Standing Room Only for Sunday 3 October 2021

12:16   New Film Commission CEO David Strong

The new CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga has had to hit the ground running. No sooner had David Strong taken over from the outgoing Annabelle Sheehan when he had to deal with the fallout of Amazon taking the multi-million dollar Lord of the Rings series out of the country.  Not to mention the ongoing problems caused by Covid 19.

But David is used to facing challenges.  He spent 22 years in the New Zealand Army, where he was a Lieutenant Colonel serving in the Middle East and Bosnia.   He became a specialist military adviser for movies like The Water Horse, The Hobbit, Mulan and, yes, the Amazon Lord of the Rings.

But he's also worked at the creative end of the industry - writing, directing and producing several award-winning short films.

Simon Morris asked David Strong what he hopes to bring to the Film Commission?

 

12:44  Photographer Anne Noble has a thing about bees

Bees have long fascinated one of our foremost art photographers, Anne Noble.

As a beekeeper herself, she spends lots of time observing their behaviour and how they move. She's also studied their history and, particularly, their uncertain future due to climate change and ecosystem collapse.

Now with the help of curator Zara Stanhope, designer Anna Brown and a band of essayists, Anne has gathered together her images and her discoveries in a book called Conversātiō - in the company of bees.

Lynn Freeman talks to  Anne Noble about her favourite insects.

Conversatio - in the company of bees by Anne Noble, Zara Stanhome and Anna Brown is published by Massey University Press.    Anne's exhibition, also called In the company of bees is on at Bartley & Company Art in Wellington.

 

1:20 At The Movies

Simon Morris reviews The Ice Road and Ride the Eagle, and talks to the first Director of the Wellington (later New Zealand) International Film Festival, Lindsay Shelton.

 

1:46  Petone's Schrödinger's Books is the NZ Bookshop of the Year 

Opening a bookstore in late 2019 looks like the worst possible timing, given what happened over the next 18 months.

But Schrödinger's Books in Petone has not only survived Covid, it's taken out the Nielsen Book NZ Bookshop of the Year award.

Aside from the best in new books, the store's speciality is, believe it or not, Japanese Manga comics - certainly giving it a definite point of difference to competitors in Wellington!

Lynn Freeman talks to owner Mary Fawcett about how Schrödinger's Books has managed to thrive in today's climate, and asks if she ever thought the shop wouldn't pull through.

2:06 The Laugh Track - Kozo Komatsubara aka Kozo Kaos

His name is Kozo Komatsubara, though he usually goes by "Kozo Kaos",  and he's a first on the Laugh Track in several categories.  

We don't have too many jugglers on the show - for obvious reasons!   We have even fewer whose act involves machetes, flaming torches, razorblades, tennis racquets and marshmallows.  And he's definitely the only one to play Russian Roulette with a packet of Orio cookies.

This week juggler, magician, stunt performer and busker Kozo invites us to run away with him and join the circus.  His comedy picks include Melanie Bracewell, Noel Fielding, Fern Brady and Drew Lynch.
 

2:26  Novelist - and haematologist - Eileen Merriman

If you could be tested to see if you carry inherited genes for a fatal disease, would you?  That's a dilemma facing more and more people as scientists keep making breakthroughs in genetic testing.

It's also a question at the heart of Eileen Merriman's new novel, Double Helix.

Eileen is an Auckland-based haematologist whose past novels for adults and young adults often touch on medical issues she comes across in her work life.

In Double Helix, Jake is an aspiring doctor whose mother had Huntington's disease.  But he is conflicted over whether or not to see if he's inherited the condition.  It comes to a head when he and his partner Emily consider having children.

Lynn Freeman talks with Eileen Merriman about blending fact and fiction.

Double Helix by Eileen Merriman is published by Penguin Random House.

 

2:37  Poet Tim Grgec and All Tito's Children

 

Tim Grgec's grandparents escaped communist Yugoslavia in the 1950s, and came to Aotearoa as refugees.

Tim's debut poetry collection weaves some of their memories into the story of two siblings who also lived under the regime of the notorious communist dictator, Marshall Tito.

Much about Tito remains unknown, but Tim has researched the former war hero who maintained an independent position during the Cold War.

He fell out with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and eventually with his once-adoring but eventually disillusioned citizens.

Tim Grceg's book is called All Tito's Children.  He reads one of the poems, and talks with Lynn Freeman about the collection's inspiration.
 

 

2:47  Isa Pearl Ritchie and the characters of The Seekers' Garden

 

A widow, a rock star, a would be novellist and her anxious teenage daughter - these are among the strangers that Isa Pearl Ritchie beings together in new novel, The Seekers' Garden.

Different paths have led them all to Waikato from around the country and the world.

One of them is the widowed Marcia Reed-Wilton who leaves England to return her the childhood home that she escaped from as a teenager.  She is anxious to reconnect with her estranged sister. 

Lynn Freeman asks Isa which came first - the characters, the situation or the theme?

The Seekers' Garden by Isa Pearl Ritchie is published by Te Rā Aroha Press.

 

 

3:06 Drama at 3 - Hine 3100 and Part 3 of Dead Man's Shoes

Hine 3100 is a short play by Puawai Swindells-Wallace that looks at the future, through the eyes of someone from the past.   The year is 3100 and a Maori woman from the 1800s has just been cloned illegally. 

And Steve Danby's Dead Man's Shoes is a comedy set in 1940's Auckland.  Bad girl, Amanda Carmichael is trying to go straight, but falls in with one of Auckland's 'best' families, and lands in a decadent world where going straight is not an easy option. 
 

Music played in this show

Artist: Jewel Akens
Song: The birds and the bees
Composer: Barry Stuart
Album: 40 giants of the jukebox
Label: BMG
Played at: 12.12

Artist: The Honey Bees
Song: Some of your lovin'
Composer:  Goffin-King
Album: One Kiss Can Lead To Another
Label:  Rhino
Played at: 12.40

Artist: Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Song: Hunnybee
Composer: Neilson-Neilson
Album: Sex and food
Label: Jagjaguwar
Played at: 12.57

Artist: Alison Moyet
Song: Honey from the bees
Composer:  Jolley-Moyet-Swann
Album: Alf
Label: CBS
Played at: 1.58

Artist: Monty Python
Song: Eric the half a bee
Composer:  Chapman-Cleese-Gilliam
Album: Monty Python's Previous Record
Label:  EMI
Played at: 2.05

Artist: Tom Petty
Song: Honey bee
Composer: Petty
Album:  Wildflowers
Label:  Warner
Played at: 2.58

Artist: Taj Mahal
Song: Queen bee
Composer: Mahal
Album: Kulanjan
Label: Hannibal
Played at: 3.05

Artist: The Bumble Bees
Song: Girl of my kind
Composer:  Bumble bees
Album: The Rubble Collection
Label: Rubble
Played at: 3.20

Artist: Billie Piper
Song: Honey to the bee
Composer: Marr-Page
Album: Honey to the B
Label:  EMI
Played at: 3.58