STACK NZ Jun #63

EXTRAS

NEWS

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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.

JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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