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After the cannibal gore-fest
The Green Inferno
, Eli Roth is set to tackle a very different sort on man-eater in
Meg
.
05
NEWS
EXTRAS
EXTRAS
ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE
E
merging out of the ashes of garage rockers The
Checks, the Auckland four-piece released their
self-titled debut EP last year and will soon start
recording their first full-length album.
Singer Ed Knowles told
STACK
that the band – guitarist
Sven Pettersen (The Checks), bassist Dan Barrett (Sherpa) and
drummer Izaak Houston (Space Creeps) – are looking forward
to the inaugural Auckland City Limits and introducing their
sound to festival goers.
Although a release date for the debut album is still to be
confirmed, he hopes it will be out around the middle of the
year.
“We’ve pretty much got it down to 15 songs and we’ll then
go in and record them,” Knowles says. “I think it will be an
evolution from our EP. The EP was almost like we were venting
a heavy side, but I think we are leaning further to the more
melodic side: I guess you could say a little more ‘Checks-y’ –
more chords than riffs!”
No stranger to big stadium gigs from his time in The
Checks, Knowles says there is something special about a live
show in big arenas and he hopes Auckland City Limits becomes
a regular event here.
Check out the digital edition of
STACK
for the full interview
I
’m usually asked to play terrorists so I
thought it was a prank when I was
offered this role,” laughs Kiwis star Cliff
Curtis on playing Jesus in
Risen
, which is due in
cinemas this month. “I’m also in my late 40s and
Jesus was apparently crucified when he was 33,
so it was a miracle I was even cast!”
Currently starring in TV’s
Walking Dead
spin-off
Fear the Walking Dead
, the New Zealand star is
a devout Catholic and says he was an altar boy
as a child. “I used to joke about playing Jesus
because I never thought I was fair-complexioned
enough and didn’t have blue eyes,” says Curtis,
referring to the traditional archetypes of Christ,
an image since dismissed by historians.
To prepare for the role, Curtis lived alone for a
month, making his own humble meals. He also
undertook a self-imposed vow of silence while
filming
Risen
in Malta and Spain, which he only
broke it when he volunteered to wash the feet of
his Apostle castmates.
“I had to set my ego aside in order to be
of service to a very significant divine being
on this planet,” he explains. “I talk a lot, a lot
of unnecessary nonsense – and certainly not
divine – so the only way I felt I could cleanse
myself was through silence. I lived monastically,
allowing just an hour each day to talk to my wife
and kids.
“Some may say it was unnecessary, but I
compare it to doing Hamlet on stage and then
pulling out your phone and Facebooking. That
would be all wrong, so I did what I thought was
respectful for the role.”
Curtis will also be seen on DVD this month in
the first season of
Fear the Walking Dead
, with
the first part of the second series expected to go
to air here in April.
He describes his character, Travis Manawa,
as an optimist and an idealist, which he sees as
being both a strength and a weakness.
“I love that he’s an optimist,” Curtis says. “I
think it’s important to humanity. When things are
going wrong, you need someone who insists
everything’s going to be okay, we’re going to
pull together and we’re going to work it out. It’s
a strength, but it can also become a weakness.
When things start falling apart and all of his
ideals are challenged, it’s just a matter of how
long it will take to realise that all of his ideals
can’t apply to the situation.”
The early promos for season two suggest that
the cast may be about to embark on an ocean
journey, but Curtis and co. insist that they have
been kept in the dark about what’s in store for
them.
“You never know! We’re not making it up
when we say, ‘We have no idea’. We’re not trying
to be clever. We honestly don’t know. [Laughs]
It’s all a part of being a part of a genre like this.
No one should know because every danger is
potentially the last one you’ll face, and that’s the
premise of the show.”
Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete First Season
is out on March 3
UNDER STA TER’S ORDERS
New Kiwi band Racing is looking forward to road-testing their debut album at Auckland City Limits.
The New Zealand star of theTV zombie hit
Fear theWalking Dead
has to
face up to a very different sort of resurrection in the biblical drama
Risen.
Fear theWalking Dead
The inaugural Auckland City Limits – a spin-off from the
celebrated Austin, Texas, event – will be held at Western
Springs Stadium on March 19 and will play host to 40
overseas and local acts, including Kendrick Lamar, The
National, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Modest Mouse, Cold War
Kids, Girl Talk and Ladyhawke.
For more information visit
www.aucklandcitylimits.com