New Zealand Academy of Film & Television Arts, PO Box 47761 Ponsonby Auckland
MEDIA RELEASE

THE TV GUIDE NEW ZEALAND TELEVISION AWARDS - RESULTS

Undercover cop show LAWLESS dominates drama awards
Lifetime Achievement Award for Selwyn Toogood
Liz Gunn Best Presenter

The South Pacific Pictures undercover cop drama Lawless won five awards - best drama programme, actress (Angela Dotchin); supporting actor (Joel Tobeck); director, drama and contribution to a soundtrack - at the TV Guide New Zealand Television Awards.

The awards were presented on Saturday November 20 at the Wellington Town Hall in a glittering black tie gala ceremony hosted by Stephanie Tauevihi. (Full list of winners follows)

Best drama series was awarded to Xena: Warrior Princess, which also won best design and contribution to design. Michael Hurst won best director, comedy and Willa O'Neill won best supporting actress for an episode of Pacific Renaissance Pictures' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

Cliff Curtis won best actor for The Chosen, which also won best camera (Allen Guilford).

Best Presenter is Liz Gunn, decided by TV Guide readers' votes.

The entertainment and comedy section was spread, with best comedy or entertainment performer Pio and entertainment series Popstars, entertainment programme Montana NZ Wearable Art Awards and comedy programme ICE TV. Best documentary was awarded to The Five of Us and best lifestyle series was Backch@t, which also won last year.

Waka Huia was again best Maori language programme with the new award, best Maori programme awarded to the documentary Otara: Defying the Odds. Best children's programme was also won by a Maori programme, Tumeke.

The organising body of the awards, the Academy of Film and Television Arts, awarded a special lifetime achievement award to Selwyn Toogood, now 83, to celebrate his 50 years of great popularity in television and radio.

AFTA chairperson Judy Callingham says, "Selwyn has been a star since before most of us were born. He started in radio in 1946 and was still on television on 50 Forward until about three years ago. He holds a very special place in the hearts of most New Zealanders and we could think of no-one more appropriate to receive the first AFTA Lifetime Achievement Award."

In his acceptance speech, which was recorded earlier and played on video at the ceremony, Selwyn paid tribute to his wife, Cynthia, with whom he celebrated fifty-one years of marriage this year.

"It was Cynnie who had to put up with all my time away from home, bringing up the children. And she made a good fist of that," says Selwyn. "Cynnie was a great support to me. Without her support, I just couldn't have done it."

The 90 finalists in 31 categories were selected from 335 entries by judging panels of expert industry professionals, with a special final jury deciding the winner in five categories (best drama programme, drama series, entertainment programme, entertainment series and best documentary).

The final jury was chaired by London-based expatriate creative director of Universal Studios Networks Michael Barry. The jurors were producer Fiona Copland (Topless Women Talk About Their Lives); Sky Television director of marketing and programming John McCready and producer, performer, politician and academic Ella Henry.

The Academy is supported by Air New Zealand, the New Zealand Film Commission and Panavision New Zealand with industry support from Greenstone Pictures, Ninox Films, South Pacific Pictures, and sponsorship from The TV Guide, TVNZ, Wellington City Council, Sky Television, TV3, Hutt City, Digital Post, Kodak New Zealand, Broadcast Communications Ltd, Pacific Renaissance Pictures, Waitakere City, Atlab New Zealand, The Academy of Film and Television Make Up, Henderson Rental Cars, Sony Digital BETACAM, Russell McVeagh, Te Mangai Paho.

The TV Guide New Zealand Television Awards 1999

WINNERS (in show order)

ACADEMY OF FILM & TELEVISION MAKE UP BEST CONTRIBUTION TO DESIGN Phil Chitty, Construction Manager Xena, Warrior Princess

BEST COSTUME DESIGN Barbara Darragh Greenstone

BEST DESIGN Robert Gillies Xena, Warrior Princess

HENDERSON RENTAL CARS BEST ENTERTAINMENT OR COMEDY PERFORMANCE Pio Terei Pio

BEST ENTERTAINMENT SERIES Popstars Jonathan Dowling for Essential Productions

BEST ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME Montana NZ Wearable Art Awards 98 John A Givins, Richard Hansen for Livingstone Productions

ATLAB NEW ZEALAND BEST CAMERA Allen Guilford The Chosen

DIGITAL POST BEST EDITING Bryan Shaw Wella Fashion Report

HUTT CITY BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Willa O¹Neill Hercules - the Legendary Journeys

HUTT CITY BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Joel Tobeck Lawless

BEST LIFESTYLE SERIES Backch@t Gordon Harcourt for the Gibson Group

SONY DIGITAL BETACAM BEST FACTUAL SERIES Epitaph John Harris for Greenstone Pictures BEST CONTRIBUTION TO A SOUNDTRACK Chris Burt, Sound Designer Lawless

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC Neville Copland Dolphins of the Shadowland

BEST CHILDREN¹S PROGRAMME Tumeke Nicole Hoey, Hone Edwards

BEST COMEDY PROGRAMME ICE TV Jude Anaru, Stephen J Campbell for TV3

SKY TELEVISION BEST SPORTS PROGRAMME Kelloggs Nutri-Grain Surf League Final Chris Gurr for Event Television

THE TV GUIDE BEST PRESENTER Liz Gunn

BEST FACTUAL PROGRAMME OR DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT Colin Hogg Crump

BEST COMEDY SCRIPT James Griffin Double Booking

PACIFIC RENAISSANCE PICTURES BEST DRAMA SCRIPT Niki Caro and Rachel Lang Jacksons Wharf

RUSSELL McVEAGH BEST MAORI PROGRAMME Otara - Defying the Odds Rhonda Kite for Wai Ata Productions

TE MANGAI PAHO BEST MAORI LANGUAGE PROGRAMME Waka Huia Tainui Stephens for TVNZ Production

NZAFTA AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Selwyn Toogood

BROADCAST COMMUNICATIONS LTD BEST DOCUMENTARY The Five Of Us Mark Everton for Communicado

BEST DIRECTOR, FACTUAL PROGRAMME OR DOCUMENTARY Amanda Robertshawe My Name Is Jane

BEST DIRECTOR, COMEDY Michael Hurst Hercules - the Legendary Journeys

BEST DIRECTOR, DRAMA Chris Martin-Jones Lawless

WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL BEST ACTRESS Angela Dotchin Lawless

WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL BEST ACTOR Cliff Curtis The Chosen

KODAK NEW ZEALAND BEST DRAMA PROGRAMME Lawless Bruce Sheridan for South Pacific Pictures

WAITAKERE CITY BEST DRAMA SERIES OR SERIAL Xena, Warrior Princess Robert Tapert, Eric Gruendemann, Chloe Smith for Pacific Renaissance Pictures

The New Zealand Academy of Film & Television Arts (AFTA) is an industry-wide organisation comprising the full memberships of all of the following groups. Each group is represented on the AFTA board. Screen Producers and Directors Association (SPADA), NZ Directors Guild, NZ Film & Video Technicians Guild, Nga Aho Whakaari, Women in Film & Television (WIFT), Actors Equity, NZ Writers Guild. AFTA also organises the Nokia New Zealand Film Awards. AFTA Executive Officer: Ali Duffey ph 09 360 6019.

Publicist for AFTA: Sue May ph 025 739 318 or 09 834 7242