31-year-old may be up for car-pool duties now he's got his full one.
It's a rite of passage for most Kiwi teenagers, but 31-year-old All Black Cory Jane has finally come around to sitting his full driver's licence. He was joined at the New Zealand Transport Agency office by Hurricanes teammate Julian Savea, 23, and both received plenty of ribbing from their rugby chums.
Hurricanes teammate Beauden Barrett took to Twitter on Monday to wish the boys good luck in sitting their driver's tests, using the hash-tag "professional development".
"After 12 years I thought I better," Jane responded.
Hurricanes media manager Hannah Fleming told The Diary the team had a few laughs at training on Monday when Jane returned from his test.
"I asked CJ if he passed the test, and he said he did." She said he drives to footy training on a restricted licence. But he may be up for car-pool duties in future.
In the high testosterone world of first-class rugby, where the likes of car brand Ford pays a fortune for a commercial alliance, it is somewhat refreshing to find two All Blacks who are late developers in the vehicle accreditation department. Better late than never.
Tatts not all: Topless Warriors bare more
Jockey may have clean-cut Dan Carter, but Bendon, the lingerie company co-owned by Eric Watson's Cullen Investments, has opted for heavily inked Warriors Shaun Johnson, Sam Tomkins and Manu Vatuvei to plug the company's smalls.
In an intimate photoshoot taken on Monday by acclaimed photographer Graeme Murray, the new Bendon Man campaign uses the buff, tattooed torsos of the rugby league stars. Think David Beckham's swimwear collaboration with Swedish retailer H&M last month, in which his famous tattoos are completely on show.
The Diary got an exclusive inside peek, and let's just say, er, tatts impressive.
The shoot was co-ordinated by Bendon's Sydney agency. A company rep said Bendon Man sponsor the Vodafone Warriors team and Vatuvei individually. Tomkins, who is an ambassador for Heinz Big Soup and Shock Doctor, is set to be announced as a Bendon ambassador soon, along with Johnson.
Shaun Johnson, Sam Tonkins and Manu Vatuvei plug Bendon's smalls in Auckland.
New Zealand-born director and Oscar-winning screenwriter Jane Campion is on the verge of closing a deal to direct the film version of The Flamethrowers, the second novel from American author Rachel Kushner, she told the Guardian this week. But it's her views on the gender imbalance in movies that's raised eyebrows.
Campion, the president of the upcoming Cannes film festival jury, confesses that men prefer to work with men when it comes to commercial deals in the industry.
"At film schools the gender balance is about 50/50. Women do really well in short-film competitions. It's when business and commerce and art come together; somehow men trust men more."
She says things need to change. "My feeling is we need an Abraham Lincoln figure to get in there, and say - especially when it comes to public money - it has to be equal."
But Campion believes female filmmakers should just get on with the job of making great movies, not think about an ideological imbalance.
"Film-making is not about whether you're a man or a woman; it's about sensitivity and hard work and really loving what you do. But women are going to tell different stories - there would be many more stories in the world if women were making more films."
Director Jane Campion has stirred up the gender debate. Photo / AP
Who wears the pantsuit?
The unexpected breakout star of the week is Karen Price, aka Mrs David Cunliffe. When she's not tending to bees and chickens, or baking pikelets and making jam, she's flying Cessnas and battling environmental law.
With two male egos vying for attention on Monday night's Campbell Live, it was Kazza who stole the limelight and viewers' hearts. She connected with the audience in an unflappable, authentic way. Proving, like Hillary Clinton when Bill ran for office, she's an effective secret weapon. So valuable, in fact, political wits joke Murray McCully is soon to offer Ms Price a plush diplomatic job.
Shane's next steps
Shane Taurima felt he'd been vindicated by the TVNZ report on Monday, but Labour's ruling council ruled otherwise. They rejected his candidacy for Tamaki Makaurau selection by not granting him a waiver. The Labour Party don't want him, and TVNZ has shut the door on a return to broadcasting. Taurima's a man without a political future. Or, as Aaron Gilmore would say, "Got the T-shirt".
