Hot retiree action for film

NICOLA RUSSELL

ACTION: Nellie Van Gisbergen, 82, Cotterill, 84, Arthur Vivian, 83, and Judith Sherborne 54, with Kelly Rice.

They are not your typical film stars but the residents of the Mt Eden Gardens Retirement Village may just steal the show.

The Auckland group, whose ages range from 57 to 87 and includes Jude Sherborne, who is blind, are actors in a short film being made by event co-ordinator Kelly Rice for the 48-hour Furious Filmmaking event.

From 7pm on Friday night until 7pm tonight, hundred of teams throughout New Zealand are racing time to write, direct, edit and submit a short film.

Rice is delighted her team of actors wanted to take part. "I was super stoked ... this is something their grandchildren, nephews and nieces will be able to go `far out, look'."

Rice's team – "Only the Bad Die Old" – jumped at the chance to be involved.

"This is new to me. I have never been in a film before but you are only young once, aren't you." said Arthur Vivian, 83.

Rice: "Deep down, no matter what age, we all want to be singers and actors."

Film-makers are allocated genres to work in and Rice, who is the sole writer, director, camera operator and editor for the project, was handed the action genre on Friday night.

Pixie Kennedy was the most at home with that style of film: "I'm a little different than the rest."

Rice: "She likes action adventure, anything with hunky men and guns."

"I don't know about the men. That sounds exhausting," said Kennedy, who turned 87 last month.

Janet Irwin, 82, may have preferred a romantic tragedy. Her favourite film of all time is Anthony and Cleopatra. "My son sent me the video of it from England in black and white. It's absolutely stunning."

The first film Shirley Cotterill ever went to was a screening of Gone with the Wind at St James Cinema in Queen St, Auckland. "We had to go over two nights because it was so long."

Sherborne has ideas of her own: "It'll be a laugh a minute. Will it be anything like Fawlty Towers?"

"Anything is possible, Jude, with you in it," said Rice. "There will be a lot of gags, because these people are naturally funny."

www.v48hours.co.nz/2012 

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