Feature
The Power List: Arts, Culture and Entertainment
The best, brightest and boldest in arts, culture and entertainment.
No 1 Flight of the Conchords, New Zealand’s fourth most popular folk/parody duo (New)
Entertainers looking to make next year’s Power List could take their cue from new entrants Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie: four Emmy nominations and a Grammy win will get you over the line. The Wellington duo, whose TV comedy airs on HBO in the US and Prime at home, spent the year basking in critical acclaim for their first series, while co-star Rhys Darby (Murray the manager) shot his first Hollywood feature film, a Jim Carrey comedy. HBO has commissioned a second series, filming now, but the pair always said two would be their limit. Ever-homesick, FOTC plan to come back and use their powers for good here, fostering local comedy.
No 2 Derek Lardelli, Artist (New)
Lardelli’s art has reached into New Zealanders’ most treasured cultural arenas over the years. He composed the new All Black haka, Kapa o Pango. He designed the logo for the 2006 Commonwealth Games uniform. He created the motif woven into the Air New Zealand staff uniform. More importantly, he is a leading figure in the revival of traditional Maori art. He is regarded as one of New Zealand’s finest ta moko artists (traditional Maori tattoo), and he tutored and led the kapa haka group Whangara-mai-tawhiti (from the home of Whale Rider), which won the supreme award at last year’s national kapa haka competitions. Lardelli (whose heritage includes Ngati Porou, Italian and Scottish ancestry) is also a carver, graphic designer, and researcher of whakapapa and tribal history. He received a New Zealand Arts Foundation Laureate award in 2004, was the first recipient of New Zealand’s artist in residence programme at Gallipoli in 2006, and this year was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Belatedly, the Power List recognises him this year as one of our most influential artists.
No 3 Richard Taylor, Weta Workshop founder (Last year: 16)
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is long gone, but Richard Taylor, the man behind LOTR’s award-winning special effects, continues to go from strength to strength. This year, his Weta crew have worked on James Cameron’s Avatar (to be released next year) and the film adaptation of Maurice Gee’s Under the Mountain, and seen the fruits of their labours on Prince Caspian, The Water Horse and 30 Days of Night. The Weta group of companies employs an ever-increasing number of creatives – this year the workforce topped 700, up from 600 last year. In partnership with Chinese entrepreneur Fred Tang, Taylor has set up a new industry in Dongguan, in the Pearl River Delta, producing lightweight chainmaille for the movie industry.
No 4 Campbell Smith, New Zealand music’s Mr Big (Last year: 31)
Smith’s CRS Management has Scribe, Brooke Fraser, Elemeno P, the Have, Breaks Co-op and Dimmer on its books; Scribe’s second album, released this year, went to No 4 on the New Zealand chart and No 9 in Australia. Elemeno P’s third album went to No 5 here. Smith has managed one of the biggest events on the live calendar, the Big Day Out, since 2005, and remains chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Achievement this year: taking the New Zealand Music Awards to the next level by moving it to Auckland’s 12,000-seat Vector Arena. Next year: the fight to keep the kids buying, not downloading, music continues, especially in a recession.
No 5 Imogen Johnson, Agent (New)
Johnson set up her actors’ agency, Johnson & Laird, eight years ago, with 20 people on her books. Now she has 140, making her a powerful gatekeeper in the arts world. She has attracted some of New Zealand’s hottest talent, including Robyn Malcolm, Miriama Smith, Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Miranda Harcourt. She’s known to negotiate tenaciously on behalf of her actors and entertainers, and has hooked up with agencies in Australia, Los Angeles and London to gain access to international roles. Johnson, 37, has also won actors’ affection by befriending their union, New Zealand Actors' Equity, and strongly backing its 2006 merger with Australia’s Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance – much to the displeasure of some competing agencies. “Our actors are world class, and they should be treated as such,” she says.
