New Zealand Epic ‘The Convert’ to Star Guy Pearce, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Launch at Cannes Market

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefMike Minogue, Naomi Ferry and Tim Foley have launched Frank Management, a new creative talent agency in New Zealand.Frank Management is open to representing clients across all disciplines, including acting, writing and filmmaking. The company aims to fill gaps they see across the industry, by offering an alternative for all creatives seeking representation.Minogue is best known to the public in the on-screen role of Officer Minogue in Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s TV series “Wellington Paranormal.” He is also successful writer and producer, having recently produced the 2021 Sundance hit “Coming Home In The Dark.” He is designated as head of development at the new agency.

K.J. Yossman Mister Smith Entertainment has tapped Emma Mason as head of marketing and publicity, the company revealed on Friday.Mason has been overseeing marketing and publicity for Mister Smith Entertainment’s Cannes slate, including features “The Convert” from Lee Tamahori starring Guy Pearce, an action movie about a preacher in 1830s New Zealand, and “Inappropriate Behavior” from Tony Goldwyn starring Bobby Cannavale, about a man’s relationship with his neurodiverse child (and which features Robert De Niro in a major supporting role).She has also been working on Cannes offerings such as Martha Stephens’ “Big Rig,” which will see “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens play a trucker, and Lucy Hale rom-com “Which Brings Me To You,” about a woman who sets out to have a one night stand at a wedding which doesn’t go according to plan.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Julianne Moore (Still Alice) and Killing Eve star Sandra Oh are set to star in hot Cannes market package Stone Mattress, which Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here) will direct from the acclaimed New Yorker short story by The Handmaid’s Tale scribe Margaret Atwood.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Walt Disney Company in Australia and New Zealand Tuesday unveiled a slate of nine new Australian original films and series. These represent the company’s biggest wave of local content commissions and acquisitions for Disney+ and will launch on the platform in 2022-23.The slate includes three scripted drama series: “The Clearing,” “The Artful Dodger,” “Last Days of the Space Age”; four documentary series, “Matildas: The World at Our Feet,” “Shipwreck Hunters Australia,” “Chasing Waves,” “Fearless: The Inside Story of the AFLW”; and two lifestyle and factual general entertainment series “Donna Hay Christmas” and competition format series “What’s Your Toy Story?” “It was important to us to have that scale to share so we could demonstrate to the marketplace that we are truly serious in this space,” Kylie Watson-Wheeler, senior VP and MD of The Walt Disney Company in Australia and New Zealand told Variety.

“Deadpool 2” star Julian Dennison is set to star in “One Winter,” a coming-of-age drama set in his native New Zealand during a period of racial unrest in the 1980s.Dennison will lead a cast that also includes Minnie Driver, James Rolleston and Erana James and that is directed by Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett. Blue Fox Entertainment is handling international sales and introducing the film in Cannes, which kicks off today.

Miranda Otto, Jesse Spence and Guy Pearce are among the high-profile stars featuring on Disney+’s debut slate in Australia and New Zealand.

EXCLUSIVE: The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman star Jake Hoffman, whose father is Dustin Hoffman, is creating and directing coming-of-age romcom The Problem With Poets.

Another hot project is hitting the Cannes market as Emily Blunt is attached to star Pain Hustlers with David Yates directing. Wells Tower penned the script with Lawrence Grey producing through his Grey Matter Productions banner along with Wychwood Pictures

Christian Nodal is the latest cover star for Playboy New Zealand.Deeming the singer “Mexico’s Playboy,” the magazine spread shows the star posing with model Natalie López along with some solo pics in multiple different costume changes.In his cover story, the 23-year-old classic regional singer called himself a “hopeless romantic,” admitting, “I love to love.”When, where and How to watch the 2022 Latin American Music AwardsChristian Nodal reveals he used to feel insecure without luxurious clothes and expensive carsCamilo, Christian Nodal, Ángela Aguilar and David Bisbal will honor Vicente Fernández’s legacy“I love stories of love. I usually sit on the couch and talk with my friends about their problems, and then I’ll write about their past love stories, or sometimes I’ll write about my own love stories, which has its pros and cons,” he told the magazine about how he writes his music.

Studiocanal will begin global sales at Cannes on family comedy Kangaroo, the company’s first local Australia/New Zealand production. Kate Woods (The Umbrella Academy, The Lost Symbol, The Good Lord Bird) is attached to direct.

EXCLUSIVE: Alec Baldwin has partnered with veteran actor and producer Anjul Nigam (Grey’s Anatomy) to form film and TV production company Persona Entertainment, whose first project will be on sale at the upcoming Cannes market.

Iconic Events Releasing is kicking off Pride Month on June 2 with a nationwide rerelease of MGM’s Oscar-winning movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Prince Harry insisted that he and Meghan Markle had an "incredible" time during their royal tour of New Zealand despite shocking claims made in a new book. On Monday, a comedic skit starring the Duke of Sussex was unveiled on a New Zealand TV station to promote his eco-travel campaign, which encourages people to travel sustainably.The five-minute advert, which also premiered on YouTube, is part of Travalyst, an initiative the 37-year-old launched in 2019. In the clip, Harry is seen jogging through a park before being chased by "rating agents," played by Kiwi actors Rhys Darby, Dave Fane and Rena Owen.

Prince Harry is set to make a huge announcement about a new project he is launching in New Zealand. The Duke of Sussex will appear on New Zealand TV for an exclusive interview in which the Royal will also speak the Māori people's native language too. The 37 year old dad-of-two also spoke in the tongue to announce the news, as he teased what's to come.

The Charlatans have announced they will embark on a run of Australian and New Zealand shows later this year to mark their 32nd anniversary.They’ll be making the trip down this October for six shows, kicking off with one show in Auckland, New Zealand, on Thursday 6. They’ll then head to Australia, playing Sydney on Saturday 8, continuing through Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne before wrapping up in Perth on Saturday 15.The band will play a number of songs from across their career, with ‘The Only One I Know’, ‘Jesus Hairdo’, ‘Can’t Get Out Of Bed’, ‘One To Another’, ‘Love is The Key’, ‘Blackened Blue Eyes’ and more appearing on their setlist.

Guy Pearce is to play the lead in epic action feature The Convert from Die Another Day director Lee Tamahori.

Writer-director Kaih Roache-Turner, who’s behind projects such as Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead and Nekrotonic, has set his next project as arachnophobia horror Sting. Cornerstone is handling worldwide sales on the project and will unveil it to buyers at the Cannes market.

Alex Pettyfer, Maria Bakalova, Tom Hopper and Frank Grillo are set to star in Branded, based on the New Yorker article “The Brand” by New York Times bestselling author David Grann.

EXCLUSIVE: Film Constellation has boarded sales on debut feature Blue Jean, an identity drama set during Margaret Thatcher’s tenure as UK Prime Minister.