sitting still was never enough

This December, Wellington will once again play host to some of Hollywood’s biggest names at the premiere of Peter Jackson’s latest film The Lovely Bones.

The film, which releases in New Zealand cinemas on December 26th, will have its New Zealand Premiere on Monday 14th December at Wellington’s renowned Embassy Theatre.

In addition to Writer/Producer/Director Peter Jackson, also expected on the red carpet are some of the film’s stars including Saoirse Ronan, Susan Sarandon, Rose McIver and Carolyn Dando.

Paramount Pictures New Zealand Managing Director Peter Garner commented: “We are thrilled to welcome the cast of The Lovely Bones to Wellington; the home of film in New Zealand. The Lovely Bones is anticipated to be one of the finest films to be released in recent years and the attendance of high profile cast members only goes to show their faith in this landmark film.

“Peter Jackson is a visionary director and always draws the finest performances from his cast. We are very excited for the public of New Zealand to see this amazing film.”

The Lovely Bones is based on the bestselling novel of the same by Alice Sebold and was adapted for the screen by Peter Jackson and long-time writing partners Fran Walsh and Philipa Boyens.

The film stars Academy Award ® Nominee Mark Wahlberg, Academy Award® Winner Rachel Weisz, Academy Award® Winner Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Academy Award® Nominee Saoirse Ronan as well as New Zealand actresses Rose McIver and Carolyn Dando.

Fans will have the opportunity to see the stars and collect autographs on the red carpet.

Media release – Wellington City Council
Mayor Kerry Prendergast said she was delighted with the news that the New Zealand premiere of Peter Jackson’s film The Lovely Bones will be held in Wellington on 14 December.

“It’s fantastic news. Wellington does these things so well, as we know from the success of the Lord of the Rings and King Kong premieres. When we roll out the red carpet, we know it’s going to be an occasion to remember,” Mayor Prendergast said.

“This is a great way to celebrate the achievements of Peter Jackson, who has done so much for this city, and I know Wellingtonians will turn out to cheer him on.

“It has been four years since King Kong, our last big premiere, so I know there will be a real buzz about this. It will be a fantastic showcase for Wellington.”

Mayor Prendergast said she was disappointed she would not be able to attend the premiere because she will be at the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen.

“I know Wellington will do Peter proud. I think we can guarantee him, his stars and everyone on the red carpet a never-to-be forgotten Wellington experience.”

Parliament will receive annual reports about victims of crime services under a Ministry of Justice proposal.

It has released a discussion paper setting out suggested improvements to the system, saying that failure to recognise the harm crime imposes on victims may cause them to become disillusioned and even withdraw their co-operation.

One of the proposals is to establish the position of Complaints Officer, who would report to Parliament each year on the number of complaints received, the agencies which incurred complaints and how matters were rectified.

Another is to set up a Victims' Services Centre in the ministry which would be a central point of contact for victims.

The paper said victims found it frustrating having to deal with multiple government agencies to get information about the criminal justice system, their rights, and how to access services.

It said there were "weak mechanisms" to ensure criminal justice agencies were accountable for the services they delivered to victims.

"Many find the current criminal justice processes bewildering. Victims often feel they do not have any role in the criminal case involving them and do not know what is happening," the paper said.

"Many processes in the criminal justice system, need to be more receptive to victims' needs."

The ministry wants public feedback on its suggestions and the deadline for submissions is the end of March next year.

After that it will work out a set of proposals to put to the Government. Any changes would require amendments to the law, which would go through the legislation process with submissions to a select committee.

What do cats do when their owners are away? There was one way to find out - cat cams.

Fifty house cats in the US were given collar cameras that took a photo every 15 minutes. The results put a digital dent in some human theories about catnapping.

Based on the photos, about 22 percent of the cats' time was spent looking out of windows, 12 percent was used to interact with other family pets and 8 percent was spent climbing on chairs or kitty condos. Just 6 percent of their hours were spent sleeping.

"What surprised me was how active the cats were. I believed my three cats were sleeping during the day," said Jill Villarreal, an animal behaviour scientist who collected the data for Nestle Purina PetCare's Friskies brand of cat food.

The 777 photos studied by Villarreal showed the cats looking at a television, computer, DVDs or other media 6 percent of the time and hiding under tables 6 percent of the time.

Coming in at 5 percent was playing with toys; eating or looking at food finished at 4 percent.

Will the cats get movie cameras next? "We are in the think tank now," Villarreal said.

Artist Guido Daniele who has specialized in body artwork. His hand painting which he dubs as ‘Handimals‘ is appreciated around the world.