Sam Neill, Gaylene Preston and Julie Christie among NZ On Screen’s 10 fascinating new Legends interviews
NZ On Screen celebrates 10 screen legends who helped shape Aotearoa’s film and television industry in new ScreenTalk Legends interviews. Steve Newall previews what to expect in the ten interviews you can watch online now.
The amount of knowledge, talent, success and mana of NZ On Screen’s new batch of interview subjects is imposing. Even though they hardly run short of revealing, moving and humourous moments, how do you capture centuries of screen experience in just 340-odd minutes?
ScreenTalk Legends gives it a damn good go, interviewing ten subjects who’ve earned the title Legends—and it makes for fascinating viewing. While well-produced, the format is unflashy; the pacing unhurried. Each subject introduces themself down the barrel of the camera, addressing the viewer directly. And then, for the next half hour, each shares their stories—formative experiences, breaks into the screen industry, challenges, successes and setbacks. Memorable shoots, lessons learned, industry mentorship and working internationally vs locally are just some topics covered.
Aspiring filmmaker Rosie Howells (they’re on NZ On Screen too) is their interviewer, NZ On Screen’s intent being “to have the next generation capture and carry forward the legacy of New Zealand’s screen sector”. You can sense this connection in the interviews, and a willingness and excitement among those interviewed—to relate with youthful ambition, to illuminate, inspire, share. And their enormous experience gives weight to their predictions for the industry’s future.
Unsurprisingly for Aotearoa, the ten Legends interviewed have worn many, many hats over their careers. But to group them by what they’re perhaps best known for, they span directors (Gaylene Preston, Toa Fraser), producers (John Barnett, Julie Christie, Dave Gibson, Robin Scholes), actor (Sam Neill), cinematographer (Alun Bollinger), editor (Annie Collin), and composer (Murray Grindlay).
Each has wisdom to impart—and each can tell a cracking yarn. Far from tutorials, these Legends interviews are a wonderful way to spend time with ten people whose lives have included immeasurable contributions to Aotearoa’s screen culture. Watch ’em here:
John Barnett – Producer, Executive
(Middle Age Spread, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Footrot Flats – The Dog’s Tale, Whale Rider, Sione’s Wedding)
Alun Bollinger – Cinematographer
(Goodbye Pork Pie, Vigil, Heavenly Creatures, Perfect Strangers, River Queen)
Julie Christie – Producer, Executive
(Treasure Island, The Chair, Burying Brian, The Player)
Annie Collins – Editor
(Patu!, Scarfies, Out of the Blue, Coming Home in the Dark)
Toa Fraser – Director, Writer
(No. 2, Dean Spanley, Giselle, The Dead Lands, Sweet Tooth)
Dave Gibson – Producer
(Away Laughing, Skitz, Duggan, The Insiders Guide to Happiness)
Murray Grindlay – Composer, Singer
(Sleeping Dogs, Once Were Warriors, Broken English, and many, many, many iconic commercials)
Sam Neill – Actor, Director
(Sleeping Dogs, The Piano, Perfect Strangers, Cinema of Unease, Hunt for the Wilderpeople)
Gaylene Preston – Producer, Director
(Mr. Wrong, Ruby and Rata, Bread and Roses, Perfect Strangers, War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us)
Robin Scholes – Producer
(Kaleidoscope, Once Were Warriors, Broken English, Burying Brian, Mahana, The Convert)
