John Clarke and Sam Neill

Online access to radio has been invaluable in the years I've been in Sydney. I've particularly relied on RNZ for interviews, analysis and commentary to supplement online media. I listened this morning to Kim Hill's interview (pt 1, pt 2, pt 3) with Sam Neill and John Clarke which focused on the television daption of Shane Maloney's books (the shows are great viewing - watch them if you're able) the Brush Off and Stiff.

Both Clarke and Neill are fantastically amusing although in very different ways. Clarke's opening gag about Australia being still in 1974 was amusing but it sets you up for Clarke's patois which is droll and under-stated. He later noted that since he'd left NZ, the weather forecast for the Chathams hadn't changed... Neill, I've always been slightly ambivalent about. He's a superb actor but a few of his other activities have occassionally jarred with me. He made a comment in an interview with Andrew Denton about NZ which, while I don't recall the specifics, seemed unecessarily harsh but perhaps that's my sensitivity? His comments about NZ in his opening speech to Labour's 2005 re-election campaign however were wonderful... if only I could find them online (here is a variation on the speech that he gave at a party gig in Oamaru)

Anyway, in this interview he raves about two NZ movies that I hope get shown here, No. 2 and Sione's Wedding, which he describes as "cinema-at-ease" to contrast with his 1995 documentary, Cinema of Unease. I saw No. 2 (and Fraser's other play, Bare) a few year back (with Madeliene Sami as the lead - outstanding) so am really keen to see how it copes with having more than one actor...