New Zealand: Last News

EXCLUSIVE: Indigenous model and actress Quannah Chasinghorse is set to lead documentary Beautiful Resistance (working title), about Indigenous justice and the climate crisis.

Linkin Park have shared footage of them recording new music in the studio.The band recently released their latest album ‘From Zero‘, which marked the band’s first since the passing of frontman Chester Bennington and features Dead Sara’s Emily Armstrong as the band’s new vocalist.The album shot to the top of the charts in 10 countries, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Australia and New Zealand.

Emily Longeretta The Miami Film Festival, produced by Miami Dade College, is set to honor “Yellowjackets” star Melanie Lynskey during the 2025 festival, set for April 3-13. Lynskey will receive the Precious Gem Award on April 12. Following the presentation, she will be part of a conversation about her career.

Thom Yorke has shared a live version of ‘Back In The Game’, his new collaboration with Mark Pritchard, recorded in Sydney – watch below.The Radiohead frontman released the song last month on WARP Records, having debuted it during his solo tour of Asia, Australia and New Zealand in late 2024. It is the latest collaborative work from Yorke and electronic producer Pritchard, after ‘Beautiful People’ in 2016.Now, Yorke has shared the live performance of the song from a show at the Sydney Opera House on November 2, where Pritchard joined him on stage on synths.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer “The Sandman” author Neil Gaiman fired back at his former babysitter on Tuesday, calling her a “fantasist” and producing WhatsApp messages that he says refute her sexual abuse claims. Gaiman and his estranged wife, Amanda Palmer, were sued in federal court last month for alleged sexual assault and trafficking. The plaintiff, Scarlett Pavlovich, had previously raised the allegations in a Tortoise Media podcast and a New York magazine feature story.

Almost a month to the day that Neil Gaiman was hit with a trio of rape, human trafficking and more allegations in three separate states by a former nanny to his son, the Good Omens showrunner and Sandman creator says the claims are “a sham,” and shouldn’t even be addressed by U.S. courts.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Zoe Saldaña is an Oscar winner, and James Cameron is over the moon. The “Avatar” director shared his reaction to his leading lady’s victory by telling Variety: “I was so happy to see Zoe acknowledged as the world-class performer we, in the ‘Avatar’ family, have always known her to be. Her acceptance speech was a noble reminder of what immigrant families bring to the U.S.

Banijay Arranges ‘Game Of Chairs’

Refresh for Latest…: Ahead of next weekend’s domestic and wider overseas rollout, Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 kicked off in Korea this session. The sci-fi satire hit Bong’s home market with an estimated $9M four-day start (which includes tomorrow’s Independence Day holiday), scoring the biggest opening weekend of 2025 so far and the best for a Warner Bros movie since 2019, as well as Robert Pattinson’s top Korea launch ever.

Travis Scott played a significant role in the shock ending to WWE Elimination Chamber on Saturday night (March 1) – see the moment below.The pro wrestling company ran the event in Toronto’s Rogers Centre, with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who plays an antagonistic authority figure on WWE television, demanding that world champion Cody Rhodes “sell his soul” to him in return for becoming the corporate chosen one.Rhodes told Johnson to “go fuck yourself” and was embraced in a hug from John Cena, who had just won the show’s main event. However, after receiving a signal from Johnson, Cena turned on Rhodes and aggressively beat him down in a shock ‘heel turn’.All the while, Scott was in the ring alongside the wrestlers at Johnson’s invitation, even joining in with Cena’s brutal attack, kicking Rhodes while he was down.See the events unfold here:It is the second time Scott has had a significant on-air role with WWE in recent weeks, after he accompanied Jey Uso on his entrance through the crowd on the episode of WWE Raw that followed Uso’s win at February’s Royal Rumble.

Shaheem Reid If you ask the Rock — who was indeed questioned directly about it on Saturday night — Travis Scott is inching closer to his apparent dream of participating in an actual professional wrestling match, albeit with backup. Scott didn’t just accompany the Rock into the ring, he got physically involved in a memorable moment in wrestling history. At the WWE’s Premium Live Event “Elimination Chamber,” before some 40,000 fans, the Rock and Scott joined forces with another superstar, John Cena — who turned from good to bad guy — as all three jumped WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.

Drake attended WWE’s Elimination Chamber last night, shortly after cancelling his remaining Australian and New Zealand tour dates due to a “scheduling conflict”.Alongside Lil Yachty, the Canadian-born rapper was seen ringside for last night’s (March 1) event at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, with the appearance coming only days after he pushed back four remaining shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland due to a clash in his schedule.Having recently made his return to Australia and New Zealand last month for his first tour in eight years, Drake was due to perform in Brisbane on March 4, Sydney on 7 and a pair of shows in Auckland, New Zealand on March 15 and 16.According to a statement from Drake’s rep to Rolling Stone AU/NZ, the shows will be rescheduled, and additional shows are being planned.

Slipknot played their 2008 track ‘Gematria (The Killing Name)’ for the first time ever this week – check out the footage below. The band were playing the first of a mini-tour of Australia on Friday night (February 28) in Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse when they decided to dig into their catalogue to give the track its live debut. ‘Gematria (The Killing Name)’ was first released on their fourth studio album ‘All Hope Is Gone’ in 2008, and frontman Corey Taylor has said in the past that despite him loving the song himself, the rest of the band would never “never play it”, telling All Things Music in 2023: “Unless the Pope ends up opening up for Slipknot someday, that shit will never happen”.

William Earl Once Geoffrey Rush hit his mid-60s, he was offered more and more roles where his age was the focal point. Yet when he read the script for “The Rule of Jenny Pen,” the nursing home-set horror film offered a different angle. Rush plays Stefan Mortensen, a tough-talking judge who suffers a stroke and must live in an assisted living facility.

James Cameron says he is “sickened” by Donald Trump‘s re-election, and he is happy his New Zealand citizenship is “imminent”.While appearing on The Fucking News podcast, the Oscar-winning director was asked for his response to Trump becoming US president again, to which Cameron replied: “I think it’s horrific, I think it’s horrifying.”“I see a turn away from everything decent,” he said. “America doesn’t stand for anything if it doesn’t stand for what it has historically stood for.

Drake gave a shoutout to his past collaborators who “didn’t turn pussy” on him.The rap superstar recently concluded his ‘Anita Max Wynn’ tour in Australia, which had meant to continue in other cities in the country this week – along with two shows in New Zealand – before being postponed due to a “scheduling conflict”. This tour was his first in the region in eight years.On the last show of the tour he performed – in Brisbane last Monday (February 24) – Drake spoke to the audience in a clip that was recently shared on social media.In it, he spoke a few thank-yous, especially to his past collaborators.

As someone familiar with major shipwrecks, James Cameron has gotten out while the getting is good.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director James Cameron is sickened by Donald Trump‘s re-election and is happy his New Zealand citizenship is “imminent.” The Oscar-winning director appeared on “The F—ing News” podcast (via The Daily Beast) and was asked about his response to Trump becoming U.S. president again, to which Cameron responded: “I think it’s horrific, I think it’s horrifying.” “I see a turn away from everything decent,” Cameron said. “America doesn’t stand for anything if it doesn’t stand for what it has historically stood for.

Jamie Lang ITV has announced an additional £80 million ($101.4 million) ring-fenced for diverse commissioning over the next three years, alongside doubling its Diversity Development Fund to £1 million ($1.3 million). This follows the success of the inaugural Diversity Commissioning Fund, launched in 2022, which originally committed £80 million ($101 million) over three years to support diverse-led projects and a £500,000 ($633,645) fund to help develop qualifying ideas.

Drake has pulled all of the remaining dates of his current tour of Australia and New Zealand. A rep for the rapper told Rolling Stone AU/NZ that a "scheduling conflict" was the reason for the decision to cancel shows in Sydney and Brisbane as well as a pair of already-postponed dates in Auckland, New Zealand scheduled for mid-March.

Drake‘s fans in Australia and New Zealand will have to wait a little longer to watch him perform as part of his Anita Max Win Tour.