STACK NZ Mar #71

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NEW ZEALAND GETS READY TO RUMBLE

Hunt for theWilderpeople

W WE is returning to New Zealand for its first live event in five years. Auckland’s Vector Arena will play host to the global sports entertainment phenomenon on August 10, with WWE Live line-up expected to include Roman Reigns, Divas champion Charlotte, Kevin Owens, Ryback, Sasha Banks, Sheamus and WWE Tag Team Champions New Day. In the meantime, there is plenty of new WWE titles on the way, including the ever popular WWE: Royal Rumble 2016 , which this year was held in Orlando, Florida, and features the likes of

kiwi comeback T his month sees the opening of the latest films from two of New the film uses graphic novel-like animation to bring the story of the New Zealand experiences After a lean 2015, this year is shaping up to a biggie for NZ films.

Zealand’s best known directors. A host of other new features are in the pipeline, although some may not be released until next year. The first major new Kiwi film out of the blocks is the drama Mahana , which reunites the team behind Once Were Warriors – director Lee Tamahori, star Temuera Morrison and producer Robin Scholes – and opens on March 3. Tamahori’s first homegrown

in the disastrous First World War campaign vividly to life. Keep an eye out, too, for David Farrier and Dylan Reeve's witty documentary Tickled , which

defending champion Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Triple H (pictured). It is out on DVD and Blu-ray on March 10, along with WWE: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2015 and WWE: Best PPV Matches 2015 .

received rave reviews at Sundance this year, although dates are still be announced for this part of the world. Release dates are also still being finalised for a number of other Kiwi films in the pipeline, but the comedy Chief Gary has been provisionally scheduled for September. Set mainly in Rarotonga, the film marks the directorial debut of Jarrod Holt, Nigel McCulloch and Ryan Hutchings – creators of the comedy shows 7 Days and Coverband – and tells the story of loser real estate agent (Josh Thomson), who becomes chief of a sinking Pacific island. Another movie in production with a Pacific theme is One Thousand Ropes , the sophomore feature fromTusi Tamasese ( The Orator ). The film tells the emotional story of a Samoan father reconnecting with his daughter. Other recent productions which may or may not see the light of the day this year include the psychological thriller Human Traces , the debut feature from writer-director Nic Gorman, and The Rehearsal , which is based on the first novel of Booker Award-winner Eleanor Catton. The drama marks the return to New Zealand of expat director Alison Maclean ( Crush ) and the cast includes James Rolleston, Kerry Fox, Alice Englert and country singer Marlon Williams. Also on the way is Toa Fraser’s latest, 6 Days , a UK/New Zealand co-production which is based on the true story of the siege at the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980, and was shot partly here. In addition, a number of major new documentaries are currently in production, including Roger Donaldson’s portrait of racing legend Bruce McLaren, and a profile of the recently retired All Black captain Richie McCaw.

EXTRAS

Chief Gary

film in 20 years is based on Whale Rider author Witi Ihimaera's novel Bulibash and centres on the longstanding feud between two Maori sheep- shearing families, the Mahanas and the Poatas, on the East Coast in the 1960s. Newcomer Akuhata ‘Augs’ Keefe plays the youngest Mahana, while Morrison and Jim Moriarty are the rival family patriarchs. Mahana is due to be followed in cinemas on March 31 by Taika Waititi’s new film Hunt for the Wilderpeople , which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Based on Barry Crump's 1986 novel Wild Pork and Watercress , the comedy tells the story of a wild young kid (Julian Dennison) on the run with his cantankerous foster uncle (Sam Neill) in the New Zealand bush. Meanwhile, 25 April , an innovative new documentary about Gallipoli, will be released – appropriately enough – on April 25. Directed by Leanne Pooley ( Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls ),

The biggest New Zealand movie last year Born To Dance will get its eagerly awaited DVD and Blu-ray release on March 30. The country’s first ever hip hop dance movie grossed more than $1.1million at the NZ box office and tells the story of a teenager (played by Tia-Taharoa Maipi) who is torn between his dream of joining a professional crew and his loyalty to his South Auckland posse. The film also stars

pop icon Stan Walker and US actress/dancer Kerington Payne, while the choreography is by the renowned Parris Goebel, who, along with Maipi, is a member of three-time world hip hop champions the Royal Crew.

Mahana

MARCH 2016

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