Latest news with #FlightOfTheConchords
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Bret McKenzie on creepy crawlies and making music
This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions. He's an Oscar winner, a Grammy winner and an Emmy nominee. Bret McKenzie first came to international prominence as one half of the musical comedy duo, Flight of the Conchords and has since forged a successful solo career, writing and recording songs for both television and film - including this year's massive box office hit, A Minecraft Movie. His work has been sung by Celine Dion, Benee and Lizzo to name just a few. Based in his native Wellington, Bret is currently collaborating with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra on their Creepy-Crawly Carnival. He's also about to release his second solo album, Freak Out City . Bret talks to Susie Ferguson about why creepy crawlies, classical music and children do mix and what fans can expect from his latest record. Bret McKenzie, host of the Creepy-Crawly Carnival, with two young members of the audience at the first show in Wellington Photo: SUPPLIED/NZSO
CBC
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Why Rhys Darby thinks AI can't do live stand-up comedy
When Rhys Darby started noticing the way AI had sunk its teeth into Hollywood, it got him thinking. The New Zealand actor and comedian, who you might know from Flight of the Conchords, Yes Man or Our Flag Means Death, is back with his first new stand-up show in nearly a decade. It's called The Legend Returns and it sets out to prove that there's one thing robots can't do: live stand-up comedy. "There's nothing more human, I think, than stripping down our humanity in front of each other's eyes and revealing it — revealing the pain of the human condition in a humorous way," Darby tells Q 's Tom Power in an interview. While Darby says he's already seeing AI replacing humans throughout several creative industries (for example, he's personally experienced a decline in voice work), he doesn't think the technology will ever be able to replicate "the human body on stage talking." That's why he's returned to performing live comedy. "[AI] will never be able to experience what it feels to be a living human with a heart beating and a soul, most importantly," he says. "Everything that we do, especially in the arts, which is my arena, comes from the soul, comes from the heart, comes from the inner self that we can't explain, the consciousness." But The Legend Returns is more than just an urgent message about the value of human creativity. It's a comedy show that's meant to entertain an audience. "It really, ultimately, proves that perhaps a robot could never do what I can do on stage," Darby says. "It's me doing stand-up and then it turns into, essentially, a one-man play about me conquering the robots that are taking over the world…. And I do the story in a really silly way that is very Rhys Darby comedy. So it's physical, I do lots of sound effects, I jump around on stage, I play about four or five different characters having conversations with each other. It's the kind of stand-up I've always done, but this time it kind of has an important message." You can catch The Legend Returns at Just For Laughs Montreal on July 24. The tour continues in the U.S. this fall.
