Bride of the Conchord - McKenzie marries childhood sweetheart
Sunday Mar 22, 2009
Buckle up and prepare for landing
That's it, ladies - both Conchords have flown.
Bret McKenzie, one half of the Flight of the Conchords duo, has left singledom behind and broken hearts all over the world by tying the knot with his childhood sweetheart Hannah Clarke in a small ceremony at a Wellington registry office.
The couple are expecting their first child in July.
Bret McKenzie (R) has married long-term girlfriend Hannah Clarke.
Fellow Conchord Jemaine Clement married actress Miranda Manasiadis in Los Angeles earlier this year, after welcoming a son in October.
Bret's father, Peter McKenzie, said Wednesday's modest wedding of just 25 guests was full of their closest friends and family, including a number of people involved with Flight of the Conchords who had flown from America.
After the ceremony, guests enjoyed drinks at Wellington's Hawthorne cocktail bar, co-owned by McKenzie's brothers Jonathan and Justin, before dinner at Polo in Miramar.
"It was a very small, close wedding and it was just a great occasion," said Peter McKenzie. "Hannah looked beautiful in a lovely dress and she was beaming for the entire day.
"They didn't want it to be a public event so everything was low-key."
Bret and Jemaine played in a charity tennis match in Wellington on Friday, featuring oversized racquets. Bret told one reporter: "I got married two days ago and this is part of my honeymoon. It is a dream come true. My wife is quite disappointed about the honeymoon scenario."
The couple are relaxing in New Zealand before the boys are called back to work to kick off the Conchords' US tour.
"I don't know if I'd call it a honeymoon," said Peter McKenzie. "Their whole life is a honeymoon!"
McKenzie and Clarke started dating while at Victoria University, but his father said they knew each other "long before they started dating".
The couple met Clement while at university, and they flatted together in a run-down Mt Victoria house.
A few years and a couple of small gigs later, the comedic parody Flight of the Conchords was born, shooting to international fame after HBO picked up the series.
It wasn't long before they were nominated for an Emmy, won a Grammy, and multiple New Zealand awards in 2008.
Clarke, a publicist for Weta Digital, has filmed her own documentary, Flight of the Conchords: On Air, which gives a rare insight into the private lives of the duo on the cusp of worldwide stardom.
Jan 2009
Flight of the Conchords are pleased to announce a 2009 Spring US Tour!
Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday & Saturday, February 6th and 7th, but as a very special Flight of the Conchords fan you have access to the exclusive pre-sale beginning this Monday, February 2nd at 10 AM.
Use this link to your city's venue and enter the password "sugalumps."
4/06/09 – Tampa, FL – Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
4/07/09 – Coral Gables, FL – University of Miami BankUnited Center
4/08/09 – Orlando, FL – UCF Arena
4/10/09 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
4/11/09 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
4/13/09 – Washington, D.C. - Constitution Hall
4/14/09 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
4/17/09 – Boston, MA – Agganis Arena
4/18/09 – Philadelphia, PA – Tower Theatre (2 shows)
4/19/09 – Kent, OH – Kent State University
4/21/09 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
4/22/09 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
4/24/09 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
4/25/09 – Bloomington, IN – IU Auditorium
4/26/09 – Madison, WI – Overture Center for the Arts
4/28/09 – Chicago, IL – Aerie Crown
4/30/09 – St. Louis, MO – Fox Theatre
5/02/09 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre (2 shows)
5/03/09 – Minneapolis, MN – Northrop Auditorium ^ (no listing as yet)
5/05/09 – Dallas, TX – Nokia Theatre
5/06/09 – Houston, TX – Jones Hall
5/07/09 – Austin, TX – Bass Concert Hall
5/10/09 – Vancouver, BC – Center in Vancouver for the Performing Arts
5/11/09 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
5/12/09 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
5/14/09 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
5/16/09 – Denver, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
5/17/09 – Salt Lake City, UT – Abravanel, Hall
5/19/09 – Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theatre
5/20/09 – San Diego, CA – RIMAC Arena
5/22/09 – Santa Barbara, CA – County Bowl
5/23/09 – Las Vegas, NV – The Joint
5/24/09 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
5/25/09 – Berkeley, CA – Berkeley Community Theatre (2 shows)
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS
Read this webpage here for official gig listings page
SPECIAL GUESTS
Kristen Schaal
Eugene Mirman
Arj Barker
Iron & Wine AND Arj Barker
Dec 2008
Flight Of The Conchords! Premieres January 18th!
Not that it's a surprise, but the official announcement that "Flight of the Conchords" will premiere on HBO on January 18th, just makes the world even more sweeter than it was after election night. It's real. The boys are coming back.
Conchords fans miffed by online snubbing
4:00AM Sunday Dec 21, 2008
Rebecca Lewis
Kiwi fans are upset at having missed out on an exclusive preview of the Conchords' new series. Photo / Supplied
Furious Flight of the Conchords fans have hurled abuse at the show's producers for restricting a sneak peek at the second series to US audiences.
A preview of the premiere episode was on comedy website Funny or Die this week ahead of the show's return to American screens in January.
The marketing ploy was heavily promoted, with a clock counting down the seconds until the clip went live. But international fans were only told they would not be able to view the clip just minutes before the countdown reached zero.
Hundreds of irate viewers - many from New Zealand - posted comments on the website claiming it was "mad" and "arrogant" the preview couldn't be seen in the country the show's stars hail from.
One wrote: "A brother Kiwi should be able to see these idiots in action. Corporate shite."
Another said: "What is up with the whole US-only thing! People around the world love these guys! Especially down here in NZ where they are from!!"
Another said it was unfair to lure people to the website with the promise of a preview, only to reveal the truth minutes before it was due to screen: "I'm not mad that we can't watch it ... I'm mad that we weren't made aware of this until 2am my time... until the moment it was released on the website."
The website, managed by Hollywood star Will Ferrell, of Old School and Anchorman fame, posted a response from the show's producers, US pay-per-view channel HBO, on Friday. They explained the preview could only be played in the US for legal and contractual reasons.
"Trust us, we all want the whole world to be able to watch Flight of the Conchords. To be honest, legally we only have rights to stream the video in the US, but there will be other opportunities internationally to watch it.
"International fans please check your local providers for additional details regarding when the episode will be broadcast in your area."
Expectations for the second series were raised after the show's creators, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, picked up a Grammy award for best comedy album in February.
The first series is a huge hit on DVD around the world and co-star Rhys Darby is in demand, starring with Jim Carrey in Yes Man, due for release in New Zealand on January 1.
But Clement, McKenzie and Darby have all spoken of concerns about whether the second series would be as good as the first.
A Prime spokeswoman says the second series will screen here early in the new year.
From NZ Herald here
Conchords star welcomes son
9:51AM Wednesday Nov 05, 2008
'Flight of the Conchords' star Jemaine Clement and his wife are celebrating the birth of their first child. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Flight of the Conchords comedian Jemaine Clement has become a father.
Clement's wife, Wellington actress and playwright Miranda Manasiadis, gave birth to a son, Sophocles Iraia Manasiadis Clement, last month in New York.
Clement was filming the second season of the hit Conchords series in New York at the time.
Sophocles is believed to have been named after one of Manasiadis's Greek grandfathers. While Iraria is the name of one of Clement's grandparents.
The couple married in Los Angeles earlier this year.
source- NZPA NZ Herald
The Pussycat Dolls are in love with Flight of the Conchords
Pussycat Dolls Jessica Sutta and Nicole Scherzinger
Wed, 22 Oct 2008 1:09a.m.
Play the Video Here!
The Pussycat Dolls have confessed a love for Kiwi comedy folk duo Flight of the Conchords while speaking with 3 News Entertainment Reporter Kate Rodger.
The all-girl pop group who are behind such hits as 'Don't Cha' and 'When I Grow Up' laughed when speaking of their fondness for Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement's band and HBO television show.
"The greatest thing ever to come out of New Zealand is Flight of the Conchords," said lead vocalist Nicole Scherzinger. "They're just the greatest things ever since… sliced cheese. Flight of the Conchords - I love you!
"I wanna be one of their girlfriends. They always have the coolest girlfriends that are always like riding bikes past fountains and stuff, or sharing pizza."
When asked if they had to choose between the two, Jessica Sutta said immediately: 'Jemaine', while Scherzinger confessed: "I like Brit".
'Brit' is how the name 'Bret' sounds to Americans when spoken with a New Zealand accent, something which was the subject of a joke in the Flight of the Conchords TV show.
see it here at 3 News
Conchords call time on popular TV show
4:00AM Sunday Aug 31, 2008
Michelle Coursey
Bret McKenzie (L) says season two of Flight of the Conchords is likely to be the last. Photo / Supplied
Related NZHerald links:
Critics saddened at Conchords' failure to fly
The Conchords' flight to fame
Conchords nominated for three Emmys
Conchords bigger than the mighty Finn
Review: Flight of the Conchords
Kiwi comedy duo Flight of the Conchords will be only making one more season of their award-winning sitcom.
Fans are sure to be disappointed, but Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie have told British music magazine Q two seasons will almost certainly be the end.
The first series of the quirky show has aired in the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, but the twosome said they were struggling with "a difficult second series" during an interview for Q.
"We've got a lot of half-songs," said Clement. "We've got an album's worth of beginnings of songs."
McKenzie revealed this series, made up of 10 new episodes, would likely be the last. "The second series seems to me like it would be a good end to the show. I feel like another 10... that will be enough."
If the sitcom finishes after this run, it will find itself in good company alongside Ricky Gervais' award-winning comedies, The Office and Extras, which ended leaving fans wanting more after two seasons.
Clement and McKenzie have been pursuing other avenues, including auditioning for movies.
McKenzie told Q he had applied for a part in a film adaptation of the Justice League of America.
Flight of the Conchords, which screened on Prime, has brought the Kiwi men international acclaim, along with winning a Grammy award for best comedy album.
Clement and McKenzie attribute much of their success to the series - including landing a booking for one of the biggest comedy gigs the world has seen, playing to 20,000 people in London's new O2 arena in January.
Rock royalty including The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Justin Timberlake and Neil Diamond have played at the arena which opened last year.
Heralded by Q as "the funniest thing to be found right now both on stage and TV," the Kiwis were low key about the achievement.
"I think having a TV show helps fill a big venue," Clement said. "We have seen how powerful TV can be."
The pair are now based in Los Angeles where they have been performing to sell-out audiences in venues such as the Orpheum Theatre and the Amoeba Music record store, where they attracted more fans than than Paul McCartney's visit.
Q celebrated the Grammy-award winning pair as the "cult hit of the moment," putting them on a level with Brit musical comedians The Mighty Boosh, and Hollywood actor Jack Black's band Tenacious D.
The performance at O2 will see the pair return to the UK, where they first gained worldwide acclaim.
Appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival saw them nominated for the festival's Perrier Award in 2003, and they performed a six-part BBC Radio 2 series in 2005.
The Welsh narrator of the radio show, comedian Rob Brydon, compared the duo's lyrics to "the wit of Paul Simon or Bob Dylan" when interviewed by Q.He said: "Musical genre spoofs are hardly the world's freshest concept, but much of Flight of the Conchords' success is attributable to the robustness of their songwriting."
NZHerald
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