Hollywood Heads Down Under: How Australia & New Zealand’s Screen Sectors Are Thriving Despite The Pandemic

MONTECITO, Calif. (AP) — The latest on Oprah Winfrey's interview with Meghan and Harry, their first since stepping away from royal life:8:40 p.

was announced on Saturday in the wee-hours of the morning Stateside — which happened to be smack dab in the middle of the famed Mardi Gras parade in Sydney, Australia.Michelle Visage and comedian Rhys Nicholson, who will be seated alongside Mama Ru on the judges panel, formally introduced the 10 Aussie and Kiwi queens who will be competing when streams later this year on WOW Presents Plus.

2 min read A gay man has been left unconscious and lying in a pool of his own blood following a vicious homophobic attack in an inner-city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAmazon Prime Video’s YA series “The Wilds” will relocate production from New Zealand to Queensland, Australia, as preparations to shoot the second season ramp up.The move was announced by Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and by Australia’s federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher.The federal government will provide A$9.8 million ($7.58 million) to Disney subsidiary ABC Signature for the season.

With New Zealand cleared for touring and concerts by local health officials, New Zealand band Six60 has become the de facto world's last touring band. Six60 will make history Saturday when they livestream their Hamilton concert to the world on TikTok at 10:15 p.m.

Facebook unveiled commercial agreements with three Australian publishers Friday capping a tense week that saw passage, the day before, of a law recasting how Facebook and Google must approach the use of news content.

EXCLUSIVE: In a lucrative play, ErosSTX International has closed a new output pact with Italian major Leone Film Group, the distributor behind box office hits including Knives Out and 1917, marking their first output in the territory in a few years.

2 min read In what seems to be from a scene out of “Groundhog Day” and following backlash from all circles that the New Zealand Government isn’t moving fast enough in banning conversion therapy, including the fact that National, Green and Labour parties have all agreed to the ban, the NZ Minister of Justice has again reaffirmed the […]

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAustralia’s proposed legislation that will make tech giants pay local media firms for news has not yet become law. But already it is sparking historic – and contrasting – reactions from Google and Facebook, the world’s two largest vectors for digital advertising.The proposed News Media Bargaining Code was born of a study from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in April last year.

Jemaine Clement is set to bare all as a sex guru in New Zealand marriage-in-crisis comedy Nude Tuesday. The film —heading to the European Film Market with Cornerstone —comes from Clement's fellow Kiwi and What We Do in the Shadows star, writer and lead actress Jackie van Beek (The Breaker Upperers) and director Armağan Ballantyne (The Strength of Water) and was shot entirely in New Zealand during the pandemic, with post-production underway in Australia.

Cornerstone will launch world sales, excluding Australia and New Zealand, on couples’ comedy Nude Tuesday at this year’s virtual European Film Market.

Bharat Mahajan, a 28-year-old mental health services manager working on the frontlines of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was on Sunday crowned Mr Gay New Zealand 2021.The winner of Mr Gay New Zealand will have the chance to represent the country at the Mr Gay World competiton that is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg later this year.Mahajan from the town of Thames was judged the winner at the Ending HIV Big Gay Out event, just hours before Auckland went into a level three lockdown

2 min read After a three week public campaign and an intense two days of challenges, Bharat Mahajan was announced as the winner of Mr Gay New Zealand 2021 on stage at the Ending HIV Big Gay Out just before Auckland was sent into a level three lockdown on Sunday.