The lost art of dressing like a movie mogul
Apple TV+ bills The Studio, its Seth Rogen-led skewering of the Hollywood studio system, as a 'comedy'. It is also, according to the show's costume designer, Kameron Lennox, a fantasy.
'These characters are trying
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Māori actors defend playing Hawaiian ariki roles in new Jason Momoa series
Chief of War, a new Apple TV+ series written and executive produced by Jason Momoa and co-created by Thomas Pa'a Sibbett, is set against the lush backdrop of Hawaii and based on true events. The nine-part historical drama follows Ka'iana, a Hawaiian warrior played by Momoa, as he fights to
NZ Herald
19-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Chief of War: Jason Momoa on moving ‘home' to New Zealand and All Blacks' surprise cameos
'Here's the big thing I want New Zealand to know - they should take a deep, deep amount of pride in this because we would not be able to make this show had it not been for the help of Aotearoa - they need to know that. I'm very thankful. 'They bled for us and we united Polynesia,' says the Hawaiian-born actor. Momoa extends his gratitude to some unexpected legendary New Zealanders who flexed their acting chops for the first time, just for their 'brother' Momoa. Eagle-eyed fans may have already spotted rugby players including Piri Weepu, Renee Ranger, Frank Bunce, Troy Flavell, Kees Meeuws and Pita Alatini featuring as Koa, Polynesian warriors, in the trailer for the series. Piri Weepu, Rene Ranger, Frank Bunce, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Troy Flavell and Pita Alatini all feature in the new Chief of War series. Photo / Apple TV+ Hesitant to spoil the plot of episode one, I tread carefully with questioning, before Momoa excitedly cuts in. 'No, let's say it, let's just say it - I'm a huge All Black fan. I love them. I tried to get Tana Umaga in there, but Kees Meeuws is one of my favourites of all time. So I got Kees and a bunch of them came to help,' Momoa adds. All Black prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi, who Momoa calls 'one of my closet friends' and 'my younger brother', has a starring role in episode one, battling with Momoa's character Ka'iana, a legendary Hawaiian warrior. 'He was so good. He was so scared to do it. He would not want me to tell you that, but that he was,' Momoa says with a laugh, adding, 'I was so proud of him.' Momoa recalls a particularly funny moment on set between Tu'ungafasi and his stunt double Kim Fardy, who is Australian and the brother of ex-Wallabies player Scott Fardy. 'Kimmy would always talk s*** about the All Blacks. And so I let Ofa know, I was like, 'just give a little sting because he's an Aussie'.' 'And sure enough, Ofa gave a little f****** extra dude,' Momoa laughs, recalling a hearty onscreen tackle between the two. 'He's a f******* wall, it's crazy. He's so strong.' In Chief of War a Hawaiian war chief embarks on a mission to unite his people. Photo / Apple The nine-part series also reunited two Hollywood heavyweights and Aotearoa acting royalty. Temuera Morrison and Cliff Curtis, who starred in the 1994 film Once Were Warriors, play Kings Kahekili and Keōua in Chief of War. Momoa says learning from Curtis was one of the big blessings from his time on set. 'It was nice to actually sit down and learn from Cliff,' Momoa says, crediting the duo's performances as award-worthy. 'Cliff Curtis and Temuera Morrison can come and play the biggest kings and pull that s*** off and learn our language and play it better than I've ever played before - those guys should be up for Emmys.' Momoa praised the pair's commitment to learning the language and cultural immersion, revealing that he teased the role to Morrison during the 2017 filming of Aquaman, which they starred in together. 'I told Tem on Aquaman, 'I wrote you the greatest role. You're gonna play the greatest game -an amazing king. It's unbelievable,' and he replies, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah boy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, true boy',' says Momoa, giving an impeccable Morrison impression. 'You gotta get the facial expressions down when doing it,' he adds with a laugh. Temuera Morrison and Jason Momoa have a very special bond after starring as father and son in Aquaman. Photo / Instagram His love for New Zealand actors, people and rugby players is no secret, but what keeps him coming back to Aotearoa? 'I came here when I was about 20 years old,' Momoa explains, 'and when I landed there, Hawaii is home, but there's never been anywhere in the world where I've ever felt more connected. 'I can't really explain it, if it was my destiny, my ancestors...I don't know what it was, but the moment I stepped off that plane I felt it, and I've always been drawn to it.' Momoa says that on a month-and-a-half trip he took as a 20-year-old, he scaled the country from 'top to bottom' and ultimately decided it was where he wanted to end up. 'I just loved it, just being in the outdoors, man. Being down in Queenstown and experiencing that - snowboarding, mountain biking, rock climbing.' Cliff Curtis in Chief of War. Photo / Apple TV+ 'I just was like, 'I'm gonna live here.' I was going to spend the rest of my life here one day, and now having the opportunity to come down and film,' he explains, the passion for our country clear as he circles back to 'the greatest f******* rugby team of all time', and goes off script. 'I mean, listen, I'm in Hawaii right now and I'll just...' Momoa pauses, turning his camera on during the Zoom call to show me the Steinlager Pure beer he's drinking on the couch, raising it for New Zealand before turning his camera off again. 'That's Steinlager P right there.' . Momoa admits he still feels a call to relocate, saying eventually that's the plan. 'I will eventually move one day, that's where I'll live and work. I don't want to leave - I'm gonna keep coming down. I just love it.' But with his passion project about to be seen by the world, in two short weeks, Momoa, who also worked as a director, writer and producer on the series, says right now his focus is on the series and Hawaii. Temuera Morrison in Chief of war. Photo / Apple TV+ 'I don't have anything that I will ever do in this life that'll be bigger than this - this is my heart and soul. You live with it for a decade, and then you finally get it up, and you get to make all the choices, direct, act, learn the language that you've always wanted to learn, that you've never learned.' But it hasn't been easy: 'No one will ever understand the battles I went through for my culture'. 'This is as big as it gets, you know. This is the tip of the spear of everything. After this is just an actor paid to go do some s***. This is my heart and soul in here.' But before he polishes off the rest of the 'Steinlager P', Momoa says he wants Kiwi fans to know one more thing: 'I'll see you soon. Next year. Aotearoa, I'm coming home, baby.' Chief of War premieres on Apple TV+ on August 1. Jenni Mortimer is the NZ Herald's chief lifestyle and entertainment reporter. Jenni started at the Herald in 2017 and has previously worked as lifestyle, entertainment and travel editor.
Otago Daily Times
16-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Severance, The Penguin lead Emmy race
Psychological thriller Severance and crime drama The Penguin stacked up the most nominations for Emmy Awards on Tuesday, outpacing The Studio and The White Lotus in the contest for television's highest honours. Severance received a leading 27 nominations and was nominated for the top prize of best drama alongside Star Wars series Andor , The Pitt , The White Lotus and others. The Penguin , set in the DC Comics universe and starring Colin Farrell, earned 24 nominations and will compete for best limited series against Netflix hit Adolescence , among others. Hollywood satire The Studio , an Apple TV+ show featuring Seth Rogen as a nervous film executive, and HBO's The White Lotus , about murder and misdeeds at a luxury resort in Thailand, received 23 each. "What the heck?!! We never thought this would happen," Rogen said in a statement. Comedy nominees included defending champion Hacks , previous winner The Bear , Nobody Wants This and Abbott Elementary . The 23 nominations for The Studio tied the record for a comedy in a single season, set last year by Chicago restaurant tale The Bear . Winners of the Emmys will be announced at a red-carpet ceremony held in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS on September 14. Comedian Nate Bargatze will host. The television industry is undergoing a contraction as media companies curtail the sky-high spending they shelled out to compete in the shift to streaming platforms led by Netflix. Long-time Emmy favourite HBO and the HBO Max streaming service topped all programmers with 142 nominations - a record for the network. Walt Disney collected 137 nominations, including six for ABC's Abbott Elementary , one of the few broadcast shows in the Emmy mix. Andor , on Disney+, received 14. Netflix garnered 120 nods and Apple scored 81, its highest total since launching its streaming service in 2019. Severance tells the story of office workers who undergo a procedure to make them forget their home life at work, and vice versa. "It's distinctive in every way - in terms of its storytelling, in terms of style, in terms of its directing, its tone," said Matt Cherniss, head of programming at Apple TV+. Star Adam Scott, a best actor nominee, said the cast had been unsure of how viewers would respond. "The fact that it's resonated at all has been just such an incredible feeling," Scott said. "We thought it was something that might be too weird." WYLE, FORD IN THE RUNNING Noah Wyle received his first Emmy nomination since 1999 for his role as an emergency room doctor on The Pitt . Wyle was nominated five times for ER but never won. "I'm humbled and grateful," Wyle said of the recognition for The Pitt , which received 13 total nominations. Harrison Ford, 83, earned his first Emmy nod, for playing a grumpy therapist on Shrinking . Ron Howard, the former Happy Days star turned Oscar-winning director, also landed his first acting nomination, a guest actor nod for playing himself on The Studio . "Who says nice guys finish last?!" Howard wrote on Instagram. He will compete with fellow director Martin Scorsese, another guest star on The Studio . Other notable acting nominees included Farrell and Cristin Milioti for The Penguin , The Bear actors Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri, Kathy Bates for Matlock , Hacks stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, and Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us . Eight White Lotus actors were recognised. "This is a bunch of cherries on the icing on the cake that was the gift of playing such a tortured and lonely human," said Jason Isaacs, who portrayed a suicidal father facing financial ruin on the show. Beyonce also made the Emmys list. Her halftime performance during a National Football League game on Netflix was nominated for best live variety special. Missing from the field was Netflix's popular Korean drama, Squid Game , while the final season of previous drama winner The Handmaid's Tale received just one nod. Winners will be chosen by the roughly 26,000 performers, directors, producers and other members of the Television Academy.
