Outrageous Fortune

Left: George Zimmerman is confessed killer of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.

Right: You’ve seen him on Outrageous Fortune, Go Girls, Shortland Street and Power Rangers and now John Tui is about to star along Liam Neeson and Rihanna in the sci-fi blockbuster Battleship.  Perhaps, when they turn Trayvon’s story into a movie there’ll be another acting role for him.

The Broadcasting Standards Authority has had a bumper year in the complaints department, with Paul Henry playing a huge part.

In the year to June, the BSA received a total of 250 complaints, a figure that is up 90 per cent from four years ago.

A large number of those were due to Henry’s colourful contributions to the Breakfast programme on TV One, which ultimately led to his exit from TVNZ. 

Breakfast was joined by Outrageous Fortune as the most complained about shows on TV in the year, with most of Breakfast’s complaints coming from two episodes where Henry made comments about Sir Anand Satyanand and Sheila Dikshit.

Of the 250 complaints, the BSA issued 236 decisions and upheld 69 of the complaints in part or in full.

Of the evening news and current affairs programmes, Close Up was the most-complained about with 3 News, One News and Campbell Live following in that order.

Source: Stuff

Outrageous Fortune actress Robyn Malcolm has attacked John Key and his National government at the opening of the Green Party’s election campaign.

The actress was MC of the party’s opening in Wellington and took the opportunity to have her say on the current government.

Malcolm had the same role at the Greens’ opening three years ago where she says New Zealand “ended up voting in a Government who’ve revealed their total lack of interest in leading us into the 21st century with any innovation, courage, or social integrity, despite what a nice guy he [Mr Key] seems to be”.

Malcolm savaged Mr Key and his party, saying National would “make anything up for a Hollywood mogul should they happen to come down this way” – a reference to the employment law changes following Sir Peter Jackson’s warnings over The Hobbit.

She said New Zealand was “fast becoming one of the most inegalitarian and backward countries in the OECD” but “we have a leader who seems to be more interested in talking about his cats on the radio, being seen at the rugby and getting on the cover of the Women’s Weekly”.

“I thought that was my job,” she said.

Source: Herald

More and more kiwis are heading online to catch their favourite NZ TV shows according TVNZ and TV3.

The two broadcasters’ online catch-up services are attracting larger audiences than ever before, with home-grown shows high on the priority list for viewers.

TV3’s service attracted roughly 180,000 in a “good week” with shows such as New Zealand’s Next Top Model, Outrageous Fortune and The Almighty Johnsons proving the most popular.

TVNZ’s service last year attracted around 320,000 weekly views with Shortland Street the most popular series.

MediaWorks interactive director Siobhan McKenna said the On Demand service had gained 20 per cent more viewers since this time last year.

“We’ve spent a long time getting smart about our approach to running it well and that means we haven’t needed to continue throwing millions of dollars at it,” McKenna said.

“The big shows from [TV3] and Four are what we throw most resources at.”

Source: Herald

At which point do you decide that you’ve seen too much of an actor?  Is it when they’ve played the same character for 20 odd years on a soap?  Is it when they’ve played two different characters on two different shows on two different networks in the space of two weeks?  Where is that line?

While drama schools appear to be full of aspiring actors and actresses there only seems to be an elite few who manage to land the lead roles in our locally-produced TV dramas.  While one could argue that the talent pool is vast with those seeking a career in acting, for those that actually do have a career, the options in New Zealand aren’t.

With season runs seemingly getting shorter, landing a role on The Almighty Johnsons is really only a 10 week gig in broadcast time which leaves a lot of space for the other 42 weeks of the year. Other than asking if you’d like some fries with that, what other options are there but to audition for every other show going into production?

Next month, TV One will start screening their new drama Nothing Trivial. Its lineup of stars includes Shane Cortese (Burying Brian, Outrageous Fortune, Shortland Street, The Almighty Johnsons), Tandi Wright (This is Not My Life, Out of the Blue), Nicole Whippy (Outrageous Fortune, Jacksons Wharf), Blair Strang (Go Girls, Shortland Street, Kaitangata Twitch) and Debbie Newby-Ward (Legend of the Seeker, The Pretender).  

Particularly for Shane, this is his fourth new character since his villain days on Shortland Street – the third in the space of twelve months.  Shane is a much loved actor but does it get a little too much when we see him in so many different roles in such a short space of time?

We had similar questions here when Booke Williams, who played the love of Van West in Outrageous Fortune suddenly looked to be Axel’s long-lost love Frigg on The Almighty Johnsons.  (Thankfully, the casting folk for Go Girls managed to do a fantastic job in finding some great new talent for their show.)

So where is the line?  How many characters should an actor play in any given time?  Or should we not worry about this and just celebrate talented actors staying in work on our screens?

TVWorks has been slapped with a $3000 fine from the BSA after an episode of Outrageous Fortune was deemed to have breached standards.

The penalty was handed down after 18 obscenities were uttered in the first 10 minutes of the October 12 episode last year.

Viewers had complained regarding a female character who said “You are not giving that c*** a cent” only ten minutes into the show, at 8.40pm.

TVWorks argued that the content of  Outrageous Fortune “resides at the edge of what is considered acceptable for an 8.30pm Adults Only programme,” and said it did not go “beyond what the majority of the New Zealand audience would consider to be irresponsible or offensive in this timeslot for this particular programme”.

But the BSA disagreed and said that the strong language breached standards of good  taste and decency, responsible programming and children’s interests.

“We consider that it demonstrated a blatant disregard by the broadcaster for the Adults Only watershed, which is in place specifically to protect child viewers from this type of material,” the BSA ruling said.

“The warning for ‘language’ would not have adequately prepared viewers for the level of coarse language that dominated the opening section of the programme.”

The offending words:

 -”f***ed off”

-”pissing”

-”shit” (twice)

-”retard” (five times)

-”f***ing” (six times)

-”f*** up”

-”piss off”

-”c***”

Source: Stuff

Think back to 2005. A highly eligible young Prince William arrived in New Zealand for an 11-day tour. George W Bush was inaugurated for his second term as President. Kate Moss was dropped from several major fashion labels after a drugs scandal. And the cheerfully trashy West family first hit our TV screens.

When it all started the Wests were a one-family crime wave with a proud tradition in thievery, larceny and petty crime.  But then patriarch Wolfgang West was sentenced to four years in jail, and his wife Cheryl decided that the family were cleaning up their act and going straight. 

Each instalment is a movie-length celebration of all things West as we follow matriarch Cheryl, determined to save her brood from following in their father’s fingerprints; eldest son Jethro, an ambitious lawyer-to-be with a few secrets; Jethro’s twin Van (identical except in the brains department) who only wants to be like his dad; 18-year-old Pascalle, who wants to be Rachel Hunter; 15-year-old movie buff Loretta, who is blackmailing her teacher; and Grandpa Ted, who may have Alzheimer’s – unless he’s just playing it up to annoy people.

Then there’s Detective Sergeant Wayne Judd, the West family nemesis; the Hongs, a wealthy Asian who may or may not have Triad connections; Caroline Darling, Loretta’s deputy principal, who has been having an affair with Jethro since he was a 15-year-old student; Munter, Van’s best mate and partner in crime; and Wolf himself, who does not intend to take his wife’s sudden wave of righteousness lying down.

Created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang, OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE stars Robyn Malcolm as Cheryl West, Grant Bowler as her husband Wolf, Antony Starr as twin brothers Van and Jethro West, Siobhan Marshall as Pascalle, Antonia Prebble as Loretta and Frank Whitten as Grandpa West.

Over six seasons, 108 hours and more than 60 awards, Outrageous Fortune has become the most successful drama series on New Zealand television. The West family, their friends and associates laughed, cried, loved, drank and swore their way into the hearts of audiences at home and around the world.

Don’t miss the movie-length episodes of OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE, Saturday 11 June, 8.30pm.

Sam Neill, Rhys Darby, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Lucy Lawless are among the star-studded cast of New Zealand actors performing Toa Fraser’s iconic play Bare to raise funds for the Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal.

On the 25th of March, The Civic, THE EDGE in Auckland will play host to this one-off theatrical performance. One hundred per cent of the proceeds will be donated to the appeal.

Two days after the quake Toa Fraser (Bare, No. 2, Dean Spanley) and actor Ian Hughes (Shortland St, Ship Songs, Bare) got together, after realising they had to do something. They got their phones out and in a short time pulled together seventeen of New Zealand’s top acting and musical talent along with producers, technicians and designers.

“I’m so excited that the play I wrote about thirteen years ago is now going to be brought to life again with an absolutely incredible cast and for such a good cause,” says Fraser.

Ian Hughes says, “Toa and I are overwhelmed by the support this project has received – the actors donating their time and expertise, THE EDGE providing the venue for free and a host of supporters coming on board with services and products, all of which means the maximum amount of money possible will go to Christchurch.”

The much loved and celebrated Bare, popular in schools and universities, is a powerful play about Kiwi identity and change. Armed with the voice of the street, the actors will riff on body image, movies, takeaways, tagging and English literature, swapping between seventeen seemingly random characters, from brazen gym hottie to philosophical parking warden and waffling academic to multiplex popcorn pusher.

“In Bare we see how our interconnectedness, even though not always immediately obvious, begins to surface when we share our stories and our secrets – a theme that is particularly poignant right now,” adds Fraser.

Originally performed by just two actors, this rendition, now with a full cast of seventeen, will feature an iconic line-up that has come together in support of Christchurch. One of the actors performing, Antony Starr (Outrageous Fortune, No.2, World’s Fastest Indian), says he is excited to be involved. “This is a fantastic way to raise money and support Christchurch. I was honoured to be asked to take part. It’s going to be a great night all round.”

Cast member Morgana O’Reilly, who has acted in a previous rendition of Bare adds: “When something truly sad and horrifying has happened in your own country, and you are watching your own people on the news, crying and bloodied, it is astonishing how absolutely helpless you can feel.

“Being able to use the only thing I know how to do well to help is the very least I can do! I am so glad I can be a part of this,” she says.

The full line-up (in order of appearance) includes Stacey Morrison, Mia Blake, Michael Hurst, Morgana O’Reilly, Ian Hughes, Sara Wiseman, Antony Starr, Ian Mune, David Fane, Curtis Vowell, Bronwyn Turei, Kirk Torrance, Lucy Lawless, Rhys Darby, Annie Whittle, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Sam Neill.

The play will end with an inspirational performance of Bathe in the River by Kiwi music legend Don McGlashan accompanied by the 30-strong Jubilation Choir which includes Jackie Clarke, Rick Bryant and Amanda Billing.

“This is no doubt a crucial time in our history so we’re thrilled that through the arts we can entertain people, do our best to keep spirits high and also raise a significant amount of money,” concludes Fraser.

The play is on for one night only at The Civic and tickets are available at www.the-edge.co.nz. Standard tickets are $35* and VIP tickets, which include access to the after-show party, are $70*. (*Credit card and courier charges apply.)

Tributes flow for Frank Whitten

Robyn Malcolm has paid tribute to her former Outrageous Fortune co-star Frank Whitten who plassed away over the weekend, saying: “We were Frank’s screen family for only a few years but in that time we got to know him and adore him as a wicked, irreverent man of lethal wit, a heart of gold and one of the best actors we’ll ever work with. We all respected him enormously but in good ‘Outrageous’ spirit we treated him with the disrespect and irreverence he loved.”

Top Gear targets the Welsh

Several weeks after labelling Mexicans “lazy, feckless, flatulent and overweight”, the presenters of Top Gear have offended another nationality. The Welsh are upset over certain comments on a recent episode where they remark that fast cars should be tested on Welsh roads “because no-one wants to live there.”

Miley Cyrus to host SNL

Miley Cyrus will guest host Saturday Night Live for the first time early next month. The teen actress and singer will take the reins of the comedy sketch show for the March 5 episode in the US.

Transformers actor lands Charlie’s Angels role

Transformers actor Ramon Rodriquez has joined the cast of the new Charlie’s Angels reboot. The actor, who featured alongside Shia LaBeouf in the second Transformers film, will play the role of Bosley in the pilot.

Burn Notice prequel given release date

A release date has been set for the Burn Notice prequel film, which will follow series star Bruce Campbell’s former-Navy Seal Sam Axe over the course of his final mission. The prequel will screen in the US in April.

BREAKING: Actor Frank Whitten died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday morning. He was aged 68. 

Whitten has been a very familiar face on New Zealand and Australian television and cinema screens for the past three decades* although he is probably best remembered for his most recent onscreen role as Grandpa Ted West in Outrageous Fortune. 

South Pacific Pictures Chief Executive John Barnett today said:  “All of us are deeply saddened to hear of Frank Whitten’s passing. 

“Most recently we have been particularly proud to have worked with him through six seasons of Outrageous Fortune, as he brought the iconic role of Grandpa into the homes of hundreds of thousands of viewers, both in New Zealand and around the world.  We will miss him very much.” 

Speaking on behalf of her Outrageous Fortune cast mates, Whitten’s co-star and friend Robyn Malcolm said: “We feel deeply for Frank’s family and our thoughts, love and grief are with them. 

“We were Frank’s screen family for only a few years but in that time we got to know him and adore him as a wicked, irreverent man of lethal wit, a heart of gold and one of the best actors we’ll ever work with. We all respected him enormously but in good ‘Outrageous’j spirit we treated him with the disrespect and irreverence he loved.  

“Like his screen character he never said a lot but when he did it mattered.  He’ll hate that we are saying lovely things about him, but tough Frank – you deserve it.” 

Whitten’s family will hold a small private funeral service this week and have requested privacy at this sad time.