‘Power of the Dog’ Helps New Zealand Open Up for Business With New Studios, Fresh Tech Investments

Back in March, veteran actor Sam Elliott made some tasteless comments about Jane Campion’s compelling western thriller “Power of The Dog” while appearing on the WTF podcast. Elliot took issue with the “piece of shit” film about the American West having been shot by a woman from New Zealand and was upset about the story’s homosexual overtones.

calling The Power Of The Dog a “piece of shit” earlier this year.The actor recently stirred controversy during an appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, where he spoke about the “allusions of homosexuality” in the Oscar-winning Netflix film, while also comparing the characters to Chippendales dancers who “wear bowties and not much else”.While he praised the director Jane Campion, he added: “What the fuck does this woman from down there [New Zealand] know about the American west? Why the fuck did she shoot this movie in New Zealand and call it Montana? And say this is the way it was? That fucking rubbed me the wrong way.”Elliott has now apologised for his comments during Deadline’s Contenders TV event, saying: “I told the WTF podcaster that I thought Jane Campion was a brilliant director, and I want to apologize to the cast of The Power Of The Dog, brilliant actors all. And in particular Benedict Cumberbatch.

slammed the movie during an appearance on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast March 1, appeared on a panel over the weekend where he addressed his recent comments.“I told the ‘WTF’ podcaster that I thought Jane Campion was a brilliant director, and I want to apologize to the cast of ‘The Power of the Dog,’ brilliant actors all,” Elliott said at Deadline’s Contenders TV event on Sunday. “And in particular Benedict Cumberbatch. I can only say that I’m sorry and I am.

Sam Elliott is apologizing for his past comments about The Power of the Dog.

Sam Elliott is addressing the recent comments he made about “The Power of the Dog”.

After Sam Elliott publicly criticized the Oscar-winning The Power of the Dog, he has since issued an apology for his remarks.

Leena Tailor Walk into the unembellished black building tucked away in Morningside, Auckland, later this year and there’s no telling what musical superstars one might find. Niall Horan could be leading songwriting camps for aspiring musicians, Taylor Swift could be next door working on her next big hit and maybe Lorde will stop by downstairs to play an intimate show marking 10 years since she recorded “Royals” nearby.The possibilities are endless as Grammy-winning musician Joel Little unveils Big Fan, the multimillion-dollar, non-profit music facility that he and wife Gemma have spent two years pouring time, energy and savings into.With four recording studios and a 180-capacity music venue, the state-of-the-art project is the couple’s “gift” to the music industry, one they hope will help locals fulfill their musical ambitions, whether it’s through studio access, mentoring or simply having somewhere to play their first show or discover their passion for lighting, sound or event management.

Beabadoobee will tour both Australia and New Zealand for the first time this September.The tour, announced today (April 5), is in support of the singer-songwriter’s forthcoming second studio album, ‘Beatopia’. She shared news of the album last month, alongside the release of its lead single ‘Talk’. A tour of the UK was also announced at that time, with a world tour to follow.In a press statement, Beabadoobee said that she was “so excited” to be touring through Australasia.

EXCLUSIVE: Producers Andrew Bendel and Alistair Maclean-Clark of Blue Horizon Productions have optioned the memoir Sea Dragons, Yvonne Foley’s story of how she believed she had been abandoned in Liverpool by her Chinese father as a child only to find out many years later that he and other sailors had been deported.

Pixies have announced their return to Australia and New Zealand, taking to stages this December for their long-paused ‘Come On Pilgrim… It’s Surfer Rosa’ tour – get tickets here.It’ll be the band’s second time taking the run Down Under, after an attempt in 2020 was cut short by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They played four of the dates on that tour – two headliners in Melbourne, one in Auckland and a set at that year’s Golden Plains festival in regional Victoria – but were forced to cancel shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth.All three cities are featured on the new itinerary, which is set to kick off in Brisbane on December 2.

Sigur Rós have added four more shows to their sprawling list of impending tour dates, slating gigs in New Zealand and Australia for this August – get tickets here.The four-date stint will be sandwiched between their 27 shows in North America – the first of which will go down in just under a month – and their 29-date run in the UK and Europe this September. It’ll start in New Zealand, with a lone show at Auckland’s Spark Arena slotted in for Saturday August 6, before the band take to stages in the Australian cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.Tickets for the Auckland and Brisbane dates can be found here, while Sydney and Melbourne fans can get their hands on tickets here.

Jane Campion has made history once again. Just the second woman nominated for Best Director in 1994 for “The Piano,” she now has become the third woman to win the prestigious Oscar category for “The Power of the Dog.” This is her second Oscar statue after winning Best Original Screenplay for the aforementioned “Piano.” READ MORE: Kirsten Dunst: “Roles Are Only As Good As The Films They’re In” [Interview] The Australian native has won a cavalcade of Best Director honors for “The Power of The Dog,” including the DGA Award, the BAFTA Award, the Golden Globe, the LA Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, a Venice Film Festival honor, and the Critics Choice Award.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe New Zealand International Film Festival will return to an in-person event this year, but in a scaled-down format. It will operate in multiple cities between July 28 and Sept.

Shalini Dore Features News EditorAustralia, that powerhouse in entertainment, feted 15 Oscar nominees from Down Under and New Zealand at the Australian consul general’s residence Wednesday in Brentwood.While celebrating the noms — 10 for Australia and five for New Zealand — Peter Ritchie, head of Australians in Film, said, “My mission here in L.A. is to open doors for some of the excluded and undiscovered writers and directors who could be the next Oscar nominees.”With Melanie Annan, editor of the nominated doc short “Three Songs for Benazir,” Ritchie said, “Australian influence is not necessarily only on Australia, but around the world.”Consul-general Jane Duke congratulated all the nominees. “You are really extraordinary,” she said.

Citing safety concerns, the DGA has ordered its members to stop working on Oak, a low-budget film that’s been shooting in Georgia.

Sam Elliott takes his Westerns very seriously. During a recent appearance on Marc Maron’s "WTF" podcast, the actor admitted he’s not a fan of the Kevin Costner-led TV series "Yellowstone." It’s noted that the 77-year-old stars in the popular drama’s prequel series "1883." "I’m not a ‘Yellowstone’ fan," Elliott told the outlet. "I don’t watch ‘Yellowstone.’ I love Costner.There are a lot of good people on the cast, a few of them I’ve worked with before.

Ed Sheeran has announced the Australia and New Zealand leg of his ‘+ – = ÷ x Tour’ – find tickets here.The singer-songwriter will embark on the run of dates in February 2023 in support of his most recent studio album, ‘=’, which came out last October. It’ll mark his first trip Down Under since the record-breaking ‘÷’ tour in 2018.Sheeran will kick off the stadium stint in Wellington, NZ on February 2 before making stop-offs in Auckland (February 10), Brisbane (17), Sydney (24), Melbourne (March 2), Adelaide (7) and Perth (12).Tickets go on general sale next Wednesday (March 23), with a pre-sale due to go live on Monday (March 21).

Coldplay appear to be hinting that an Australian and New Zealand tour may be on the horizon.Through the Twitter account for their Alien Radio project, the band shared a Spotify link to a live performance of ‘Magic’, recorded at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney in June 2014.