, winning the lead was a “weird” experience. “Now I don’t just feel like a fan of the franchise. I feel like a peer of the artistic creators, which is really strange and surreal to think of.” His success is especially impressive considering the Hollywood heavyweights he was

in high school,” he confesses. “Every Monday I would do a comic strip of monkeys and that’s how it first started, and every time I would see a stuffed monkey, I would buy it. Even when I was a salesman, everyone had a nickname and I became Monkeyboy and it sort of stuck. Some of my closest friends still call me that. They say, ‘Monkeyboy done alright.’” Pratt – or ‘Monkeyboy’ – has definitely tasted success. But never fear; he promises not to let anything go to his head: “My brother said to me if I get ‘too Hollywood’, he will find me and fart on me or something,” he laughs. We imagine Parks and Rec ’s Andy Dwyer would approve.

up against, including Bradley Cooper, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne and Aaron Paul. “Let me just pat my back here,” the down-to-earth actor jests. It’s been 22 years since the first Jurassic Park , and sixteen years since part three came out. Pratt’s lowdown of the Jurassic World plot sounds promising: “The Park is up and running, with 20,000 visitors a day. John Hammond’s dream came true and everything he dreamed of and more is there. But it’s been open long enough where people are no longer intrigued. It’s a sign of the times. Blasé attitude. Not impressed. So then they create this new attraction that will hopefully generate some new interest in the park… and things go horribly wrong.” Pratt and co. are bringing dinosaurs back into the limelight, but that’s not the actor’s only animal association. “’Monkeyboy’ became my nickname I was the big comedy guy, the fat friend, sidekick, and I was working

Jurassic World is in cinemas on June 11

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Dakota Johnson submits to the role of Anastasia Steele in FIFTY SHADES OF GREY. BLUE STEEL

This is a big film for you. How did you get the role and what does it feel like at this point to be in your shoes? Dakota Johnson: Well, I auditioned for it – and auditioned and auditioned... It was a crazy process. And sometimes it feels scary because it is such a high profile project and people have had an eye on it for a while. It makes you feel a little scared, watched and judged. But I cannot live my life wondering what people are going to think of me. So I am excited for it. I think we have done a good job.

for people to not be ashamed of their sexuality, whatever it is, then that is great. The film is directed by a woman, the book is written by a woman, and the screenplay was written by a woman. Do women do erotic fiction better than men?

Did you hesitate at all to take the part or did you just jump in?

I think that a woman has a greater attention span for the emotional undertones of a sexual story. Erica (author E.L. James) and (director) Sam Taylor-Johnson and (screenwriter) Kelly Marcel – I think that they really captured the things that made readers continue reading the book. If it were all just sex scenes, you would get kind of bored. You do not because you are fascinated with the story between these two people, the trust that they have, and the fact that they completely, ultimately, love each other. And that they both change for one another. I think that the women behind the movie really amplified that.

This movie embraces sexual awakening in a way that it is not a taboo subject.

I hesitated, for sure. But the whole time I mostly was just really intrigued by it. I was really interested by it. The emotional journey that Anastasia goes through is something that I have not seen in a movie in a long time. It was interesting to me… And I wanted to try and bring humour and strength to a woman who most of the world views as a sensitive little creature. Why was that important to you? Because I think that it is okay for women to be sexual. I think that it is beautiful. And think that it is especially beautiful that Anastasia Steele has so much self-worth and grace and

strength, and then she discovers a sexual side of herself. She tests her limits and her boundaries. And I think that that’s important to do in every aspect of your life… This movie embraces sexual awakening in a way that it is not a taboo subject. And it should not be. If I can in some way bring a strength to the character, that shows Anastasia as an advocate

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FEATURE

DVD & BD

THINK KINK The Divinyls declared there’s "a fine line between pleasure and pain”. These four films dare to explore it.

9 ½ WEEKS Businessman Mickey Rourke dominates art gallery assistant Kim Basinger in Flashdance director Adrian Lyne’s ‘80s erotic drama. He blindfolds her and feeds her stuff from the fridge; she dances seductively to Joe Cocker’s You Can Leave Your Hat On .

What was it that surprised you about the book? I was very, very vaguely and naively aware of the BDSM subculture. I do not want to say I am well versed in the subject now, but I know more about it. But I did not know how massive it was. It is becoming bigger and people are becoming more aware of it. I also learned a lot more about the psychology of it… The biggest thing that it boils down to is the gain or the release of control. Of course it was awkward and embarrassing at times. It is not easy to do sex scenes. I am sure everybody says that. At first it is scary. But the set is closed, there aren’t many people, and Sam had created such a safe, protective environment. We tried to strip away all of the anxiety of what we were doing, to really master the art of these scenes… The biggest thing was that we did not want it to look like you were accidently watching people have sex. For the viewer, it is supposed to be a sensual environment, like you were How difficult was it to shoot?Was it ever awkward or embarrassing?

SECRETARY “Mr. Grey will see you now.” Lawyer Edward Grey (James Spader) that is, whose new secretary (Maggie Gyllenhaal) discovers her job description includes being spanked whilst reading letters aloud.

How did you find the right tone for the movie?Was that a difficult thing to maintain throughout the shoot? No. I actually think that Sam Taylor-Johnson and (DOP) Seamus McGarvey did an incredible job with that. They understood how private these moments are. You do not feel wrong when you watch it. You do not feel dirty. You feel protected. Seamus is such an incredible director of photography that the way that these scenes are shot they are really just beautiful. They are very elegant. They are very classy. So I do not think they were worried about it. I think that if they were, they probably would not have done the movie.

MAITRESSE A young Gerard Depardieu learns the, er, ropes of the BDSM scene after he breaks into the home of a professional dominatrix. This 1975 French flick features some rather painful practices – some of which are definitely not simulated. Bring out the gimp!

What is your ideal love story?

watching this story in your imagination and how you would see these scenes.

My favourite love story is Harold and Maude (1971).

Fifty Shades of Grey is out on June 10

NYMPHOMANIAC In Lars von Trier’s episodic arthouse-porn epic, sex addict Charlotte Gainsbourg enlists the services of sadomasochist Jamie Bell, whose tools of the trade include a spanking glove filled with coins. Ouch!

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WetaWorkshop’s Lans Hansen, who was responsible for creating the droids on the sci-fi hit Chappie , tells John Ferguson how 3D printing technology is revolutionising their work. MADE TO MEASURE

W hen it comes to 3D and movies,

It actually made the whole process far more streamlined if we had used our previous techniques.” Blomkamp came up with the original design of Chappie, which Image Engine then turned into a detailed digital model that would be used for the animated sequences. It was then up to Hansen and his team to come up with a physical representation of the robots, a job which ultimately involved creating 12 droids. “There were different levels of detail,” he says. “There were six ‘hero’ droids,

most people would

immediate think of the clunky glasses and the visual images that appear to fly off the screen towards you. But there is another 3D revolution underway and in its own quiet way, it’s transforming the way films look on screen. These days physical props and costumes can be produced by 3D printers, and at the forefront of this new production technique is New Zealand company Weta Workshop, whose most recent project Chappie arrives this month on DVD and Blu-ray. Directed by sci-fi maestro Neill Blomkamp, the film tells the story of a police droid who develops a mind of his own when he is reprogrammed by his creator, but inadvertently ends up in the hands of some small-time crooks. The task of bringing ‘Chappie’ – as he is dubbed by his new owners – to life fell to visual effects giant Image Engine and Weta, with the two companies working together to seamlessly blend the digital and physical. That’s where Lans Hansen

and six background droids – those are the ones you see in the factory and being set on fire. But there was also added complexity because as Chappie goes through the movie, he gets hit by poles, he gets set on fire, spray-painted, etc. So we had to have updates for the physical models to reflect what is being animated.” Like Chappie’s fictional creator, Hansen is very proud of what the team achieved in building the droids; for him, it’s up there with the Green Goblin suit he developed for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – “that was incredibly complex, because it had so many moving parts and the stunt actors had to do back flips wearing this suit” – another job which required heavy use of 3D printers. And Hansen has no doubt that the use of the 3D printing technology is the way of the future as far his job is concerned. “I believe the next Star Wars film in London is going to have a lot of 3D printing,” he says. “It seems it is becoming a lot more commonplace. We had one 3D printer five years ago, now I have got 10 machines and they are running almost 24 hours a day at the moment. It is going to become an integral part of the process.”  

There is another 3D revolution underway and in its own quiet way it’s transforming the way films look on screen.

“We first started using 3D printing five or six years ago,” Hansen explains to STACK from his Wellington office. “Back then it was so expensive we would only print little bits and

pieces – for example, we might print the scope of a gun. But when we got to Chappie , there was nearly 200 parts that all had to fit perfectly. We

comes in. An industrial designer, he has run Weta Workshop’s 3D department for the past two years and has been responsible for the department’s increasing utilisation of 3D printing technologies. Hansen had previously

realised that 3D printing was the only way we could pull this off. We actually printed the entire robot – every single part was

printed and then molded. This was a huge leap for us. The printed parts that came out were extremely accurate and just snapped together.

worked with Blomkamp on Elysium and District 9 , but with Chappie , the use of 3D printing technology was taken to a whole new level.

Chappie is out on June 17

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THIRD TIME TAKEN

Bryan Mills, the ex-covert operative with a “very particular set of skills”, returns for the third and final time inTAKEN 3.

T he Taken series propelled Liam Neeson into action movie glory, as the father who will stop at nothing to protect his family from harm. To audiences, the character of Bryan Mills is as much identified by his love for his family as his lethal skill set. “I was excited to come back for the third film, but I did have some reservations at first, because what else could we do?” muses Neeson. He knew they couldn’t lose Kim again, “otherwise [Bryan would] be up for really bad parenting”, and acknowledged screenwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen for creating an interesting storyline for the third film. “What makes Taken 3 a quintessential entry in the trilogy is that, at its heart, it’s still about Mills doing everything in his power to save his family,” says Neeson. “That’s why these films resonate with a global audience, because at their core, they are about the love and sanctity of family and the lengths we’ll go to protect that. “Even though Bryan Mills is a guy with a ‘particular set of skills’, he’s also a kind of everyman,” he adds. “Parents will do anything for their kids and they see that in Bryan. For all his faults, he still is a very devoted father who’ll do anything for his child. But I think audiences also enjoy the fact that he bucks the system and doesn’t trust anyone in authority. And if he has to break the law, then he does.” One of the more attractive elements of the Taken series is its ability to balance both the emotional and psychological elements with the action sequences. “The more action you have,

been, well, taken (all without ever using the word “kidnapped”), the third in the series instead revolves around him evading authority. “The underlying stories in the Taken films are solid,” Neeson says. “We’ve tried to avoid doing anything in excess just to excite an audience. The triggers for that action have always been very strong. And it’s, of course, about Bryan Mills defending his family and protecting them, against all odds. You have that bedrock of a very stable relationship that’s being tested all the time. So once you have that base in place and audiences believe in that charge of love – especially between Bryan and his daughter Kim – you can take the action anywhere you want.” Taken 3 is the biggest Taken film yet. Highlights include lightning-fast fight sequences, an incredible freeway chase, and relentless pacing. For Neeson, Taken 3 is the culmination of a film series that

We've tried to avoid doing anything in excess just to excite an audience

the more you have to prepare the audience,” says director Olivier Megaton. “So you have to build your characters in another way. It’s tricky because things keep snowballing. And that spiralling pace is even built into the characters’ emotional and human development. First, we’re in the midst of some emotional turbulence, and then the action bursts in, like a big typhoon... When the action barrels in, you don’t see it coming because you’re submerged in that emotional chaos. Then suddenly you’re in this physical chaos. That’s the basic structure of this movie.” Though the first two Taken films follow MIlls in his pursuit of someone close to him having

has both thrilled and moved audiences around the world. “I think moviegoers are in store for a cinematic joyride, many thrills and spills and certainly a lot of heart,”

he promises. “And I’m a big believer in heart in movies.”

Taken 3 is out on June 3

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FEATURE

ALTER EGO

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the director of dark dramas like Amores Perros , 21 Grams and Babel, ventures out of his comfort zone with the Oscar-winning, backstage black comedy BIRDMAN.

(Edward Norton) threatens to derail the production before opening night. “It was new territory, and I was definitely out of

B irdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) represents a radical departure for Mexican-born filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, whose penchant for non-linear narratives in which tragic events unite disparate characters made him a favourite of the arthouse circuit with films like Amores Perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003) and Babel (2006). Iñárritu’s first black comedy is set in a Broadway theatre, where former screen superhero Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is mounting an adaptation of Raymond Carver’s story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love , in the hope of reinventing himself as a serious actor. But the arrival of his daughter (Emma Stone) who’s just out of rehab, his ex- wife (Amy Ryan), and an egotistical Method actor

my comfort zone,” Iñárritu admits. But the transitory nature of success and the lengths an actor will go to remain relevant was something he was eager to explore, and the character of Riggan Thomson provided the perfect conduit.

doubts and contradictions are a staple of Iñárritu’s films, and the director saw in Riggan a quixotic and profoundly human figure whose ego has run amok – a condition expressed in the film by segues into magic realism and inner monologues, delivered in the growling tones of Riggan’s Birdman persona. “Birdman is Riggan’s super ego, and from Birdman’s perspective, Riggan has lost his mind by doing this play that is clearly beneath them,” offers Iñárritu. “From Riggan’s perspective, it’s Birdman that has lost his mind. From the perspective of the era, both are irrelevant. “The modern definition of accomplishment – people want to be famous immediately, not from a body of work developed over years,” he continues. “The immediacy of social media can easily distort the reality of one person, especially Riggan, who has to fulfill expectations of what it is to be famous. And all this is new to him, that crossover is difficult. This is the story of a man trying to prove that he is more than that, more popular than the ‘liked’ guy. But in today’s world, where irony is king, anybody who wants to be

No matter how successful you are... it's always an illusion, it's temporary

“I was interested in exploring the battles with the ego, the idea that no matter how successful you are, whether in money or recognition, it’s always an illusion. It’s temporary,” he says. “When you think you want to empower the people to validate you, when you finally get them, you soon find an impermanence in that joy.” Flawed characters driven by

earnest or honest is crucified. It’s an absurd, surreal world. In the end, I just tried to recount in a funny way the disasters of our human nature to reconcile, if not with the defects or faults of the world and our nature, with the way we approach and live them.”

Birdman is out June 11

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He’s played a vampire in Being Human and a dwarf in The Hobbit Trilogy . NowAidanTurner gets back to reality as Ross Poldark, in a new adaptation of the books byWinston Graham that inspired the beloved 1970’s historical series. Mr TURNER

entire episode with five cameras – the exteriors in the morning and interiors in the afternoon’. I thought that was really interesting because we would do the opposite – we’d sometimes cover six or eight episodes in a day, jumping all over the place. But that’s the way we do it – shoot per location as opposed to any kind of chronological order. A very different way of doing it. There was. One of the wranglers got chucked in the air. An ox took a run at him and the horn went in somewhere it shouldn’t have gone and it flipped him. That was kind of crazy, but we’ve been pretty lucky. Considering it’s been such a long shoot, we haven’t had many accidents, mishaps or injuries at all. My stunt rider, Ben Atkinson, who does the dangerous stuff like galloping close to the cliffs, has never been injured in his life. But of course on my very first day in the very first scene, I gallop up and he’s Apparently there were problems involving an uncooperative ox during the shoot...

the groom and I chuck him the reins, and as he took them the horse took a little step and stood on his toe and split it in two, right down to the bone! And God love him, he held it together for the shot; his eyes were wide and then he hobbled offscreen and was gone for a month. You played a vampire for a few years and then a dwarf. Is Ross Poldark some kind of reality check? [Laughs] Yeah, it is. I did say that when I was in New Zealand playing a dwarf in Middle-earth. I was doing press for the second Hobbit film and someone asked, ’What do you want to do next?’ And I said, ‘I want to play a real person’. It was funny but so true. Poldark ticked so many boxes for me when it came along, and I thought ‘this is almost too good to be true’ – it’s exactly the sort of thing I want to be doing now. There was a trend beginning to happen with a lot of the roles; when you do something and it’s popular, you can get pigeonholed quite quickly and they don’t want to see you in anything else. In the movie The Mortal Instruments , where I play a werewolf, it just seemed that something was beginning to happen, and I thought I should make a conscious decision to kind of step away from that now. There are a lot of offers for supernatural films and TV shows – it’s weird... it’s all about comic book stuff now, but it’s something I don’t have an interest in at the moment.  

Were you familiar with the ‘70s series and the books before you took on the role? AIDANTURNER: No, I wasn’t at all. I’d never heard of Winston Graham or Ross Poldark, which was kind of nice actually. When I got the offer to play Ross, I received the books and the script on the same day, so I could just completely immerse myself in the character and the story. I could formulate my ideas purely based on what I was reading as opposed to mimicking or trying to do what [original star] Robin Ellis did so well and find the character through his portrayal. What we’re doing is a new adaptation of Winston Graham’s stories. Robin Ellis’s series has nothing to do with what we’re doing. We’re not basing anything on that whatsoever; we’re purely basing our adaptation on Winston’s books. We have nothing to do with the old series at all, really. Apart from having Robin Ellis in our show, which is amazing. Has Robin given you any feedback? He hasn’t at all. We’ve never discussed Ross Poldark, funnily enough. But we did talk about what it was like to shoot Poldark in his day, the differences, and he talked about the enormity of the role, how he’d got a lot of fan mail – and still does from time to time.

How does making the series today differ? On the set, Robin would say, ‘When I did this 40 years ago, we used to rehearse an episode over five days like a play, and on the sixth day we’d shoot the

Poldark: Series One is out on June 24

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