STACK NZ June 2015 Issue 63

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The dark comedy Birdman – due on DVD in May – was the big winner at this year’s Oscars.
06 JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi
visit NEWS EXTRAS
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.”
Thunderbirds Are Go
E3 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
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.
Clevermanwill 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
Incredibly, 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
Make sure you keep an eye on our social
media channels for regular E3 updates
during that week.
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.