Latest news with #TaikaWaititi
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
HBO Max travel show Conan O'Brien Must Go ‘makes me really happy', says star. Here's why
US television host and comedian Conan O'Brien's new show on HBO Max plays like a video postcard of silly and enlightening adventures, as he and his crew travel around the world to meet fans and experience different cultures. Advertisement Season two of Conan O'Brien Must Go lands him in Spain, where the high jinks included cuddling with actor Javier Bardem and doing Spanish voice-overs; and New Zealand, where he got lessons from one of the country's leading cultural advisers and attempted to break a haka world record with filmmaker and actor Taika Waititi The three-episode season ends in Austria. Here, O'Brien discusses stand-out moments from this season of Conan O'Brien Must Go, which has been renewed for a third season. You cuddled with Javier Bardem. You did Spanish voice-overs. You dressed as [Austrian neurologist Sigmund] Freud. You went to the snow globe museum. What moment stood out for you from these trips?
South China Morning Post
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Who is Rita Ora's mum, Vera Ora? The psychiatrist inspired the singer's duet with Keith Urban, survived breast cancer, and once modelled for a swimwear line by Amoena
Pop songstress Rita Ora 's mother, Vera Ora, seems to have found the fountain of youth. Earlier this week, Vera posted a photograph of herself in Italy for Formula One's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix 2025 – proudly wearing Adidas Originals, which her daughter had collaborated with for a collection. She's not afraid to try unexpected fashion: last year, the 61-year-old joined her daughter for the MTV EMAs, looking stunning in a classic black and white pantsuit on the red carpet. Rita Ora's mother, Vera Ora, looked stellar in a chic pantsuit at the MTV EMAs last year. Photo: @veraora/Instagram Advertisement The singer, who is married to New Zealand director Taika Waititi , is known for her fashion flair – and seeing her mum's modelling prowess, that's hardly surprising. But Vera Ora's real profession is far from the runway. So, what do we know about the glamorous Vera Ora, whom Rita considers her role model, and who inspired her duet with country singer Keith Urban , 'Shape of Me'? What's her background? Rita Ora's parents Vera and Besnik were refugees from Kosovo who fled to the UK. Photo: @veraora/Instagram Rita Ora's mother Vera Ora is an Albanian hailing from Kosovo. She emigrated to England with her husband, Besnik Sahatçiu Ora, and their daughters Elena and Rita, before war broke out in the former Yugoslavia. The couple put down roots in London's Notting Hill district and later welcomed their only son, Don, into the family. She's a psychiatrist Rita Ora's mother, Vera Ora, is a psychiatrist. Photo: @veraora/Instagram
Buzz Feed
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Oscar Kightley Interview — Voices Of The Pacific
BuzzFeed: Sione's Wedding is one of my favorite Pacific Islander films of all time. The movie has certainly cemented its place in pop culture — Duck Rockers for life! Did you know when you were writing it that it would turn out to be such a big hit? Do you have any favorite behind-the-scenes memories during those days of filming? For many of us in the US, Sione's Wedding was one of the first times we saw ourselves represented in film, so it still holds such a special place in our hearts! I especially appreciated how you portrayed Albert because he was a bit nerdy like me. What connected you to that character? Have you ever faced challenges in your career as a Pacific Islander? If so, how did you overcome them? When I look at your incredible career, from the Naked Samoans to bro'Town to your films, it's clear that you often combine Pacific Islander representation with comedy. Why is that important to you? You've appeared in several Taika Waititi movies, including Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Next Goal Wins. How would you describe him as a director? For Pacific Islanders, there are so many aspects of our cultures that we hold close to our hearts, from our foods to our dances to our tattoos. What's your favorite part of your culture? Do you have a favorite Samoan food? We touched on this earlier, but you actually got your start in show biz through theater. You've formed several Pacific Islander theater companies and written numerous plays, including Dawn Raids. The play raises awareness of the racist New Zealand police raids that targeted Pacific Islanders in the '70s and led to deportations and widespread fear throughout the community. Can you speak to your personal experiences that informed the play? In addition to your writing, you're politically active in your daily life. You've encouraged people to vote, joined your local board, are involved with the Pacific Islander organization Cause Collective, and were present during the New Zealand government's apology for the dawn raids. As far as activism goes, what's your proudest moment? You were appointed a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for your services to television and theatre. What did that recognition mean to you? What do you want your legacy to be, and how do you hope future generations will remember your contributions to Pacific Islander history? What advice do you have for young Pacific Islander creatives? And finally, what does being Pacific Islander mean to you? Thanks for chatting with us, Oscar!
South China Morning Post
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Cannes 2025: author Kazuo Ishiguro on films, adapting his books and becoming Homer
Kazuo Ishiguro's mother was in Nagasaki when the atomic bomb was dropped. Advertisement When Ishiguro, the Nobel laureate and author of Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, started writing fiction in his twenties, his first novel, 1982's A Pale View of Hills, was inspired by his mother's stories, and his own distance from them. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki but, when he was five, moved to the UK with his family. A Pale View of Hills marked the start of one of the most lauded writing careers in contemporary literature. And, now, like most of Ishiguro's other novels, it is a film, too. Kei Ishikawa's film by the same name premiered on May 15 at the Cannes Film Festival in its Un Certain Regard section. The 70-year-old author has been here before; he was a member of the jury in 1994 that gave Pulp Fiction the Palme d'Or. 'At the time it was a surprise decision,' he says. 'A lot of people booed.' Ishiguro is a film watcher and sometimes maker, too. He penned the 2022 Akira Kurosawa adaptation Living. Advertisement Movies are a regular presence in his life, in part because filmmakers keep wanting to turn his books into them. Taika Waititi is currently finishing a film of Ishiguro's most recent novel, Klara and the Sun (2021).
Arab News
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Kazuo Ishiguro: ‘When you go from book to film, that's a fireside moment'
CANNES, France: Kazuo Ishiguro 's mother was in Nagasaki when the atomic bomb was dropped. When Ishiguro, the Nobel laureate and author of 'Remains of the Day' and 'Never Let Me Go,' first undertook fiction writing in his 20s, his first novel, 1982's 'A Pale View of Hills' was inspired by his mother's stories, and his own distance from them. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki but, when he was 5, moved to England with his family. 'A Pale View of Hills' marked the start to what's become one of the most lauded writing careers in contemporary literature. And, now, like most of Ishiguro's other novels, it's a movie, too. Kei Ishikawa's film by the same name premiered Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival in its Un Certain Regard section. The 70-year-old author has been here before; he was a member of the jury in 1994 that gave 'Pulp Fiction' the Palme d'Or. 'At the time it was a surprise decision,' he says. 'A lot of people booed.' Ishiguro is a movie watcher and sometimes maker, too. He penned the 2022 Akira Kurosawa adaptation 'Living.' Movies are a regular presence in his life, in part because filmmakers keep wanting to turn his books into them. Taika Waititi is currently finishing a film of Ishiguro's most recent novel, 'Klara and the Sun' . Ishiguro likes to participate in early development of an adaptation, and then disappear, letting the filmmaker take over. Seeing 'A Pale View of Hills' turned into an elegant, thoughtful drama is especially meaningful to him because the book, itself, deals with inheritance, and because it represents his beginning as a writer. 'There was no sense that anyone else was going to reread this thing,' he says. 'So in that sense, it's different to, say, the movie of 'Remains of the Day' or the movie of 'Never Let Me Go.'' Remarks have been lightly edited. AP: Few writers alive have been more adapted than you. Does it help keep a story alive? ISHIGURO: Often people think I'm being unduly modest when I say I want the film to be different to the book. I don't want it to be wildly different. But in order for the film to live, there has to be a reason why it's being made then, for the audience at that moment. Not 25 years ago, or 45 years ago, as in the case of this book. It has to be a personal artistic expression of something, not just a reproduction. Otherwise, it can end up like a tribute or an Elvis impersonation. Whenever I see adaptations of books not work, it's always because it's been too reverential. Sometimes it's laziness. People think: Everything is there in the book. The imagination isn't pushed to work. For every one of these things that's made it to the screen, there's been 10, 15 developments that I've been personally involved with that fell by the wayside. I always try to get people to just move it on. AP: You've said, maybe a little tongue in cheek, that you'd like to be like Homer. ISHIGURO: You can take two kind of approaches. You write a novel and that's the discrete, perfect thing. Other people can pay homage to it but basically that's it. Or you can take another view that stories are things that just get passed around, down generations. Even though you think you wrote an original story, you've put it together out of other stuff that's come before you. So it's part of that tradition. I said Homer but it could be folktales. The great stories are the ones that last and last and last. They turn up in different forms. It's because people can change and adapt them to their times and their culture that these stories are valuable. There was a time when people would sit around a fire and just tell each other these stories. You sit down with some anticipation: This guy is going to tell it in a slightly different way. What's he going to do? It's like if Keith Jarrett sits down and says he's going to play 'Night and Day.' So when you go from book to film, that's a fireside moment. That way it has a chance of lasting, and I have a chance of turning into Homer. AP: I think you're well on your way. ISHIGURO: I've got a few centuries to go. AP: Do you remember writing 'A Pale View of Hills?' You were in your 20s. ISHIGURO: I was between the age of 24 and 26. It was published when I was 27. I remember the circumstances very vividly. I can even remember writing a lot of those scenes. My wife, Lorna, was my girlfriend back then. We were both postgraduate students. I wrote it on a table about this size, which was also where we would have our meals. When she came in at the end of the day, I had to pack up even if I was at the crucial point of some scene. It was no big deal. I was just doing something indulgent. There was no real sense I had a career or it would get published. So it's strange all these years later that she and I are here and attended this premiere in Cannes. AP: To me, much of what the book and movie capture is what can be a unbridgeable distance between generations. ISHIGURO: I think that's really insightful what you just said. There is a limit to how much understanding there can be between generations. What's needed is a certain amount of generosity on both sides, to respect each other's generations and the difference in values. I think an understanding that the world was a really complicated place, and that often individuals can't hope to have perspective on the forces that are playing on them at the time. To actually understand that needs a generosity. AP: You've always been meticulous at meting out information, of uncovering mysteries of the past and present. Your characters try to grasp the world they've been born into. Did that start with your own family investigation? ISHIGURO: I wasn't like a journalist trying to get stuff out of my mother. There's part of me that was quite reluctant to hear this stuff. On some level it was kind of embarrassing to think of my mother in such extreme circumstances. A lot of the things she told me weren't to do with the atomic bomb. Those weren't her most traumatic memories. My mother was a great oral storyteller. She would sometimes have a lunch date and do a whole version of a Shakespeare play by herself. That was my introduction to 'Hamlet' or things like that. She was keen to tell me but also wary of telling me. It was always a fraught thing. Having something formal — 'Oh, I'm becoming a writer, I'm going to write up something so these memories can be preserved' — that made it easier. AP: How has your relationship with the book changed with time? ISHIGURO: Someone said to me the other day, 'We live in a time now where a lot of people would sympathize with the older, what you might call fascist views.' It's not expressed overtly; the older teacher is saying it's tradition and patriotism. Now, maybe we live in a world where that's a good point, and that hadn't occurred to me. It's an example of: Yes, we write in a bubble and make movies in a kind of a bubble. But the power of stories is they have to go into different values. This question of how you pass stories on, this is one of the big challenges. You have to reexamine every scene. Some things that might have been a very safe assumption only a few years ago would not be because the value systems are changing around our books and films just as much as they're changing around us.
