March 2010 Archives

The Vancouver Institute of Media Arts (VanArts) is the center where Lucy studied acting in 1991. Specifically at The William Davis Centre for Actors' Study.

Acting grad Lucy Lawless stars in new hit TV series Spartacus
Mar 29, 2010

Acting graduate Lucy Lawless is starring in the new hit TV series Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

The William Davis Centre for Actors’ Study was founded in 1989 by well known actor, director and teacher William B. Davis. It has been a landmark for actor’s study in Vancouver and is now part of VanArts.

Highlights of our 9-month full-time diploma program include:

-professional training in acting for both camera and stage, to widen your career opportunities.

-interaction with other VanArts departments (voice-overs for Animation, acting for Visual FX shoots, and professional headshots by Digital Photography)

START DATES IN MARCH and SEPTEMBER!

You graduate with:
• A diploma
• A professional demo reel, headshot and resume
• Industry contacts and job search strategies

Click here for more

Stuff.co.nz has an article about how some New Zealand celebrities master the American accent and it rates them. Naturally Lucy's name came up and this is what D'Arcy Smith, the senior voice and speech tutor at Toi Whakaari, the New Zealand Drama School said about Lucy's American accent:

Lucy Lawless

Rating: 9/10

Throughout the second half of the 1990s, Lucy Lawless' portrayal of Xena, the warrior princess with the heaving leather breastplate, won her legions of fans, and she has become one of New Zealand's biggest acting exports.

She may have retained her Kiwi twang, even though she now spends most of her time in Los Angeles, but her accent in Xena impressed Smith no end.

A general American accent, he says, is taught in acting schools across the United States. Some American actors laugh at the idea that they should learn how to speak in the accent of their own country, Smith says.

"I had students from Kentucky and Atlanta, where it was the furthest thing possible for them. It was a huge change for them to suddenly put on those sounds."

Lawless' rendition of it is textbook, says Smith.

"It's so spot on that it's almost eerie, to the point where you wonder if this is a real person. She sounds as if she was a Shakespearean actor or something before she did this.

"No American really talks like this, because it's so perfect."

His only criticism is that her Rs are a bit weak.

Read More

Xena Warrior Princess Season 1 DVD ReRelease
Ships April 20.

Make way for one of the fiercest and most dynamic woman warriors to ever grace the TV screen as all 24 Season One episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess come to DVD. Lucy Lawless is Xena: a smart, tough, and fearless fighter who travels the dangerous roads of Ancient Greece defending the innocent from the forces of darkness and seeking redemption for her cruel misdeeds of the past. Along for the adventures is her devoted friend Gabrielle (Renée O'Connor), a compassionate girl who hopes to be a warrior one day, and other legendary figures, including the formidable Hercules (guest star Kevin Sorbo). Combining impressive displays of mythology, fantasy, and martial arts, it?s an iconic show that set the bar for all female action heroes.

Starring: Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor

Disc 1

* Run Time: 2 Hours and 57 Minutes
* MPAA Rating: Not Rated (N/A)
* Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
* Subtitles: English SDH
* Picture: Full Frame (1.33:1)
* Color

Disc 2

* Run Time: 3 Hours and 42 Minutes
* MPAA Rating: Not Rated (N/A)
* Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
* Subtitles: English SDH
* Picture: Full Frame (1.33:1)
* Color

Disc 3

* Run Time: 3 Hours and 42 Minutes
* MPAA Rating: Not Rated (N/A)
* Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
* Subtitles: English SDH
* Picture: Full Frame (1.33:1)
* Color

Disc 4

* Run Time: 3 Hours and 42 Minutes
* MPAA Rating: Not Rated (N/A)
* Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
* Subtitles: English SDH
* Picture: Full Frame (1.33:1)
* Color

Disc 5

* Run Time: 3 Hours and 41 Minutes
* MPAA Rating: Not Rated (N/A)
* Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
* Subtitles: English SDH
* Picture: Full Frame (1.33:1)
* Color

Hi folks,

I'm beyond stoked with the figures I was tallying last night. Beyond stoked. Here are the prelim figures for Starship & ROC Outreach Fund.

Starship Foundation
$ 11,917.74 NZD (that figure will rise with some late sales and some donations)

ROC OutReach Fund
$3,240.82 USD

Lucy sent me a message about the wonderful support for the auction.

Holy cow! My god, that is a lot of money! You can be sure that that will go right where it is vitally needed. Thank-you Friends, from the bottom of my heart!I have never worked on a show with a fanbase as giving as the XWP gang. I guess it was the nature of the show and its message that formed such a community.

I am a day wiser today. I had a wonderful birthday and I just realised that that was truly a birthday present to me! Gosh, now I feel all redfaced. I know you all work so hard for every buck you make and I never want to cajole money out of my beloved fans for any reason. I appreciate all you have done for me in my life and career and I truly ask for nothing more from you. But you make these things happen anyway.
On behalf of all my collegues at the Starship Foundation, our great love and thanks to you, dear Friends, dear Nutballs, old Pals!

Thanks to Mary, Christa, Roger and team for making it all go.
I am so touched.
Love always and everywhere,
Lucy

Audio interview with Lucy from 94.5 The Buzz

01-19-10 Lucy Lawless
Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:55:00 -0500

We talk to Lucy Lawless about her new show on Starz called Spartacus: Blood and Sand

Listen to Lucy's podcast

News submitted by Barbara Davies

The birthday girl sent in a new message to her blog about Earth Hour. Earth Hour proved to be quite successful.

Lucy talks about the lights at her place going off.

Read Lucy's Blog

Hi folks,

Well the auction has ended and I want to thank everyone, to those who bid and who won, for their support of this auction. It wouldn't be possible to achieve what we have achieved without your support.

I'll have some figures for you as to how much we have raised for Starship, ROC Outreach Fund and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (Crystal Chappell) over the coming days.

Since the auction software is somewhat new(ish), there were some glitches. Nothing major but some glitches. Thank you all for your patience in regards to this; it did make for an interesting end to the auction.

For those that have won, you would have received an email to let you know how to pay for your item. For those who won items in the ROC OutReach Fund and Crystal Chappell items, you will be getting an invoice from our paypal account in the coming day/s. For those who won Starship items, please follow the directions in the FAQ on how to convert the US$ amount to NZ$ and proceed to payment on the Official Starship site.

Starship will be letting me know towards the end of the week or early next week (as it's Good Friday this coming Friday and it's a public holiday in New Zealand) including Monday, as to payments received. Once I've received their list and matched it with ours, we will begin to mail out the items won.

Payments for the ROC OutReach Fund and Crystal's items will be through paypal. Once payment has been received, the items will be shipped immediately.

Once again it's been an exhilarating, rewarding experience to be a part of this auction and knowing it will make a difference.

Oh behalf of myself and my hard working team (Christa and Roger), thank you for participating in this auction!

MaryD

Is Lucy coming back for Spartacus Season 2? It seems so.

Lucy posted the following in her
blog dated 17 March 2010 on her official fan club site

We are looking forward to having him back kicking Roman ass --better, stronger, faster! Rock on, Andy! In the meantime, I am deciding what to do with myself until Sparty resumes in September. I've got a lot of work to do with Sign-On and Starship continues to be a wonderful focus. Still loving those guys after all these years.

and on the 25 March 2010 Lucy gave an interview to uinterview.com

Q: What are you doing in your time off before you go back to working on Spartacus? - Erik Meers

A: Well, I'm doing sailing lessons today with my kid's school because we live in Auckland, New Zealand, the "city of sails." And I'm having a good life. At some point, I need to get back to work and I'm on the look out for a project to keep me busy in the interim.

Added the scans for the Curve Magazine - April 2010 Issue with the Bitch Slap stars: Erin Cummings, America Olivo and Julia Voth on the cover.

There is a mention of Lucy in the article:

...She also received some tips from lezzie favorites, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor, who reunited for a cameo in the film.

"Lucy was giving me some really funny ideas," Olivo recalls. "We just goofed with it, and played with it, and had a really good time."

Read the full article

For those wondering if the Funny Business DVD from New Zealand had any Lucy content. The answer is yes and there is a special menton at the back of the DVD.

It appears from the photos on the back (I haven't had a chance to watch the DVD yet) that the "corn" skit is on here :) That is hysterical and Lucy is just too funny. I'm hoping also the skit with her as a police woman is on there but I'll have to check.

You can purchase the DVD from Marbecks.co.nz - they have a limited stock

AUSXIP Talking Xena Lucy Chat has got a Lucy Birthday wish list going.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCY!

Leave your birthday wishes for Lucy and these will be passed on to her when the thread is closed on Friday, April 9th. If you are not registered as a TX member, you can still post your message - you will be required to register to send your message.

All birthday wishes will be monitored.

Submit Your Birthday Wishes Here

iF Magazine Interview: LUCY LAWLESS GETS DOWN AND DIRTY IN THE ARENA FOR 'SPARTACUS'

The XENA star talks her new role in the gladiator series, sex scenes, new technology and fans

Lucy Lawless is still dearly beloved for her star turn as XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, which ran in syndication for six years. After doing a whole range of other roles, and touring in concert, Lawless is now playing another woman of the ancient world: Lucretia, wife of to the owner of a gladiator training camp in Starz’s new series SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND.

There are big differences between both the series and the characters, however. Xena fought mostly for good (despite a questionable past) among mythic gods and monsters, and the series was shot on New Zealand locations. Lucretia, like most Romans of her day, believes slaves are less than human and SPARTACUS is darkly dramatic, shot against green screens in New Zealand studios so that epic backgrounds can be supplied by CGI.

Lawless talks with us about both the new show and loyal longtime fans.

Read Full Interview

Lucy was interviewed on uinterview.com about Spartacus Blood and Sand.

U Q&A Lucy Lawless

She was the almighty Xena. Now, Lucy Lawless is having fun in and out of her clothes on Starz' hit Spartacus.

Lucy answers the following questions:

• Have you had a chance to talk to your Spartacus co-star Andy Whitfield since he was diagnosed with cancer? -
• What has been your favorite scene to work on in the show so far?
• Your husband is one of the creators of the show. What does he think about all the nude scenes that you're in?
• You have a merkin [a pubic wig] for the show. Have you gotten to use it?
• They gave the men prosthetics as well. Who's using one?
• In preparation for all these scenes where you get to expose yourself, have you felt the need to go back to the gym and get into fighting shape for the show?
• The show has brought movie-like production values to TV. What's the feedback you've gotten from the network?
• Do you still have a very big following from your Xena days?
• Would you ever consider going back and doing a follow-up to Xena?
• What are you doing in your time off before you go back to working on Spartacus?

Read her answers

Submitted by: Barbara Davies

S1E10 – Favor For Favors

Ep 110 "Party Favors" Lucretia assists Ilithyia in keeping her secret, though requires a favor in return. Friday, 3/26 at 10pm et/pt on Starz.

Click here to watch

Spartacus The Women Part 2

The powerful women of Spartacus Blood and Sand: Lucretia, Illithya, Naevia and Mira.

Click here to watch

Spartacus The Women

The women of Spartacus: Blood and Sand can be just as ruthless and skilled. “Spartacus: Blood and Sand”

The Women - Part 1 here

This short clip shows Lucy Lawless at work while recording the voice of Wonder Woman in the 2008 animated movie “Justice League – New Frontier”

Click here to watch video

Many thanks to Lux from AUSXIP Talking Xena

Instinct Magazine Soapbox: Lucy Lawless Gets The Last Word Tuesday, 23 March 2010

Whether rockin’ the dark hair for Xena or her new red locks on Spartacus, actress Lucy Lawless has kept one identity consistent: she’s a green Kiwi. The native New Zealander is so passionate about helping the planet that she waged a very public campaign to persuade her prime minister to get involved, too. Between being a GLBT ally and a Greenpeace ambassador, we figured there’s no one better to share a little eco insight than Lucy.Read More

News submitted by Barbara Davies

Received the following press release about Curb Your Enthusiasm. There MAY be some extra behind the scenes footage of Lucy. Lucy was in Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 6: Episode 57

The TiVo Guy Airdate: 21 October 2007
This week, a malfunctioning TV device puts Larry David's marriage with Cheryl into a crisis mode in Episode 57: The TiVo Guy. Lucy guest stars as herself.

Episode 9 was THE best episode so far and the ratings are back over a million. Stellar performances by everyone. Katrina Law's debut was outstanding and could have easily been overshadowed by the episode stealing Lucy Lawless (don't you just love Mount Lucretia? Whooshka! Mount Vesuvius had nothing on her!)

Katrina held her own and wasn't overshadowed by the Lucretia and Illythia fireworks. Spartacus has a group of seriously talented actors and superb writing. I recall writing my review for the second episode and I said that there wasn't a dud actor or character amongst this cast...wish I could predict the Lottery just as well!

The whole cast has been an absolute revelation (Lucy being the exception. I've followed her career for 14 years now so it's no big surprise to see her own her character and let rip. Lucy in a group of actors who are just as talented is just manna from heaven. I can't believe this season will end in 4 episodes! By the way is it just me or has Spartacus been a little too docile? Hmm...something to ponder.

The following is by tvbythenumbers.com on Spartacus' ratings for Episode 9 "Whore"

Spartacus: Blood and Sand climbed back over a million viewers and with 1.109 million viewers saw its season and series highs for viewing. As ever, 18-49 viewing has been consistent with a 0.4 adults 18-49 rating.


Date Net Show 18-49 Rating/Share Viewers (Millons)

22-Jan-10 STRZ Spartacus: Blood and Sand .3/1 0.659
29-Jan-10 STRZ Spartacus: Blood and Sand .4/1 0.773
5-Feb-10 STRZ Spartacus: Blood and Sand .4/1 0.858
12-Feb-10 STRZ Spartacus: Blood and Sand .3/1 0.662
19-Feb-10 STRZ Spartacus: Blood and Sand .4/1 0.846
26-Feb-10 STRZ Spartacus: Blood and Sand .4/1 1.078
5-Mar-10 STRZ Spartacus: Blood and Sand .4/1 0.974
12-Mar-10 STRZ Spartacus: Blood and Sand .4/1 0.875
19-Mar-10 STRZ Spartacus: Blood and Sand .4/1 1.109

Read More

Here are the items to appear on the AUSXIP Charity Auction for Starship!
ROC Outreach and Lymphoma society lists to follow.

http://charity.ausxip.com

The auction is now live. AUSXIP operates on Aussie time BUT because many of you are in US time...the auction will operate on US Pacific Standard Time to make it a little easier.

For those wishing it participate in Earth Hour and to honour Lucy on her birthday/anniversary you can now send in your name, city and country to Lucy's official site. Fan's names have started to appear on the site.

Click here for more

AfterElton has the funniest episode recaps..here is the one for Whore.

The episode begins with a mass-sparring session in the ludus. The two hottie German brothers are battling each other, and nearby Spartacus and Blond Favreau are going at it. Attention shippers: the fight ends with Spartacus holding Blondie from behind and whispering, "Your head is mine. How shall I mount it?"

I'm just sayin'.

Meanwhile, Frenemy #1 from the last episode is checking out a gallery of masks with Lucretia Lawless in the villa. Turns out the masks are to hide her identity when she comes back to the villa to get her freak on with Sparty. It turns out Batty runs a full service ludus.

The episode is titled "Whore," and we learn that in addition to fighting in the arena, the gladiators are expected to service noble women who come to the villa. But of course these ladies want anonymity, thus the masks.

Read More

The celebration of Numerius’ 15th birthday brings about unexpected consequences as he is given liberty to control gladiators as if they were his own

Click here to view promo
Click here to view Episode Stills

The BigBoyParty blog has a report about attending the premiere "Sparty party" of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" in New York in January and met Lucy and Andy among others.

Lots of nice pictures are attached to his report.

click here to view report and pics

News submitted by Adi

Lucy Photos on the the official blog of Derek and Romaine on SIRIUS 109 and XM 98.

Photo was taken around January 2010 during the Spartacus PR blitz.

Click here to view larger photo

News submitted by Barbara Davies

hey folks,

Just a few more days to go and the auction will begin (22 March) I've just finished adding all the items in both the Starship and ROC OutReach Fund sections. This year I'm doing things just a little bit differently which should make finding things so much easier!

I've created categories:

1. CD & DVD
2. Collectables
3. Apparel
4. Photos and Posters
5. Magazines & Books

Tomorrow I willl post a list of all items that will be in the auction for both charities.

If you haven't registered for the auction, may I suggest you do so if you wish to participate. Register here

You can now read the Auction FAQ on how the auction works, how to register, how to pay (when you win) for Starship and for the ROC Outreach Fund. Read Here

Enjoy!
MaryD

S1E9 Arrangements Are Made

Ep 109 'Whore' Lucretia arranges an evening between Spartacus and Licinia (Brooke Harman), cousin of the powerful Marcus Crassus.

Watch Video

Lucy has posted a new message on her official site about what's coming up for her this year. Looks like she will be back on Spartacus when filming starts later in the year.

Click here to read Lucy's message

The official Lucy Lawless fan club site has posted the following:

Saturday, March 27th, is Earth Hour. What Earth Hour is, is a worldwide effort to give Mother Nature a breather. How do you take part? Simple, at 8:30pm your time simply cut off any un-necessary uses of electricity in your home, for ONE HOUR. Things like the refrigerator are exempt. But think of what you can turn off. The TV, the computer, any lights that are just on so that your house isn't "in the dark." It's not difficult.

And if you want to send your name/city/country to Sharon at lucylawlessfanclub@dslextreme.com She will make a list and pass it along to Lucy.

The deadline for messages is March 31.

Source

Hi folks,

Many years ago the Xenaverse was blessed with Rob Tapert and USA Studio who allowed us to play without hindrance. They allowed screencaptures and artwork, fanfic to flourish. The internet was in it's infancy in regards to fandom. The Xenaverse grew. USA did have some restrictions like selling images etc which was fair and they came down on a few people but left us all to our copyright infringing happiness because we behaved.

We are not in Kansas anymore kiddies.

Due to the idiocy of some people in posting episodes that haven't been aired, creating artwork from these unaired episodes, etc and giving Starz a jolly good reason to stomp down (as is their right to do so) ALL the fans are now subject to a new ruling that no screencaptures are to be allowed. Now how do you enforce this ruling is beyond me BUT being that Starz has been very kind to AUSXIP and has given me clearance to post episode stills and other media, I have complied with this request. I do not know how Starz will enforce this on the net. IMO it's impossible but that's their decision.

So no more screencaptures for any Spartacus episodes. The official episode stills I have been posting will still be available as AUSXIP has been given that clearance.

Thanks for your time.

MaryD

I've posted over at Lesley-Ann's official fan page, some terrific candid photos of Lesley-Ann and some of her cast mates from Spartacus. Included in the pics is one which includes Lucy.

click here to view (Lucy)
Click here to view the rest of the cast photos

Xena is #11 in AfterEllen's Top 50 Lesbian and Bi Characters poll

In our first annual Top 50 Lesbian and Bi Characters poll, we asked you to vote for your favorite characters from film, television, and internet shows.

You cast your votes, and now we have the results. Before we reveal the winners, let's take a look at some of the trends that emerged.

<snipped>

Also notable was the fact that some of your favorite characters, the leads from Xena: Warrior Princess (which ran from 1995-2001) and Idgie Threadgood from the film Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), were never officially presented as lesbian or bisexual.

Click here for more

UGO has an exclusive interview with Lucy which has some great quotes from Lucy from Xena to Spartacus.

Exclusive: Lucy Lawless on Kicking Ass Through The Ages - From Roman times to Ancient Greece to the Colonial Fleet and everything in-between.

Though Lucy Lawless is best known as Xena: Warrior Princess, she's also starred in everything from Battlestar Galactica, as scheming Cylon D'Anna Biers, to her current lead role in Starz' surprise hit Spartacus: Blood and Sand. We talked with the sci-fi/fantasy icon by phone in New Zealand about getting nude in Roman times, whether she'll show up on Caprica, and just what Xena and Gabrielle are up to now.

Click here to read

News submitted by Barbara Davies

The following scan and translation was submitted by Swania from a German TV Magazine called TV Direkt 12 March 2010

What has become of....?

1995-2001
As sword wielding Warrior Princess Xena she raged trough the ancient world of Greece via Britain to Germania.

2010 Lucy Lawless (41) surfaced as murderous-powerful Lucretia in the US Spartacus the US screens with Blood.

TV star diagnosed with cancer - Herald on Sunday article about Andy's cancer and Lucy.

Herald on Sunday - 14 March 2010

TV star diagnosed with cancer

BRITISH ACTOR Andy Whitfield, 35, who plays the lead in raunchy TV series Spartacus: Blood and Sand is undergoing chemotherapy for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Production has been delayed on the second series which was due to start filming in Auckland from April 26.

Extras casting director Rebecca Rowe sent an email on Wednesday to talent agencies informing them production had Stopped "due to unforeseen circumstances". Rowe said there was a possibility the series will resume later in the year.

Whitfield said: "I'm receiving excellent care, and am feeling strong, positive and determined with an army of support behind me".

Meanwhile, Lucy Lawless told Venice magazine last month she's not sure she will he in the second series. "We're in talks tor me to be in the second season - because I wasn't supposed to be. It could all fall apart. I might not be in it; I don't know!"

You would think hobby Rob Tapert would have some inside juice. He's the executive producer on the show. But Lawless said the power couple keep their marriage and career separate.

"I'm not dealing with [Rob]. My deal is never made with him."
Lawless credits moving home for her happiness. "Life got 800 per cent better, at least, when I moved hack to New Zealand... So I went home, and my husband and I are under one roof, my parents live nearby, and all my girlfriends from grade-school. There are a few people I miss here, but in every other way life's just much better. I've got dogs, and chickens coming. And we live right in the city!"

A Better World - Faces of Philanthropy.

Lucy Lawless
Warrior Activist
Written by Rachel Mansky

Big dreams were always a part of Lucy Lawless’s life, though as a little girl growing up in New Zealand, a tiny country at the bottom of the world, she never dreamed her work would take her to the outer stratosphere. After her starring role in the phenomenally successful series Xena: Warrior Princess, Lawless’s alter ego was honored in the naming of a dwarf planet. The dwarf planet originally nicknamed “Xena” is now officially known as Eris, but its moon is called Dysnomia (meaning “lawlessness”) after the Greek goddess of lawlessness. She muses about the honor, “That might have been beyond my imagination!”

Lawless is hard at work on her new series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which premiered in January. Of all the work she’s done, this show is the most difficult and challenging. “I thought I was in for two or three days a week, and everybody’s working five days, wall to wall.” She’s not complaining, though. She relishes the role, something completely different for an actress who loves to make people laugh. “I’m an awful schemer and a desperate woman. The intrigue is really taut and electrifying and beautifully written. It’s like Rome meets 300.”

Celebrity has its perks, but Lawless doesn’t take advantage of the offers. Instead, she puts herself front and center where the need is greatest—New Zealand’s Starship Foundation, the fundraising arm of the national children’s hospital in New Zealand. “I don’t know where the health of New Zealand children would be if it were not for this foundation,” she says.

Read More

Submitted by Barbara Davies

The following pics were taken during Lucy's Spartacus PR tour in New York.

Check out the full size versions on twitter

News submitted by Adi

Here's three gorgeous photos of Lucy during her Spartacus PR tour. These were taken in New York in January 2010. Click here to view all of the images

News submitted by Adi/Barbara Davies

Spartacus Episode 9 "Whore" Episode Preview

Batiatus breaks the news that Spartacus is to service the richest woman in Rome and agrees to perform whatever duties necessary.

Special note to Xena fans: Michael Hurst directed this episode.

Read MaryD's Episode Preview

Watch Episode Promo Video | View Episode Stills

Added high resolution episode stills for the
Spartacus Blood and Sand Season 1 Episode 9 "Whore"

Batiatus breaks the news that Spartacus is to service the richest woman in Rome - and agrees to perform whatever duties necessary.

Click here to view the Episode Stills

THE ORIGINAL KIWI COMEDY GROUP NOW FINALLY AVAILABLE ON DVD!

Funny Business are a comedy quartet featuring the performing and writing talents of Willie de Wit, Dean Butler, Ian Harcourt and Peter Murphy. Screened in the late Eighties, the shows garnered a young cult following and remains one of the best satirical Kiwi comedies of the period. Features over 3 hours of the most popular material from the three television series. Includes a debut from Lucy Lawless and animations from NZ punk rock legend Chris Knox. Sketches and songs that look at popular culture, music, film and TV.

--

I've delved into my Lucy video library (haven't posted the video clips on the site yet) and here are some screencaptures of Lucy from that show. Not sure if these will appear on the DVD but the sketches are hysterically funny.

You can purchase the DVD from New Zealand in Region 4. The following DVD Online Stores will ship international

Marbecks and Mightyape.co.nz

I Want My Gay TV - Thursday, March 11. 2010

SIRIUS XM Radio announced today that it will broadcast a very special gay radio broadcast, ironically, about TV. The program, I Want My Gay TV: The LGBT History of Television, will be a groundbreaking audio documentary that chronicles the evolution of gay characters on television, from the cross-dressing Milton Berle to Ellen coming out to Queer Eye For the Straight Guy, and everything in between. The documentary debuts as part of a four-hour broadcast event Friday, March 12 at 6 P.M. on OutQ.

I Want My Gay TV spans 60 years of television in a two-hour audio documentary and features candid interviews and contributions from trailblazing actors, writers, and producers including Rosie O'Donnell, Wilson Cruz, Bruce Vilanch, RuPaul, Hal Sparks, Lucy Lawless, Sean Sasser, and Marc Cherry. For more information, visit the Sirius website.

Source

Http://www.siriusoutq.com/

I Want My Gay TV: An LGBT History of American Television
Tonight 6:00 pm ET

From the early cross-dressing antics of Milton Berle to the modern success of openly gay performers, this two-hour audio documentary, produced by OutQ's Derek Hartley, explores 60 years of milestones and memorable moments from television. Featuring new and archival interviews as well as classic clips, I Want My Gay TV brings to life struggles, setbacks and successes that have led to the TV images of today. The special will air on Friday, March 12th, followed by a live panel discussing the special and taking calls from listeners to further explore the issues addressed in the special and speculate about the future of LGBT characters and performers in television.

Highlights include:

Lucy Lawless explains the impact of lesbian fans on the characters from her show Xena: Warrior Princess

News submitted by Barbara Davies

USAWeekend 14 March 2010 (released a little early?) What's Hot in Hollywood

Lucy Lawless gained worldwide fame as a leather-clad Amazon in Xena: Warrior Princess. Now the actress, 41, finds herself in revealing wisps of fabric as Lucretia on the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. “I appreciate modern clothing like nobody else,” Lawless says with a laugh. She’s “not a lunatic body freak,” although the prospect of having to bare some skin onscreen “does make you a little more inclined to put down the doughnut. ”

Source

Update:

The Mercury - Previewing this Sunday's print edition, March 14, 2010

USA WEEKEND: This week's magazine urges you to spring out into the great outdoors, offering 10 free ways to unplug from your digital world and get outside to spend time with your loved ones. Plus, a chat with two of today's top college basketball stars, just in time for March Madness. And Jessica Simpson returns to TV with a new VH1 reality show, Lucy Lawless reveals a different fashion sense for Spartacus, Lost star Emilie de Ravin recalls her early ballet ambitions, and find out who's the new voice of CBS Evening News. (Hint: He has played God ... twice!) All in this weekend's issue.

Source

News submitted by Barbara Davies

Http://twitter.com/azalben/statuses/10322151914

Anyone got questions for Lucy Lawless about her TV work? I'm chatting with her at the end of the day...
37 minutes ago via web

News submitted by Barbara Davies

S1E8 – Ilithyia Mark of the Brotherhood

Episode 108 'Mark of the Brotherhood' Ilithyia contemplates owning a new gladiator recruit as she assesses their qualities. Oh my!

Click here to watch

S1E8 – A Lesson from the Champion of Capua

Episode 108 ‘Mark of the Brotherhood’ Spartacus makes his point at Crixus expense. Friday, 3/12 at 10pm et/pt on Starz

Click here to watch

Previously updated episode promo for Spartacus Episode 8 "Mark of Brotherhood"

Ooh this is awesome - Lucy's official site has a preview of sorts to Episode 9 of Sparty. Episode 9 is when everything changes for Lucretia and Illythia - it is an AMAZING episode. I'll have my preview of it next week but you can see scenes from it now!

http://www.lucylawlessfanclub.com

This is downright awesome. Episode 9 is absolutely amazing!

The following was posted on Twitter (many thanks to MichealHurstOnline)

RT @Todfilm be sure to pick up Spartacus Season 1 when it comes out on DVD. Will prob be around Dec-Jan before the premiere of season 2.

Cool!

Season 1 Episode 8: Mark of Brotherhood
Episode Preview by MaryD

Batiatus purchases a fresh batch of slaves at an auction to be trained as gladiators and ponders the idea of selling Crixus. Illythia coaxes a new recruit to try to kill Spartacus.

My first reaction to this episode was 'oh those poor slaves' and then it was "oh my those slaves" <g> Illythia new slave has some serious problems on his hands by the end of the episode. Since the log line spoils that particular pairing he does indeed try and please his new Domina.

The episode has several subplots running through it. The aftermath of Crixus' wounds, Naevia and Lucretia's concern for him; neither of them wants to see Crixus be sold off to another Ludus, Barca's "freedom", the relationship between Crixus and Spartacus, the power plays, Varro and the rest of the Ludus. It's a hotbed of intrigue. Batiatus is up to his usual nasty ways but that's now normal programming for the Dominos.

We get new slaves who are in for a world of hurt (some more than others). One major subplot involves Lucretia and her BFF Illythia. What a fascinating look at those two. I have a feeling Illythia is in WAY over her head with Lucretia.

The young Roman is going to find herself in a very sticky situation; one of her own making that will come back and bite her.

The ending will make you sit up and take note. Two slaves follow their Domina's orders...one is thrilled and the other...not so thrilled with the outcome. Let's just say it's sometimes not a great idea to follow the orders of your Domina. Not a good idea at all.

Rating: 8/10

Episode Stills | Video Promo | Official Episode Page | Credits

Hi folks,

We are 2 weeks away from the start of the 2010 AUSXIP Charity Auction to benefit The Starship Foundation (Lucy) and The Alissa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (Renee). The auction will start 22 March until 28 March 2010.

This will be our 4th AUSXIP Charity Auction and the AUSXIP team (myself, Christa and Roger) hope to bring you some amazing goodies.

This year we have got a ton of great autographed stuff specifically signed for this auction and non autographed stuff. There are a some VERY special items that I will go into more detail in the next few days that are just totally incredible. Two of the items are: a new ipod nano (16 gb) for Lucy (metallic blue) autographed by Lucy AND it includes a video to go with the ipod for the successful bidder which is extremely cute and very Lucy, a new ipod nano (16 gb) for Renee (metallic green) autographed with a Renee recorded message and some photos taken by Renee. That's only 2 of the items in a huge swag of goodies.

Other autographed Items are from:

Lucy Lawless
Renee O'Connor
Adrienne Wilkinson
Katherine Fugate
Michael Hurst
Jennifer Ward-Lealand
Erin Cummings
Lesley-Ann Brandt
Katrina Law
Rick Jacobson
Steven L. Sears

and a couple of others I'm working on :)

Stay tuned!

MaryD

Sharon has posted the new batch of photos from the Official Xena Photo Club for December 2009.

The images are from the Season 6 episode "Who's Gurkhan?" Click here to view the images

When Gabrielle learns that her niece has been captured by the vicious raider Gurkhan (Calvin Tuteao), she sets sail for North Africa on a rescue mission with Xena, Eve (Adrienne Wilkinson) and Virgil (William Gregory Lee).

Here's some multimedia from this episode

| DJWP Synopsis | SLK Review | Screengrabs

Sharon has posted the new batch of photos from the Official Xena Photo Club for January 2010.

The images are from the Season 6 episode "Who's Gurkhan?" Click here to view the images

When Gabrielle learns that her niece has been captured by the vicious raider Gurkhan (Calvin Tuteao), she sets sail for North Africa on a rescue mission with Xena, Eve (Adrienne Wilkinson) and Virgil (William Gregory Lee).

Here's some multimedia from this episode

Montage | DJWP Synopsis | SLK Review | Screengrabs

Just posted absolutely gorgeous photos from the 2010 Xena Convention Photos by Jennifer Crawford.

Friday
Lucy
Lucy and Renee
Renee
Hudson
Elvis Sears
Katherine

Saturday
David
Adrienne and William Gregory
Paris and Musetta
Steven and Rob
Brittney


Sunday
Renee
Steven Sears
Cleopatra 2525 Renuion: Jennifer, Gina and Vicki
Gina
Jennifer
Vicki
Wendy and Tara

I've often imagined what Angelina Jolie films would be like if they starred Lucy Lawless. Tomb Raider was in a manner envisioned for the Kiwi television icon-it's a film based on a video game character, who was in turn inspired and made possible by the groundbreaking heroine Lawless created the year before in the syndicated television epic Xena: Warrior Princess.

We forget now-after Buffy, Lara Croft and their increasingly pallid descendents—how recently women started kicking ass and how the ass kicking kick-started with Xena. If Lawless had played Lara Croft more girls would have taken up archaeology. As depicted by Jolie, raiding tombs looked like the most boringest job ever.

As Walter Matthau said of Lillian Hellman, Jolie is "as seductive as a large bowl of oatmeal." She turns stealing cars, being a hitwoman, and even belonging to the orgiastic cult of Dionysius into chores to be approached with detached and botoxed disdain, and I've pined often, when Jolie pops up onscreen, for the non-ironic glee with which Lawless embodies eros and toughness.

I'm glad she's back on TV. Lawless's performance in Spartacus: Blood and Sand leaves no doubt that Alexander would have been a hit if Oliver Stone anointed Lawless as Queen Olympias instead of Jolie. Lawless is the brand, as they say, in this reboot of Spartacus, and for good reason. She retains the voluptuous beauty she had as Xena (now accented by a more colorful wardrobe) and more importantly, the bold shamelessness. Xena, which had low production value and likely necessitated the coinage of "cringeworthy," charmed audiences because every time Lawless struck a well-placed, slapstick blow against evil, she broke out a brazen, infectious smile. Though Spartacus has inherited none of the lighthearted fantasy of Xena, Lawless is equally brazen.

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It would appear that Lucy may be on NZ's Next Top Model according to the following tweet as a guest judge?

Sitting in vip room with the stunning lucy lawless! Want her to break into song! about 9 hours ago via mobile web

NZTopModelColin
ColinMathura-Jeffree
Source

News submitted by Barbara Davies

Welcome to our series Talking to a Famous Person. In this series we publish our conversations with high-profile nonprofit founders, actors, and everyone in between.

Known internationally for her role as Xena in Xena: Warrior Princess, Lawless has had a diverse career onstage, behind the camera, and working with organizations to help children in need around the world. Lawless was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine in 1997, the same year she first appeared on Broadway in the remake of Grease. Her long career spans music, television, film, and the stage. In addition to working on blockbuster films like Bedtime Stories and Eurotrip, she has also appeared as a guest star in episodes of The Simpsons, The X-Files, Just Shoot Me!, Veronica Mars, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Burn Notice, Less Than Perfect, Flight of the Conchords, and Battlestar Galactica. This year you can catch Lawless on Spartacus.

Beyond the studio sets, Lawless is involved in a number of different charities, many in her home country of New Zealand. Read on to learn more about Lawless' charity work, her views on climate change skeptics, and the strangest Xena fan request yet (hint: it involves an axe).

Read more

WARNING: Contains spoilers for Episode 6....you have been warned! Here is a mini review of Episode 7...

Episode 7: Great and Unfortunate Things

Overcome by the pressure of Batiatus' control, Spartacus must make a choice: leave his past behind and assume the mantle of a champion gladiator, or die.

I sit here and wonder how this show does it. How in 6 episodes one can be so emotionally invested in the characters to care when one of them or two of them (in the case of Sura and Barca in Episode 6) dies. I found myself mourning their passing (more Sura than Barca).

For Sura fans can I just say (without giving too much away) that Spartacus has not forgotten her. I doubt he ever will. Sura is a part of him which is both beautiful and frightening at the same time.

This episode also gives you a closer look at Naevia (Lesley-Ann Brandt) and her love for Crixus. Beautiful scenes. Varro has troubles of his own and Pietros misses Barca, Lucretia has some girl talk with Ilythia and Batiatus continues his nasty ways and there is a battle or two along the way.

This is quite an emotional episode.

The end will leave you gobsmacked. Utterly gobsmacked. Took me totally by surprise.

Click here to view episode stills

Click here to watch episode promo