Kelly Johnson: Saying goodbye to pork pie...
Kelly Johnson is best remembered for his lead role in the iconic Kiwi film Goodbye Pork Pie. He followed that success with roles in the films Carry Me Back, Bad Blood, Battletruck and Utu. In more recent times, Johnson has worked as a lawyer, but he still does occasional guest acting roles, including in Shortland Street and Maddigan’s Quest.
Geoff Murphy: From Blerta to Pork Pie, to Hollywood...
Geoff Murphy was the teacher and trumpet player who got New Zealand yelling in the movie aisles. After boning up on filmmaking while touring on the Blerta bus, Murphy turned out a triple punch of local classics: 1981 blockbuster Goodbye Pork Pie, historical epic Utu and last man on earth tale The Quiet Earth. The director worked with everyone from Wild Man Bruno Lawrence to Mickey Rourke; from varsity safecrackers to hobbits, with time for nail-biting hijinks in Wellington railyards and atop the LA Metro train.
Tony Barry: Adopted Kiwi joker...
Despite starring in Kiwi classic Goodbye Pork Pie, playing 'a good true blue basic Kiwi joker' in Home by Christmas, and scoring for the All Blacks, Tony Barry marks a rare Australian entry in our ScreenTalks. The veteran actor cemented his relationship with the Kiwi screen as early as 1971, when he appeared in landmark TV series Pukemanu. Barry went on to tour New Zealand (and his homeland) in Bruno Lawrence’s genre-bending musical group Blerta, then drove a yellow mini to Invercargill in the iconic Goodbye Pork Pie.
Marshall Napier: A trans-Tasman success…
Marshall Napier has forged a successful acting career playing strong supporting roles in a swathe of Kiwi and Aussie TV dramas and films. His numerous credits include The Governor, Goodbye Pork Pie, Came a Hot Friday, Blue Heelers, Babe, McLeod’s Daughters and Water Rats. He also has a strong pedigree in theatre, and took his own play Freak Winds to New York in 2006.
Mike Horton: Legendary film editor...
Mike Horton is an award-winning editor who has worked on some of New Zealand’s most beloved films. His CV includes classics Goodbye Pork Pie, Smash Palace, Utu and Once Were Warriors. Horton was nominated for an Oscar for editing Peter Jackson’s The Two Towers, and his one regret is not editing the final film of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Don Reynolds: Pioneering soundman turned movie producer...
Don Reynolds is a sound operator turned film producer who has had a big impact on the New Zealand film industry. He was a sound recorder/mixer on many of our classic films of the 1980s and went on to produce movies such as The Quiet Earth, Sylvia, Mr Wrong, and River Queen. Reynolds was also one of the main forces behind the setting up of long-running TV soap Shortland Street.
Ian Mune: Kiwi screen legend...
Ian Mune is a multi-talented and award-winning veteran of the New Zealand film and TV industry. He has been involved in a huge range of projects as an actor (Pukemanu, Moynihan, Erebus: The Aftermath, Fallout); writer (Sleeping Dogs, Gloss, Goodbye Pork Pie) and director (The End of the Golden Weather, Came a Hot Friday, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted). Three of the five films Mune has directed have won awards for New Zealand film of the year.
Lindsay Shelton: Film seller supreme…
Lindsay Shelton's career testifies to his love of communicating, and his love of film. After working in newspapers he began a decade programming the Wellington Film Festival, while working in television news. In 1979 he joined the New Zealand Film Commission: over the next 22 years he was an enthusiastic promoter and salesman for New Zealand film around the globe.
Graeme Cowley: Having an eye on the film industry...
Graeme Cowley is a cinematographer with an impressive line-up of features to his credit including Smash Palace, Utu, and Carry Me Back (which he also produced). Cowley also set up pioneering equipment hire company Film Facilities with Nigel Hutchinson, to bolster the range of camera equipment available to independent filmmakers. He was a prime mover behind the restoration of Utu, Utu Redux.
Jon Bridges: On Ice TV’s 11th hour name change...
Jon Bridges was born in America. Since moving to New Zealand at the age of three, he has made hundreds of hours of television for NZers - not only from in front of the camera, but also behind it. Bridges' comic dexterity came to light on our screens in the early 90s with TV shows like A Bit After Ten and Away Laughing, but his first big TV role was as co-presenter of the long-running TV3 series Ice TV, which debuted in 1995. Since Ice TV, Bridges has written, directed, produced and starred in numerous documentaries, dramas, game shows and films. He is currently producing TV3's well-received comedy panel show 7 Days.