New Zealand Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Emiliano De Pablos U.K.-based distributor DCD Rights has pre-sold the fourth season of New Zealand’s mystery drama “My Life Is Murder” to a raft of territories ahead of its Feb. 27 official launch at the London Screenings. Starring Lucy Lawless (“Top of the Lake,” “Spartacus,” “Xena: Warrior Princess”), the series’ brand new season rights have been secured by YLE Finland, TV2 Denmark, Quebecor Content Canada and Yes DBS Israel.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Underscoring the enduring popularity of crime drama, Abacus Media Rights (AMR), an Amcomri Entertainment company, has announced a slew of sales on two titles, led by Showmax Original “Catch Me a Killer,” a true crime drama with “Game of Thrones’” Charlotte Hope playing South Africa’s first and most famous serial killer profiler. Hope also headed “The Spanish Princess,” as Catherine of Aragon. AMR has moreover closed further deals on fiction drama “Scrublands,” a scripted drama about the real reasons for a country town massacre.

Alex Ritman “La Cocina,” the Rooney Mara-starring drama that recently bowed in competition at the Berlinale, has been acquired for most international territories. HanWay Films has closed sales for France (Originals Factory), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Spain (Avalon), Italy (Teodora Film), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Scandinavia (Mis.

Award-winning kids’ show Bluey will be back in April with a fresh episode and its first-ever special which will also mark the series’ first global rollout. Disney Branded Television, BBC Studios Kids & Family and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation have set a premiere date for new episode “Ghostbasket” on Sunday, April 7, teeing up the debut of the 28-minute special, “The Sign,” which will premiere a week later on Sunday, April 14.

Ernst Lubitsch, Stanley Kubrick and Roman Polanski are among eight older titles set to play at next month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival. Lubitsch’s 1920 farce “Kohlhiesel’s Daughters,” will be presented with a live music accompaniment by the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. And, despite rumors to the contrary, Kubrick’s first feature, “Fear and Desire,” has been preserved intact and will play at the festival with nine minutes of previously deleted footage.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Danielle Brooks is tired. For a very good reason. She’s in Los Angeles for the SAG Awards after a 13-hour flight from New Zealand, where she’s spent the last month shooting the movie adaptation of the popular video game “Minecraft” with Jack Black and Jason Momoa.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are checking out the local sites.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Playtime has had a busy EFM, where it’s locked a raft of major deals on “The Devil’s Bath,” a period psychological thriller in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. “The Devil’s Bath” is directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, the Austrian filmmaking duo behind “Goodnight Mommy.” Set in rural Austria in 1750, “The Devil’s Bath” stars Anja Plaschg, the up-and-coming singer and composer known as Soap & Skin. Plaschg plays Agnes, a young married woman who feels oppressed in her husband’s world, which is devoid of emotions and limited to chores and expectations.

told the outlet. “We should have prepped the ground and buried a pad, but we were in a rush to get the shot done in the fading light.”The Academy Award winner remembered becoming concerned about the setup of the stunt moments ahead of jumping.“With hundreds of extras around, arrows flying and burn pots setting the castle on fire, there was no pulling out,” Crowe said.

Michaela Zee Paramount’s “Mean Girls” musical made fetch happen after surpassing $100 million at the global box office. The oh-so pink movie musical has generated $101.2 million worldwide after six weeks of release, including $71.2 million in North America and $30 million from 31 international territories. Based on the Broadway adaptation of the 2004 comedy classic, “Mean Girls” was originally commissioned with plans to make a streaming debut directly on Paramount+, but executives opted for a theatrical release after enthusiastic test screenings.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Highland Film Group has locked key territory deals for sci-fi thriller “The Astronaut” from “A Quiet Place” producer Brad Fuller Pic stars Kate Mara (“A Teacher”), Laurence Fishburne (“John Wick” films) and Gabriel Luna (“Terminator: Dark Fate”). The film wrapped shooting late last year in Ireland. “The Astronaut” has sold to Signature Entertainment for the U.K., Capelight Pictures for Germany, Blue Swan Entertainment for Italy, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, DeAPlaneta for Spain, Spentzos Film for Greece, Cinemania Group for former Yugoslavia, Shoval Film Production for Israel, Falcon Films for the Middle East, Filmfinity for South Africa and Roadshow Films for Australia and New Zealand.

TV star Alex Jones is best known for fronting BBC's The One Show but away from the cameras, the Welsh presenter and her husband Charlie Thomson, who is from New Zealand, live a regular life with their young family in their London home.The couple share three children together: Teddy, six, Kit, four, and Annie, two. Alex, met insurance broker Charlie at a party back in 2011 and they announced their engagement four years later. She said at the time that she didn't want an over-the-top wedding saying: "It'll be just with our close friends and family and a day when everybody can have a bit of a laugh." The happy couple tied the knot on New Year's Eve in 2015 in a private ceremony at Cardiff Castle.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are spending the day at the zoo!

Coco Gauff did not let her latest loss discourage her from spending a sweet Valentine’s Day. The 20-year-old tennis star spent some quality time with her mom Candi Gauff after losing to Katerina Siniakova in the second round of the WTA 1000 in Doha.Coco Gauff’s mom supports her daughter’s kind gesture to Alycia ParksCoco Gauff could have been a professional basketball playerCoco Gauff shares adorable photos at Disney World with her familyThe fan-favorite athlete was in good spirits celebrating Valentine’s Day with an adventure in the desert, making the most out of her time in Qatar with her mom.

Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love had offshore audiences getting together and feeling more than alright in Wednesday international box office play. Beginning overseas release yesterday, the Reinaldo Marcus Green-directed biopic grossed $4.9M across 10 markets, several of them giving the story of the reggae icon No. 1 status and the biggest or second-biggest launch day ever for a music biopic — in Jamaica, it scored the biggest opening day of all time. 

This Morning fans were left lost for words today after discovering Noel Edmonds' real age.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The New Zealand International Film Festival has appointed veteran programmer Paolo Bertolin as its new artistic director. The festival, which travels around the country, will return in July and August, but stop in just four places.

Pearl Jam have announced details of a huge world tour, covering North America, the UK, Europe and Australia, for later in the year – see full details below.It comes hot on the heels of the band unveiling news of their new album ‘Dark Matter’ earlier today (February 13). The record, their 12th overall and follow-up to 2020’s ‘Gigaton’, will be released on April 19 via Monkeywrench Records, and can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here.Alongside that, Eddie Vedder and co.

Alex Ritman “Beast of War,” the upcoming shark thriller from Australian writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner (“Wormwood”) has been snapped up by Signature Entertainment for the U.K. and Ireland, and Well Go for North America.

Caroline Brew editor “Christspiracy: The Spirituality Secret,” the follow-up to “Seaspiracy,” “Cowspiracy” and “What the Health,” will open in theaters in the U.S. for two nights of special screenings that will take place on March 20 and 24.

Alex Ritman “Kneecap,” the wildly raucous comedy biopic about the Irish rap group that became one of the unexpected hits of this year’s Sundance, has scored more international sales. The film, the debut feature of director Rich Peppiatt starring the band members as themselves along with Michael Fassbender, was already picked up in Park City by Sony Pictures Classics, which acquired all rights to the title for North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle East.

Naman Ramachandran Kylie Minogue will receive the Brits Global Icon award at this year’s ceremony on March 2, “in recognition of her career spanning across five decades as one of the world’s most successful and iconic music stars,” the organizers said. The Brits Icon is the highest accolade given by the Brit Awards, with previous winners including Elton John, Robbie Williams, David Bowie and Taylor Swift. Minogue, who is also nominated for international artist of the year, is confirmed to perform on the night, joining the previously announced Dua Lipa and Raye.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror films, thrillers and supernatural stories, has acquired “The Devil’s Bath,” the new film from Austrian horror auteurs Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. The deal comes ahead of the psychological thriller’s world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it will play in competition.

EXCLUSIVE: Simone Kessell (Yellowjackets) is set as a series regular opposite Jason Clarke in The Last Frontier, Apple TV+’s upcoming drama series from Jon Bokenkamp (The Blacklist) and Richard D’Ovidio (The Call). The series received a 10-episode series order in February 2023.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The CGI animated sequel to “Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness,” the hit adventure film based on the Dark Horse comics which sold around the world, has lured buyers ahead of the European Film Market. Titled “Chickenhare and the Very Very (Very) Old Groundhog,” the movie is budgeted at $23 million (a large budget by European production standards) and brings back the creative team behind the first film.

Fox Entertainment Global (FEG) is headed to the London TV Screenings with a new-look sales team.

EXCLUSIVE: Beta Cinema has unveiled a raft of key territory pre-sales for Joachim A. Lang’s Joseph Goebbels biopic Führer and Seducer ahead of its market premiere at the EFM this week.

Former Coronation Street actor Sean Wilson, who played Martin Platt from 1985 until 2005, has shared his concerns about the show's future, declaring that it is in "crisis" due to a declining number of viewers. Sean left the soap back in 2005 after a disagreement over a storyline which would see his character falling for 16 year old Katy Harris, played by Lucy-Jo Hudson. He then briefly made a return in 2018, before leaving the cobbles for good, with his character relocating to New Zealand.

There’s more Zombies coming to Disney Channel.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Disney Branded Television has greenlit a fourth entry in the “Zombies” movie franchise. The announcement was made at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim set to reprise their roles as Addison and Zed, with both stars also set to executive produce.

While many people love jetting off across the globe, in most instances it is the destination that is the reason for enjoyment, with the journey most often being seen, at best, as a means to an end. It is a necessary evil for heading off to far-flung countries and it is something many travellers do not enjoy.

Blink-182 gave ‘One More Time‘ songs their live debut last night (February 8) as they kicked off their first Australian tour in ten years. Check out footage and fan reaction from the gig below.The band opened in Perth’s RAC Arena and it was the first time they’d played Australia since they appeared at Soundwave festival in 2013.

Jason Orange has been spotted wrapped up against the cold in London, in a rare sighting of the reclusive former Take That star.The 53 year old ex-singer has lived ‘off-grid’ in his Cotswolds country home, ever since he shocked fans by quitting the popular group 10 years ago. Former bandmates described how he had stopped responding to emails and calls in his bid to stay out of the limelight.

2 min read Hold onto your wigs, Down Under fam! Season 4 of Drag Race Down Under is revving its engines with news that filming begins soon in Auckland, New Zealand and a […]

3 min read Evidence that supports allowing more gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men to donate blood has been released by a University in New Zealand. Three times the […]

Rocksteady Studios has been forced to take Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League offline, less than an hour after it was launched in early access.Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is due for release February 2 via PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam but players who purchased the more expensive deluxe edition can access the game 72 hours early.That early access window opened earlier today (January 29), starting with players in New Zealand, but the game was quickly taken offline due to a bug. When some players logged in for the very first time, they found that the game had auto-completed itself.Posting on social media, Rocksteady wrote: “We’re aware that a number of players are currently experiencing an issue whereby upon logging into the game for the first time, they have full story completion.”To fix the bug, the studio confirmed it would be performing “maintenance on the game servers” with Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League taken offline soon afterwards.