Woman’s Day New Zealand – September 02, 2019

RUNAWAY

MILLIONAIRES,

SUNDAY,8.30PM,

TVNZ 1

Aroletodyefor!

Jesshopestoshow

a morehumanside

toKara’sstory.

TheKiwistar talksabout her

million-dollarreal-liferole

Q&A

I

t wasa storythatmade

headlines around the

world: In 2009, a young

couple escaped New

Zealand with a fortune after

an accidental bank transaction.

Kiwi actress Jess Sayer,

who steps into the shoes

of runaway millionaire Kara

Hurring for the TV movie,

chats to Woman’s Day about

what it’s like working on such

a fascinating true story.

Had you heard Kara’s story

before landing this part?

I actually hadn’t! But the minute

my agent sent the brief through,

I was on Google, devouring as

much as I could.

What was it like meeting her

in person?

It was surreal. I’d just had my hair

dyed to match hers, so when I

walked into the producers’RIƂFH,

and Kara was just standing there,

I think we both just started

giggling. I was so nervous,

because I’d come to respect

and admire her so much. I felt

like I knew her even though

we’d never met. But she just

hugged me and then it was

easy. We started talking like old

friends and it was really quite

special. I’d spent a few years in

Rotorua and as we talked, we

sort of realised the time we’d

spent there had a very similar

impact on both our lives. That

ZDVFRROƂQGLQJDZD\LQWR

each other.

Do you feel any pressure

to be playing a role that is

someone’s real-life story?

It’sa bigresponsibilityplaying

someonewho is still alive,

especially someone who other

people have a lot of personal

feelings about. It was important

for me to reveal what I had

learned about Kara, both through

the script and through meeting

her in person. It was good that

I didn’t know about Kara’s story.

Lots of people I’ve spoken to

have their own opinions, but

I came into the process very

open-minded.

What’s been the highlight

of working on this project?

It’s hard to single anything out

because the entire shoot was

just the best process I’ve ever

been part of. Everyone involved

was incredible, full of love and

respect for the story. I’ve made

some beautiful friends for life.

There’s this scene we shot,

where Kara’s just been locked

in this awful little prison cell.

She’s heavily pregnant, Leo’s

abandoned her, she’s exhausted,

WHUULƂHGDQGVHSDUDWHGIURP

her daughter – and if all that

isn’t enough, she has to go to

the toilet in a bucket. From the

minute I read the script, that

particular scene just stuck with

me. I remember putting the

script down and having to have

a little cry.

The million dollar question:

What would you have

done if you found that

money in your account?

Considering I can’t even

drive past a police car

without worrying I’ve done

something wrong, I’d be

straight on the phone trying

togiveitback!

KERCHING!

N

ewZealandtakescentre

VWDJH LQ WKH QHZ 1HWƃL[

rom-com Falling Inn

LoveZKLFKZDVƂOPHG

in Thames. To celebrate the chick

ƃLFN’s release, we

take a look back at

some of the ƂOPV

shot on our shores.

FALLING

INN LOVE,

THURSDAY

ON NETFLIX

JESS’ MONEY MATTERS

THE REAL

KARA

THE LOVELY BONES

(2009)

Based on the popular novel of

the same name, this supernatural

drama was directed by Peter

Jackson and stars Saoirse Ronan

as Susie Salmon, a missing girl

who watches over her family

from the afterlife.

AVATAR (2009)

This movie won three Oscars

and broke box-RIƂFHUHFRUGV

New Zealand’s very own

Weta Digital was tasked

with creating the computer-

generated scenes and some

of the real-life elements were

shot in Wellington.

WHALE RIDER

(2002)

The Oscar-nominated Kiwi

ƃLFN, starring Keisha Castle-

Hughes is still a favourite.

Filmed in the East Coast

town of Whangara, the story

follows Pai, a young Maori

girl who challenges tradition.

A LANDSCAPE MADE FOR MOVIES ...

COOLTHINGSTOWATCH,READ,HEAR

ANDDOWNLOADTHISWEEK!

BE ENTERTAINED!