Latest news with #Schlaepfer
Scoop
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
EDS Has Concerns Over Sweeping Review Of National Direction Under The RMA
The Government today released for consultation an unprecedented package of reforms to national direction under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). This review covers 12 existing instruments and proposes 4 new ones - making it the largest overhaul of national direction in the Act's history. National direction - including national policy statements, environmental standards, planning standards, and section 360 regulations - sits at the core of the RMA. 'These instruments drive local planning and consent decisions across key domains such as freshwater, indigenous biodiversity, the coastal marine area, and more. They are, in effect, the engine-room of the environmental management system and are incredibly important,' said EDS Chief Operating Officer and resource management lawyer Shay Schlaepfer. 'EDS will undertake a detailed and rigorous analysis of the proposals over the coming days. However, serious concerns are already emerging from our preliminary review, including: 1. Undermining Te Mana o te Wai - The proposed rebalancing of the hierarchy of obligations embedded in Te Mana o te Wai would significantly weaken protections by removing the clear requirement to prioritise the health and wellbeing of water bodies over uses. 2. Cattle grazing in wetlands now allowed - Even if the wetland contains threatened species. 3. New provisions weaken environmental bottom lines - The reprioritisation of freshwater objectives is likely to leave gaps, have cumulative adverse effects, allow more pollution and breach FTAs. 4. Mining even more enabled - Easier consenting pathways are proposed in valued environments. 5. Forestry reforms miss the mark - The review of the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry appears to sidestep the fundamental structural and operational failings in those standards in spite of EDS drawing those matters to attention of the Minister. 'The context of the wider reform process raises critical questions of coherence and purpose. This extensive revision is occurring under the framework of the RMA, at the very time the Government is proposing to replace it with two new statutes that will have different enabling provisions for national direction. That suggests this review is being driven more by political expediency and ad hoc coalition agreements than sound policy logic. 'Importantly, any changes made to national direction as a result of this process must comply with the purpose and principles of the RMA, including its purpose of achieving sustainable management of natural and physical resources. Where proposals fall short, legal challenge is likely. 'We will release further commentary, analysis and webinars as our expert team works through the full breadth of the discussion documents. EDS will itself be presenting detailed feedback and will oppose any lowering of necessary environmental protections,' concluded Ms Schlaepfer. Environmental Defence Society EDS speaks for the environment. It has influence. Since 1971, EDS has been driving environmental protection in Aotearoa New Zealand through law and policy change. That's why it's one of this country's most influential non- profit organisations when it comes to achieving better environmental outcomes. EDS has expertise in key disciplines including law, planning, landscape and science. It operates as a policy think-tank, a litigation advocate, and a collaborator – bringing together the private and public sectors for constructive engagement. EDS runs conferences and seminars on topical issues, including an annual Environmental Summit and the Climate Change and Business Conference. EDS is a registered charity and donations to it are tax-deductible.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brandon Sklenar Fed Elephants, Took Trips with Julia Schlaepfer While Filming '1923': 'We Had Incredible Chemistry' (Exclusive)
1923 1923 was life-changing in more ways than one for Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer. The actors played beloved onscreen couple Spencer and Alex Dutton in the Yellowstone prequel series, which came to a heartbreaking end on April 6 as the lovebirds had a long-awaited and emotional reunion — only for Alex (Schlaepfer) to die after giving birth to their son, John. Speaking to PEOPLE about the devastating finale, Sklenar, 34, reflects on the off-screen bond he developed with Schlaepfer, 30, in the years since they landed the "life-changing" roles. "It's a lot, you know? We spent almost three years with these people. And I've never done a series before and it an incredible life experience for Jules and I," Sklenar says. Related: 1923's Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer Bonded as Husband-Wife with Horseback Riding, Mani-Pedis: 'Thick as Thieves' (Exclusives) "I remember when we were in Africa in season 1, we were like, 'What the actual f---? This is crazy. We are in Africa.' Like elephants are eating out of our hands and stampeding." Sklenar and Schlaepfer "shot six days a week" during their months in Africa for season 1 "and every seventh day, we'd get in a van or a plane and fly somewhere else." "It changed our lives, you know? Personally and professionally," he says. "So growing with these characters and then shooting these scenes that on the page are so emotional, and also just the catharsis of this whole three-year journey on top of it, it's been a trip. It's definitely a trip." In this week's issue, Sklenar reveals that he and Schlaepfer "didn't chemistry read" before securing the roles, but rather, says creator Taylor Sheridan "knew that we would get on just by spending time with us individually." Related: 1923's Julia Schlaepfer Says Brandon Sklenar Would Wear the 'Same Clothes' for 2 Weeks While Filming in Africa (Exclusive) "And we had incredible chemistry from the jump, and it was so easy to work together and to fall into it," Sklenar says. "I think a lot of that back and forth that's on the page that Spencer and Alexandra have — that sort of banter and that shorthand — Julia and I just had that together as people. And that's not something you can... If you don't have that and you do those scenes, it's not going to hit the same way." He continues, "You have to sort of have that vibe in how you communicate. And I'll miss that for sure, having that type of scene partner and that type of work partner to play with in that space." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The 1923 series finale is now streaming on Paramount+. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How ‘1923' Pulled Off Alexandra's Harrowing Journey
When Taylor Sheridan phoned Julia Schlaepfer, the actress knew that something special was coming her way. The Yellowstone creator planned to dive into America's distressing immigration system at Ellis Island in 1923 season 2—and her character, Alexandra, would experience the worst of it. Schlaepfer had to deliver a monologue following a sequence about the country's hypocritical policies—which still rings true today—but to give those words any meaning, she would first need to reenact traumatic scenes from America's past. If you've already watched episode 3, you can imagine it wasn't easy. '[Taylor] said, 'This is how she would get to America, and this would be her reality,' ' Schlaepfer told me over Zoom earlier this week. ' 'In that time, a woman unwed, pregnant, and alone—they don't see her as adding any value to the country. So she would've probably been violated and hurt.' I remember Taylor asked, 'Is it okay if I write this for you? Because I know it will be a very challenging thing for you to have to go through as an actor.' And I said, 'Yes, let's tell that story.' ' 'It feels very important to me,' the 30-year-old actress continues. 'When I think about 1923, it tells so much of the history of our world and what people did to endure. It's brutal and it's hard to see, but it's the truth, and I really wanted to make sure that we told the truth.' Want more from the Sheridan-verse? Read essential 'Yellowstone' news and '1923' recaps in our newsletter. Sign Up Now That truth still exists today. As Alexandra tells an immigration officer during her final monologue at Ellis Island, America is quick to dismiss foreigners despite being a nation composed of them. Even worse, Alexandra is repeatedly violated as she's tested for sexually transmitted diseases, accused of coming to the country for prostitution, and nearly rejected simply because she is pregnant. For anyone who accuses Sheridan's programming as right-wing propaganda, there's very little for the current administration to love in episode 3. 'America runs ads inside every newspaper in London, boasting of the endless opportunity here and the welcoming arms,' Schlaepfer's character remarks in the episode. Instead, the Statue of Liberty 'stares down on you, as you strip us of our dignity and inspect us like cattle,' she continues. 'In fact, I would say this is the least free I have ever felt in my life.' The story rang close to home for Schlaepfer. As she told me, her great-grandfather came into America through Ellis Island with just 15 dollars to his name. 'I know from my family that he was messed with a bit,' she said, 'but this episode feels so current, and that monologue she gives to that immigration officer about how everybody deserves a chance at freedom and opportunity is a message that still resonates for so many people today.' Hopefully, the worst is behind Alexandra as she moves forward in 1923. Firmly in America and off to reunite with her husband, Spencer Dutton (Brendan Sklenar), she enters Grand Central station in New York City and plots a course to the Yellowstone ranch in Montana. 'I'm really excited for people to see her journey,' Schlaepfer says. 'What I love most about her this season is that everything she does is for her future family. Watching her navigate how to fight each battle is something that I think is so beautiful, and I'm excited for people to see it.' You Might Also Like Kid Cudi Is All Right 16 Best Shoe Organizers For Storing and Displaying Your Kicks
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Julia Schlaepfer Details Challenges a Pregnant Alex Dutton Will Face En Route to Montana in ‘1923'
Alex Dutton has quite the journey ahead of her in 1923. Not only does she have to cross an ocean in the hopes of reuniting with husband Spencer Dutton in Montana, but the season 2 premiere revealed she'll be embarking on the journey while pregnant. In an exclusive interview, Julia Schlaepfer, 29, dished on what kind of challenges the mother-to-be will face en route to Bozeman, where she and Brandon Sklenar's Spencer were headed before he was taken away for throwing her ex-fiancé Arthur (Rafe Soule) overboard in the season 1 finale. 'It's certainly going to make her journey a lot more difficult,' the actress told Us. 'There's so much more at stake for her being pregnant and knowing that there is a child on the way.' 'If you're just taking care of yourself [while] moving through the world, you can make choices for yourself that feel right, but now she has a child to take care of,' she explained. 'It's going to be tricky, especially being a pregnant woman in the 1920s alone. That adds a level of intensity to the situation.' Though the fan-favorite character is known for being brave and fearless, Alex 'has to be a lot more careful with how she's treated and how she takes care of herself along the way,' Schlaepfer continued. 'It becomes her ultimate priority to make sure that this child stays alive and that they can all be reunited as a family.' Brandon Sklenar Teases Spencer's Montana Return in 'Darker' Final Season of '1923' It remains to be seen what kind of roadblocks Alex will encounter in the rest of the season, but Schlaepfer believes the former Countess of Sussex will face a reality check during her travels. 'She's lived a very privileged life,' the Politician alum said. 'I don't think that she quite [understands] the dangers that exist in different parts of the world, so there's a lot of learning.' Playing the 'feisty woman' has been 'a dream role' for Schlaepfer. 'Alex pounces on everything that she wants and she's very strong,' she told Us. 'She's been very sheltered, but she is determined, and we see a lot more of that in season 2 as well.' In real life, Alex has motivated Schlaepfer — who jokes she would also 'would run away to Africa with a man that I fell in love with after a day' — to follow her own dreams: The actress moved to Montana after falling in love with the state following Taylor Sheridan's legendary cowboy camp. Everything to Know About Season 2 of '1923': Premiere Date, Cast and More 'I was feeling so inspired by Alex and how she just follows her happiness wherever it leads her,' she explained, noting she was 'so happy' working in Big Sky Country. 'I [thought], 'Why wouldn't I follow that happiness and take a leap?'' Now, 'I live on a ranch in Montana,' she added. 'I'm so happy and I never want to leave.' Season 2 of 1923 airs Sundays on Paramount+.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'1923' Season 2: Julia Schlaepfer cried reading 'emotional, 'beautiful' arc for Alex, and premiere reveal
The Taylor Sheridan hit, 1923, is back for Season 2 (on Paramount+), giving us a look a ranch life in the harsh winter. Starring Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Brandon Sklenar, Julia Schlaepfer, Michelle Randolph, Aminah Nieves, Sebastian Roché, Darren Mann and Brian Geraghty, the new season of the Yellowstone prequel series begins after the Duttons sold of most of their cattle, now having to hunt to survive. But one of relationships 1923 fans have been anxiously waiting to see the continuation of is Alexandra "Alex" (Schlaepfer) and Spencer (Sklenar), after they were ripped apart at the end of the first season. But 1923 returns with much higher stakes in place for this couple to find each other Schlaepfer revealed to Yahoo Canada, she was so excited about Alex's story this season she called Sheridan, in tears, to express her gratitude after reading the scripts. "I was so excited. The whole season, episode after episode, there was just so much, and it's so emotional and beautiful," Schlaepfer said. "I called Taylor Sheridan crying, being like, 'Thank you.' ... So it's a very, very exciting start to the journey." "I was excited to see her tackle a chunk of the season on her own and figure out how she can survive without Spencer there to save the day. I think it's a really beautiful thing to watch her figure out the world and figure out what's out there on her own. And I think she's strong enough to do it, and she's very brave." As we find out in Episode 1, Alex is pregnant and needs to get to Spencer before their child is born. While her friend Jennifer (Jo Ellen Pellman) wasn't a fan of this relationship in Season 1, she's instrumental in helping Alex get money to buy passage to America. "We're friends in real life and so it was a relief a little bit, it was nice to have that moment between these two women who I think both grew up very kind of caged birds, and they had a very privileged upbringing, but they were forced into this life. They didn't have a choice," Schlaepfer said. "Jennifer wanted to be with somebody like Arthur, and thought that Alex was so lucky to have something like that, and that's all she wants. Whereas Alex wanted to break free of it and run away. And I think it's so beautiful that they want these two different things, but they respect and love each other so much that they just want to help each other be happy at the end of the day." Schlaepfer also highlighted that the way Alex chooses to live her life, with conviction and respect for herself, and her desires, is particularly admirable, and not something we see often. "She's living in a way that I think we've lost so much in society, in a way that people really want to live, but are a little scared to live," she said. "We keep our heads down on our phones so much, and she just is living bravely and loving so directly, and so fiercely." "She inspires me in the way that I live my life, because she just follows her happiness. And it's like, for her, [there's] no other option but to just follow her joy and her love and her happiness. And I think that's something that we don't experience too much anymore, or we don't see too much, and I think that makes her really special." But a character that starts off in a very different place in Season 2, versus Season 1 of 1923, is Teonna, played by Aminah Nieves. While she's on the run, with Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) on the hunt for her, it does feel like a small breath of fresh air to see her connect with her father (Michael Spears), and Pete, played by Jeremy Gauna, after Cole Brings Plenty's 'death "I think it's so easy to forget that she hasn't seen her dad for like five or six years, so she's experiencing and relearning so much about herself, and about her culture, while also trying to reestablish this relationship with her father," Nieves said. "And she's been on guard for so long. She's been in such a trauma response for so long. So to be able to kind of let it down, even just a smidge, you're able to see such a different side of her. You're able to see the pure humanness of her that we all carry." "And that isn't usually showcased within Hollywood. The humanness that Indian country and Indigenous people in general, that we hold, and it's so beautiful. I was really excited. I'm really excited for the the viewers to see this little glimpse of more of her." What 1923 also continues to do, and is applauded Nieves, is use elements of Teonna's story to contribute to preserving Indigenous languages. "One of my main questions before I really signed on to the show for Season 1 [was], who are we going to have to represent? Who's going to be there to make sure everything is accurate? Are there going to be Elders? What Elders? I asked all this information because it is so vital and so important, and also so easy for someone to dismiss that," Nieves said. "But we had Mo Brings Plenty, who's incredible, and also we had Birdie Real Bird, who's Apsáalooke Crow, which is what Teonna is, she's from that Nation. ... And she was also teaching us Apsáalooke outside of what we were learning." "I think it's so important for us to speak as much Apsáalooke as we can, not only just for the Elders and for us, but for the babies. For them to watch something and see the language that their parents and grandparents are speaking, and know that they're seen, is so beautiful and so important. Because, you know, a lot of people look at us and are like, 'Oh, you're still here?' It's like, we've always been and we remember that, and we have to honour ourselves in that way. So it was very special and very important for us to to hold on to every little bit, and to make sure it's as accurate as possible." As the season continues to unfold, we'll see how realities of the threat of Father Renaud is explored, but Sebastian Roché teased that his character is in a particularly interesting spot in Season 2, operating outside of the residential school. "Within the confines of the residential school, he is almighty. He follows the laws of God. As soon as he's outside of that residential school, he's out of his element, and I found that extremely interesting," Roché highlighted. "His whole arc for Season 2 is him approaching the world in a totally different way, in a foreign way, and he's discovering things that are going to change him as a human being." "There are many more complexities. He is a complex character. He is 'the bad guy' in Season 1, but what motivates him, it's the laws of the church. It's something that's very rigid. And then suddenly he's thrust into the West, into lawlessness and the jungle that is the West, and things start affecting him as he goes on this peregrination. And I think that the public is going to find that very interesting. They're going to see a different aspect of Father Renault." But back with the Duttons, Elizabeth, played by Michelle Randolph, is even more so a part of this family, but she's still learning the ropes of being married to a rancher, Jack (Darren Mann). "Season 1 it was kind of her becoming a Dutton and entering that family, and Season 2, it's her first winter with the Duttons and living in the house, and kind of finding her place in this world," Randolph said. "So I think audiences will see her becoming a Dutton concretely." The first episode also shows how Elizabeth and Cara, played by Helen Mirren, will be spending a lot of time together through the winter season. "They really do get to share a lot of very intimate moments together, because they're essentially hibernating together, and they only have each other because the men are often off during the day," Randolph said. "And so I think Elizabeth learns a lot from Cara. ... That's all she has. That's who she must become in order to be the ultimate rancher's wife." "And so I think she's just almost in awe of Cara, and thinks that she is the wisest person. And also, I think sometimes gets frustrated because they do spend a lot of time together, and she's constantly learning from her." With several interesting reintroductions to its characters, 1923 is certainly off to an enticing start for Season 2.
