UN Picks Wonder Woman Over Helen Clark

The United Nations recently rejected seven female candidates vying for its leadership, one of whom was NZ's own Helen Clark.
Now, to promote women and girls, it's picked a cartoon character as its mascot: Wonder Woman! Yeup, the comic book figure.

Wonder Woman

Dozens of countries pushed this year for a woman as the next Secretary General, pointing out that the UN pledges to promote gender equality and arguing that it needs to "lead by example". But after months of internal jockeying, the Security Council picked António Guterres, who ran the UN refugee agency for ten years, to be the world's top diplomat.
Now the UN has announced it'll appoint Wonder Woman as an honorary ambassador for "the empowerment of women and girls"! That appointment will be made official on Oct.21, when Wonder Woman turns 75, only slightly older than the UN itself.
Too bad Wonder Woman will not actually walk through the halls of the UN. If she did, she'd have to sort out a few internal issues, like peacekeepers who sexually abuse civilians and major military powers that bomb schools. Instead, president of DC Entertainment, Diane Nelson will accept the designation, along with "surprise guests". No word on whether Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman on tv, will be there...

Scary Woman

Wonder Woman's avatar (er, that's "image" for those of us who were not born yesterday) will be used on social media to promote important messages about women's empowerment, including gender-based violence and fuller participation of women in public life... ironic, considering nine out of ten senior UN leadership jobs last year went to men. Not to mention, a woman has never led the UN.
Wonder Woman's not the only fictional character to be celebrated by the United Nations: Winnie the Pooh was its honorary Ambassador of Friendship in 1998 and Tinker Bell its honorary Ambassador of Green in 2009.
Not that those factoids or magic bracelets will make Helen Clark any happier about missing the cut...

Air New Zealand Crashes

The latest in a long and varied line of Air New Zealand in-flight safety videos is out.
But this one MUST rate as a major crash-landing...which is not something one talks about in earshot of an airline!
Sorry to say, guys, but many in the world do not find NZ comic (I use the term advisedly) Rhys Darby at all funny. He was always the weak link in the Flight Of The Concords tv series, and has not improved since.
The vid itself can't decide what it actually is: a parady of a cop show? Western? Horror movie? Romance? Based around the loose premise of Darby trying to find a Hollywood-style idea for a new safety video, it fails on so many counts...not least of which are the pretty but somewhat robotic AirNZ staffers who obviously skipped Relaxed Speaking 1:01.

Quite apart from the production values, the NZ Civil Aviation Authority isn't impressed either. It's growled at AirNZ for its celebrity-cameo-heavy, pre-flight briefings: "The video diverges materially from the 'safety message' at times and, whilst we appreciate the need to engage the viewers, the extraneous material detracts from the scope and direction of the safety message."
The problem is obviously one of how to 'top' the last all-whistles-and-bells safety video. We all look forward to the latest release, and each one does generate plenty of publicity, but just how far should the airline go?
With the jumbled message and Rhys Darby's weak "acting" ability (again, those words were used cautiously), is it time to pause for breath and step back from the "entertainment" line somewhat?

2016 Grindadráp Begins

In the Northern Hemisphere, it's summer.
A time for family fun in the sun, frolicking at the seaside, running helter-skelter into the waves...and for some Faroe Islanders, hacking trapped pilot whales to death. Their local media confirms up to 50 whales were killed on 06 July.

The pod of pilot whales was initially spotted near Svinoy (an island in the NE of the Faroes), before boats forced them south about 11km onto the killing beach of Hvannasund...Sea Shepherd activists were not present at the grindadráp, as the group has been barred from entering the FI.
The 2015 summer saw 501 whales butchered, 14 SS volunteers from across the globe arrested, and SS's vessel Bob Barker barred "in the interests of maintaining law and order." A new law was brought in, forcing all visitors - not just SS activists - to report sightings of whales to authorities, or face a possible 2yrs.jail.
There were also claims that the navy was involved in preventing protests. As actor Martin Sheen wrote to the Danish PM: "I was appalled to see the Danish Navy being used to defend the killing of hundreds of defenceless pilot whales. Does it really take a frigate, a patrol boat, commando units and a helicopter along with Danish police officers and a Faroese patrol boat to stop a group of compassionate, non-violent people?"
The Faroe Islands govt claims there's no special legislation regarding entry visas for members of Sea Shepherd. But from April 2016, a new executive order allows a Faroese minister to ban foreign vessels if they're expected to "disrupt lawful activities".
As a result, SS has modified its tactics. It's 2016 pilot whale defence campaign Operation Bloody Fjords will take its battle to the heart of the Faroese and Danish institutions that support this bloody dated practice. It plans to pursue a legal complaint in the European Union Parliament, and to promote the boycott of Faroese farm-raised salmon and other fish products.

Grease Ain't Necessarily The Word!

The internet seems to be populated by many people with nothing better to do, than theorise about bizarre improbabilities!
One fan theory feverishly circulating is: hidden clues in the 1978 musical Grease reveal the devastating truth...that Sandy (Olivia Newton-John's character) is dead! And instead of going off into the sunset with her soulmate Danny Zuko (John Travolta), the clean-cut Aussie student is actually ascending into heaven.
This theory's been out there since 2013, but it's resurfaced and gained a whole new popularity. It goes like this:
In the final scene, Sandy and Danny leave their school carnival and get into a red convertible. But rather than simply driving off, the car defies the laws of gravity and flies into the sky.
How? Well, Danny hadn't really been able to save Sandy when she was drowning at the beginning of the film. Danny explains through song that they first met when Danny "saved her life - she nearly drowned."
The fan theory?  Sandy actually did drown on the beach that day. As she drowned, her brain deprived of oxygen, she had a vivid coma fantasy involving her summer fling Danny.
The visions get increasingly outlandish until finally, as Danny desperately tries to resuscitate her on the beach, she sees herself flying into heaven in her dying moments. Yeup, if you wanna believe that, the entire movie was a drowning woman's coma fantasy...!

The so-called evidence?
The last line of 'Look at me I'm Sandra Dee (Reprise)' says 'Goodbye to Sandra Dee'. Everything that happens in the last scene is just a little TOO perfect. Danny and Sandy are back together despite everything, Rizzo SUDDENLY isn't pregnant AND Kenickie suddenly decides that he actually loves her, the geeky kid gets onto the sports team, everything is suddenly ok, just the way that sweet innocent Sandy would have wanted it to be.
And in the last shot of the movie, she flies up to heaven with her dream boyfriend in her magic flying car.
There you have it. In a nutshell. Perfect and neat, as all conspiracy theories are.
Except for one glaring oversight: explain Grease 2. Opps.

Anzac Day Sacrosanct

While most kiwis and ozzies get it, one second-hand car dealer didn't.
Anzac Day is sacrosanct. It's a day to remember the fallen from all wars, the sacrifices made...it's not to be used for commercial exploitation.
2 Cheap Cars had to pull its TV ad for Anzac Day specials after the Returned Services Association (RSA) complained. The ad told people to "come down because their great-granddad would be proud".
The car company - which claims on its website to be "NZ's most popular car dealership" with "70,000+ Facebook likes" - crossed the 'respect' line with the RSA.
The RSA pointed out that the Ministry of Culture and Heritage guidelines prohibit the use of the word 'Anzac' in trade or business, unless approval has been given by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage and the Governor-General: "...the intention is to protect the term 'Anzac' from commercialisation and to ensure use is not offensive to public sentiment."
The company's marketing manager Jared Donkin said the ad was not meant to be offensive, and it's now been pulled. Great!
But now the question must be asked: WHY THE HELL IS IT RUNNING SUCH APPALLING ADS??!! They feature a young teenage girl talking so rapidly in such a high-pitched breathless almost-scream, that she's literally illegible! She sure puts me off EVER shopping there!
WHY MUST WE BE BOMBARDED WITH SUCH BANALITY??!!
Perhaps 2 Cheap Cars is too cheap to afford something better?
Wait, is she the boss's daughter or something?
Here's an example of its ads below...(spoiler alert: this is NAFF!!!)

WHAT did she say...?

The 24 Clock Keeps Ticking

Great news for fans of the awesome TV series 24!!!
FOX is making a pilot, called 24: Legacy, which'll be a potential new season of the groundbreaking award-winning thriller.

The story will involve a military hero Eric Carter's return to the US and the trouble that follows him back – compelling him to ask CTU for help in saving his life, and stopping what could be one of the largest-scale terror attacks on US soil.
It'll have an all-new cast with the same real-time, pulse-pounding pace with split screens and interweaving storylines, and back to the original one-ep-per-hour concept.
Not so great news: no sign of Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland). The producers have hinted the series may continue without Jack! They're not talking about continuing the whole show without him - just whether there's one installment (season) that he's not in. Hmmmmmm...

So, who've they got with enough cred to carry another season of 24 without Kiefer? There've been whispers of Kate Morgan (Yvonne Strahovski) from 24: Live Another Day. Was she strong enough? She certainly clocked up an impressive kill-count.
Freddie Prinze Jnr turned in a commendable performance as Cole Ortiz in 24: Season 8. But Cole was damned for associating with Dana Walsh (Katee Sackhoff), so that won't fly.

Still, not all is lost, not by a long shot! Stand by for the return of Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard)!
This spoiler, 24: Legacy, is set two years after Jack's capture by the Russians. Tony's been in maximum security for eight years, and wants out...how and why? [ click ]
No-one's gonna cast and film this sorta clip for no reason, so it's safe money that - if 24: Legacy actually does screen - then Tony. Will. Be. Back!!!

UPDATE: The 20-something main character, Eric Carter, was conceived by the producers as an African American, and the actors approached so far have all been black. Depending on how the casting goes, I hear the character's ethnicity may change but he will remain "diverse".
And get this: the female lead is a woman with a long history at the agency, a former head of CTU. Will we recognise her? Or will she just have a nice back-history written into the script? So much for "an all-new cast"...

Final Change For Pop Chameleon

The Starman has left.
David Bowie, one of the most influential musicians of his era, has passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, after an 18-month battle with cancer.

Bowie's hits included Let's Dance, Changes, Space Oddity, Starman, Modern Love, Under Pressure, Heroes, Rebel Rebel and Life on Mars...to name but a few. He was also well-known for his flamboyant alter-ego Ziggy Stardust.
The singer, who'd been living in New York in recent years, released his latest album Blackstar only last Friday, on his 69th.birthday. It's been well-received by critics and was intended as a "parting gift", says his long-time friend/producer Tony Visconti: "His death was no different from his life - a work of art...an extraordinary man, full of love and life."

Hundreds of fans gathered in his birthplace of Brixton, south London, outside his New York home and also in Berlin where he lived in the late '70s. Tributes have echoed around the world -
Sir Paul McCartney: "David was a great star...his music played a very strong part in British musical history and I'm proud to think of the huge influence he has had on people all around the world."
Brian Eno: "David's death came as a complete surprise, as did nearly everything else about him. I feel a huge gap now."
The Rolling Stones: "...an extraordinary artist...a true original."
Brian May, Queen guitarist: "...a fearsome talent."
Iggy Pop: "David's friendship was the light of my life. I never met such a brilliant person."
Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis: "Bowie's one of the three greatest in the world, ever - Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and David Bowie. There's no-one else even close."
In a career spanning 51 years, Bowie clocked up:
+ estimated net worth of £135m
+ 140 million albums sold, since his first release in 1967
+ 111 singles - averaging more than two a year
+ 51 music videos and a number of film roles
+ 25 studio albums

Born David Jones on 08 January 1947, he changed his name in 1966 after The Monkees' Davy Jones achieved stardom. The title track from his 1969 album Space Oddity became his first UK #1. His breakthrough came with The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972).
Throughout his career, Bowie was an innovative, visionary, restless artist. He reinvented not just his sound but his persona over and over. His style shifted with the sands, but he was always recognisably David Bowie.
Along with the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley, Bowie defined what pop music could be. Described as the 'Picasso Of Pop', he brought art to the pop party, infusing his music and performances with avant-garde ideas.
He also carved out a successful acting career, including his role as an alien seeking help for his dying planet in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Other roles included Labyrinth, Cat People, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Hunger.
The Thin White Duke suffered a heart attack in 2004, after which he largely stopped making public appearances.
He was a great singer, songwriter, performer, actor, producer and collaborator - but beyond all that, David Bowie was quite simply... cool.

Spying on Star Wars

Have you seen the new Star Wars film yet?
If so, did you spot 007, Daniel Craig???!!!

It was revealed late last year that Daniel Craig had nabbed a cameo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (true!). But few realised the James Bond actor features in a prominent moment, in which he speaks four lines. The scriptwriters even named his Stormtrooper JB-007, in a nod to his role as super-sleuth Bond.
Daniel appears in a short scene opposite Daisy Ridley's character Rey, who mind-controls Stormtrooper JB-007 before they become involved in a brief humorous exchange.

The next 007...???

This wee part came about simply from being in the right place at the right time. Craig had been filming Spectre at Pinewood studios in Buckinghamshire, when he got talking to Star Wars director J.J. Abrams, who also shot some of his film at the same complex: they concocted the cameo together.
So, if you haven't seen the movie yet, keep your eyes peeled - and may the Force be with you!

The Italian Job

Ahhhhh, such are the joys of the internet.
People THINK they know something, post wrong info...and within a short space of time, it becomes solid fact!
Thus an old video clip of a very skillful motorcyle display gets cited with dates ranging all over the known universe! Yet just a tiny bit of

research would have clarified things...
Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910-1970 in the UK (older readers will recall its newsreels playing in movie theatres, ahead of the feature flick). The Pathé News archive is known today as British Pathé. Its fully-digitised collection is available online...and is the source of this particular clip.
The short footage (below) is of a motorcycle display in Rome, to mark the 107th anniversary of the Italian police. The force formed in 1848, so that means the film can be no earlier than 1955. And among the officials seated in the grandstand, you'll see Italian President Giovanni Gronchi - who held office from 1955-1962.
Thus - unlike many YouTube posters - I'm confident that the footage can be dated at/soon after 1955. And Pathé News has dated it at 1959 (a few years later than the anniversary year...but a damn sight more accurate than those who said the 1930s!!).
So...now that's cleared up, enjoy some pretty fancy motorcycling!

Star Wars vs The China Syndrome

A black British actor in the new Star Wars film Episode VII: The Force Awakens has been shrunk in a promo poster in China!
Lead actor John Boyega - who plays lightsaber-wielding Finn - has appeared much smaller on the Chinese ad than the UK version. His image has moved beneath those of Han Solo and Princess Leia, with TIE fighters firing upon the Millennium Falcon filling up the right side of the poster. Other characters are missing, and the droid BB-8 is much larger in the Chinese version.

As expected, the changes are stirring up accusations of racism on socal social media. A message on Star Wars forum reads: "Every Asian poster for the film that I've seen has done this. That this way of doing business went over Westerners' heads is surprising. Everyone was acting as if Disney made those cuts. No, it's the Chinese way." Disney's made no comment at time of writing.
+++++
In China, cosmetic surgery is one of the most popular ways to spend discretionary income. China ranks 3rd globally for cosmetic operations performed each year. But unlike Western women wanting boob jobs and liposuction, many Chinese girls want to look more "Western". Perhaps in the Chinese mind, a black man can't possibly be an admired Westerner...? Or is this more than skin-deep?
There is virtually no racial problem in China because the Chinese are essentially one race (the Han race: about 92%). The minorities live mostly in the outlying regions. And Chinese generally like lighter skin. A popular Chinese saying reads: "One white covers up a hundred defects." If a girl has lighter skin, Chinese say she's rather white, even if she has many imperfections. Conversely, if she has darker complexion, Chinese point out that she has the darker skin, even if she is rather pretty. So the lighter-skinned girl often has the edge when looking for a mate.
Another important factor is that Chinese have little contact with black-skinned people. What they know about them is mostly from media and, as people generally only hear/remember bad things, Chinese already have a subconscious prejudice. The poster change may simply be a result of this.
But, as John Boyega said when he was cast in the role: "If you have an issue with a black Stormtrooper, get over it!"
The Star Wars continuation opens in NZ cinemas on 17 December.
+++++
Note: And to avoid any confusion, The China Syndrome (1979) was about a cover-up at a nuclear power plant - starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas.

Who's Really So Vain?

One of the biggest questions in music history: who was Carly Simon really referring to in her hit You're So Vain?
You remember: "I bet you think this song is about you, don't you?"

Actor Warren Beatty has long been a prime suspect, and now Carly has confirmed it. But Beatty's wrong if he thinks the whole song is about him.
Carly's revealed he was only the subject of the second verse:
"You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive
Well you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved and one of them was me
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and..."
Speaking about her new memoir Boys in the Trees, Simon says: "I've confirmed that the second verse is Warren." Asked if he knew this, she said that, in keeping with the song's theme, "Warren thinks the whole thing is about him!"
You're so Vain sold more than a million copies when it went to No.1 in USA in 1972-73 and, for more than 40 years, Simon has never publicly revealed the name of the subject, hinting that it could be a combination of people rolled into one.
Speculation has ranged from Beatty - once Simon's boyfriend - to her former husband James Taylor, to Mick Jagger (who sang back-up on the track) to showbiz tycoon David Geffen - though Simon squashed that rumour when it surfaced in 2010 (saying she didn't even know Geffen in '71 when she wrote the song).
Two other egotists are yet to be named. Asked if she will ever name the other two men, Simon says: "I don't think so, at least until they know it's about them."

Friends: The One Where Nobody Noticed

American tv series Friends had a fantastic run over its 1994-2004

lifespan.
People around the globe could relate to the many misadventures and oddball utterings of Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross.
It became one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002. The series finale in 2004 was watched by 52.5 million US viewers, making it the 5th.most-watched series finale in tv history, and the most-watched tv episode of the 2000s decade.
Pretty amazing, huh?
What's even more amazing is that, until now, NOBODY noticed the cast substitutes!

Yeup, an eagle-eyed US fan has spotted stand-ins in several episodes!
Jordan D'Amico noticed one during Ep.209, The One With The Mugging (2003). As you can see (above), Rachel is there beside Joey. But then, quicker than you can say "How you doin'?!" - different blouse, different woman!
D'Amico then spotted a sub for Monica, in Ep.175, The One With Rachel's Date (2001) (to the right)!
How this has gone unseen for so many years is a mystery... just what the hell was happenin'???!!!

Eleganza Soul

Those who grew up in the '70s have certain movies and tv shows burnt into their memories. Bruce Lee, Starsky and Hutch...and all that great music!

Smooth mutha-****!

With so much black funk running through the grooves, it was a sound we weren't familiar with here in NZ...but man, was it cool!
At the start of that decade came the Isaac Hayes' chart-topper Shaft, with shock-horror lyrics like "He's a bad mutha...shut your mouth!" Young white teens, adding new phrases to their lexicons, never had it so good.
Shaft of course was really The Theme from Shaft - one of the first blaxploitation films. It starred Richard Roundtree as the ultimate in suave black detectives. John Shaft was like the James Bond Of Da 'Hood.
The US blaxploitation scene saw numerous clothing outlets selling what today looks so naff but, back then, was top-funk clothing for the debonair black man...opps, African-American.
We saw the groovy gear in movies and wondered if it was all just prop-clothing. No, bro...if y'all wanted to strut the streets, the turned-out turkeys would check out ads like these...!

The Force Is Too Strong For Internet

The Force has awoken...and crashed the internet.
Tickets went on sale for Star Wars: The Force Awakens at 10am yesterday. Within minutes, Reading Cinema's website crashed due to heavy demand, and other NZ cinemas were nearly sold out for midnight sessions.
As has been a tradition dating back to 1997, Star Wars will debut at a special midnight screening. Sales for all sessions were going well prior the crash, but the midnight shows were proving the most popular.
Reading Cinema's spokesman says the last time he remembered demand for a film peaking this high was in the run-up to Avatar.
Twitter was glowing like a lightsabre, post-ticket release, with some twits gloating about seeing the movie in New Zealand before the rest of the world (due to the timezone difference).
But one indigenous twit seemed dissatisfied: "Given all Star Wars clones are maori actors, why can't we have lightsabre taiahas?" (a maori weapon) "And just imagine a clone army haka!"
Oh puh-leez, talk about being trapped in a space vortex. Next there'll be a maori claim for intellectual property rights!
The 7th installment in George Lucas' much beloved and obsessed-over franchise will premiere in NZ at 12.01am on Thursday, 17 December.

Maori stormtroopers - yea, right!

Apocolypse-Not-Quite-Now

In a few years from now, scientists will try to push an asteroid off its orbital path.
It's not a case of "because they CAN"…it's actually a practice run for

saving the world!
So the joint US-European AIDA (Asteroid Deflection and Assessment) mission will crash a probe into a small asteroid called 65803 Didymos. It's only 160m wide, but the test will show if in principle a much larger asteroid threatening to wipe out human civilisation can be deflected the same.
Two spacecraft, one kamikaze and the other to monitor the effect, will be launched in October 2020. They'll travel about 6million km and reach the target mid-2022.
Dr Patrick Michel, lead investigator for the European Space Agency: "To protect Earth from potentially hazardous impacts, we need to understand asteroids much better - what they are made of, their structure, origins and how they respond to collisions."
Planet Earth has had a couple of near misses in the last few years: an asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier wizzed by - closer than the Moon! - in late 2011.

And let's not forget that on 13 April 2029, an asteroid called 99942 Apophis will miss us by a mere 35,000km, a hair's breadth in astronomical terms. Apophis is the size of a football field, enough mass to cause widespread devastation should it ever collide with Earth. It too will be well within the orbit of the moon. That's damn close...so better to be safe than sorry.
After all, if/when the situation is for REAL, Bruce Willis will be too far into his dotage to save us!

This IS The Plane You're Looking For

Theme music played and Imperial stormtroopers stood guard as the hangar doors began to open…
Within moments, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner painted with the likeness of R2D2, the loyal little droid from the Star Wars franchise, emerged to a cheering crowd at Boeing's wide-body assembly line facility in Washington USA.
The aircraft belongs to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) and will begin flying paying passengers from mid-next month.
The unveiling last weekend had been eagerly anticipated by both aviation and Star Wars enthusiasts, since plans for the R2D2-themed Dreamliner were announced last April. The jet boasts one of the world's most interesting airline paint schemes, but it will soon have company.
Eventually, three ANA aircraft will be painted

"Not quite the Millennium Falcon!"

a la Star Wars.
One of the other two designs will feature BB-8, a new character to be introduced in the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The movie, No.7 in the series, opens in NZ theatres on 17 December.

Everest: Doesn't Get Much Better

Upcoming action movie Everest is a star-studded emotional rollercoaster, and a fitting tribute to one of New Zealand's unsung heroes.
Based on the 1996 disaster on Mt Everest, the movie tells the lead-up to and events of 10 May, when the commercial guiding industry on the mountain suffered its first and blackest catastrophe.
Kiwi Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants and American Scott Fisher's Mountain Madness were among those attempting to summit, when a "perfect storm" of mishaps and weather conditions left all their fates in the balance.
Many NZers will remember what unfolded and, according to reviewers who're already rating the film as 'five stars', we'll be left with lumps in our throats when we see the portrayal of Rob Hall MBE.
Prepare to be exhausted by the end of this film, but the effort is worth it to see one of the most entertaining and emotionally draining slices of cinema of the last few years.
Everest opens in NZ on 17 Sept. Do not miss this! Take tissues!!

MIB - Kiwi Style

Our national carrier Air New Zealand has a global reputation for its quirky in-flight safety videos.
They've featured surfers, hobbits, numerous celebs, The Simpsons (but let's forget - yeup, forget! - Rico that ridiculous rodent), Bear Grylls, gay kisses, swimsuit models...the sky's the limit!
Air NZ also has a solid track record for supporting our national ball-carriers, the All Blacks. So for its latest vid, it's enlisted some very special Men In Black...
Created in partnership with Sony Pictures, the All Blacks take passengers through the ins and outs of safety with the help of kiwi singer Stan Walker, actor Rip Torn and Frank the Pug (dog) who both starred in the movies MIB I (1997) and MIB II (2002).
All Black Israel Dagg proves he's as good off the field as on. Plus, keep an eye out for some inter-galactic rugby cameos from rugger greats David Campese (OZ), Martin Johnson (UK) and Agustin Pichot (Argentina), alongside A/Bs Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Kieran Read, Kevin Mealamu, Sam Whitelock and their coach Steve Hansen.

This has GOTTA be one of AirNZ's best vids yet! Mind you, check out the very last scene. After all the safety tips for the flight, Israel Dagg flips out his Memory Neuralyzer, and *Zap!* everyone on board forgets... er... EVERYTHING!!!
Hmmm, does that seem ironic to you...or is it just my black humour?

Surf's Up For Air NZ

Hey dude, if you've not flown Air New Zealand internationally in the last month, you've probably not caught a wave or two with its latest safety video.
This time, it's teamed up with some of the world's hottest surfers...past and present world champs, NZ's best surfers, and two of the world's most popular women surfers on social media.
But wait! Aren't some of these waves in California and Ozzie's Gold Coast??? Yeup, and the producers threw in a bit of Piha and Raglan too, just to keep it vaguely kiwi.
Hmmm, I know surfers are generally a bit crazy, but why promote surf, sun and safety in the middle of a Noo Zild WINTER???
And that backing track seemed ever so tedious and inane...
Still, perhaps - as this is the 11th of the safety videos that get tens of millions of online views globally - Air NZ's getting low on ideas. No! Marketing boss Mike Tod says it's aimed at creating awareness of three locations the airline operates in. And by involving surfers from Brazil and Japan as well, the airline hopes to create interest in those countries too.
Say what? If they're seeing the vid on an Air NZ jet, then they're already on their way here, right? Wrong! There's method in the Air NZ Madness! It's designed to make YOU wanna fly to those places with THEM!
So when does the line between safety message and marketing get crossed? Did that happen months back, with Air NZ's controversial swimsuit vid? And let's not even mention the crappy Richards Simmons one!
Ok, so if you want oxygen masks dropping from a Malibu lifeguard tower, floating paper lanterns to represent floor lights, airline seats on a Gold Coast beach, tanned taut and terrif rubber-clad surfer girls and boys, then check this...

Vanity. Vanity. All Is Star Wars.

Being pictured on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine is seen as a 'rite of passage' for many of Hollywood's elite.
But the latest issue features a band of fictional players: Star Wars characters.
On the June cover (shot by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz) there are several characters from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens film, including Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca, Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and the BB-8 droid.
There's even a Yoda quote on the cover, which reads: "In a dark place we find ourselves — a little more knowledge might light our way."
Set inside what looks like the cockpit of a spacecraft (perhaps the Millennium Falcon?), the image was also promoted by the magazine on Twitter, with the message "Rebel scum and stormtroopers join forces on our new Star Wars cover."
Ahhhh, the hype is strong in this one...!