Robbie Magasiva.
Opportunities in Oz keeping Magasiva from kids in Auckland.
Former
Shortland Street
star Robbie Magasiva, who left Henderson for Hollywood last year, has now made his home in Melbourne and is shooting a comedy feature film with expat Aussie star Portia de Rossi, the wife of comedienne Ellen DeGeneres.
It's a huge opportunity for Magasiva, who had difficulty breaking into the Hollywood market last year. But the 41-year-old Kiwi tells The Diary work prospects bring personal despair.
"I'm thrilled to get all these great work opportunities in Australia, like Now Add Honey. But, like all hands-on-dads, it's hard to be away from my kids [Austin, 16, and Sophie, 12] and family in Auckland for long periods of time. I miss them. I get homesick," he said.
Magasiva - who has honed his comedic skills with cameos on Jono and Ben at Ten - will play celebrity chef Sebastian Tasi in the movie, a publicist for the production told The Diary.
It's a big stretch from his role as a prison officer in the gritty TV drama Wentworth, but his Johnson Laird agent says Magasiva has wide-ranging versatility. "Robbie is highly valued and very much considered a lead actor in the Australian industry. He's one of New Zealand's most bankable stars."
After Now Add Honey, Magasiva will shoot the second series of Wentworth, also in Melbourne, alongside fellow Kiwis Aaron Jeffrey and Danielle Cormack.
Husband and wife comedy duo Wayne Hope and Robyn Butler are behind Now Add Honey and the TV series Upper Middle Bogan, which starts screening this week on the ABC network in Oz. It stars our Robyn Malcolm in a stereotypical Westie role.
Incidentally, Malcolm will return to our small screens next year in Agent Anna. The scripted comedy series - which will grow from six to 10 episodes - has been commissioned again for TVNZ with the help of $2.4 million from New Zealand on Air.
Queue for Smalley's job
"There's no shortage of people to replace Rachel Smalley," TV3 news boss Mark Jennings told The Diary this week.
TV3 won't change the format of Firstline but are looking at tweaking the show. But who will play host? Network stars Simon Shepherd, Emma Jolliffe, Hamish Clark and Sam Hayes have filled in for Smalley - and all four are in the running.
"But we could look outside, too," Jennings says, but won't elaborate. He indicates people have been quick to put their hand up for the gig. "People from TVNZ ... and other networks." He means Sky.
Martin's parody video a hit
Making a spoof video on the Funny or Die website is a mark you've made it in Hollywood.
Time
magazine describes it as "a celebrity magnet to rival
Vanity Fair
's Oscar party". And Martin Henderson, of the
Shorty St
alumni, is one of those celebrities.
The 38-year-old's Hollywood career has taken off since top-lining in Off The Map, which lasted one season on ABC in 2011. He completed filming the movie Devil's Knot alongside Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth, and this week was cast as the lead actor in The Red Road, a hard-hitting, six-episode TV drama for the Sundance Channel.
From Muppets to monsters
Flight of the Conchords star Bret McKenzie is writing a movie with "singing dragons and monsters", he told Collider.com. He will re-team with The Muppets director James Bobin on a new "fairytale comedy musical, sort of akin to Labyrinth", he said.
It's early days and details are scarce, but McKenzie revealed he's in the middle of penning a script with, as yet, no working title.
How long until LOTR gets a trilling remake?
Celeb fan club swells
Much has been made about our teenage singing sensation Lorde and her gaggle of celebrity admirers. Selena Gomez and Carly Rae Jepsen have joined her fan club. Now she can boast Vanessa Hudgens, Emma Watson, Chloe Moretz, Jimmy Kimmel, Rumer Willis, Jared Leto and Perez Hilton as devotees, too.
Lorde's NY and LA shows last week were sell-outs. Hilton was suitably effusive, blogging: "Hollywood came out to get a glimpse of the New Zealand pop performer, with lines outside LA's Echoplex circling the block hours before Lorde even took to the stage. Clearly, Lorde has arrived!!!"
The Australian site cited a 'heightened threat level' as the issue.