AUSXIP Lucy Lawless News Archive: : July 2017 Archives

31 July 2017

Xena Boards The Arctic Sunrise with Lucy...

On the official Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise facebook page they posted the following about Lucy drawing a little Xena on the boat!

In the past few days we have been busy preparing stuff for the campaign; soon we will share what we are getting ready to do. But today we want you to see something else, something that happened behind the scenes which shows a bit of the human component aboard. This is how Lucy Lawless gifted us a little souvenir to remember the time we spent together with her before she disembarked in our last visit to Tromsø. She is a great activist and having her aboard was quite an honor!

For more about Lucy's protest with the Arctic Sunrise on the Barents Sea, go to the AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Save The Arctic Stat Oil Barents Sea Protest Page

25 July 2017

More Official Greenpeace Photos and Video

I'll have the full set of Official Greenpeace photos and video shortly. Here are some of the images released by Greenpeace

Official Greenpeace Photo: Lucy and fellow protesters jump into the freezing Barents Sea to protest #EndOil #SaveTheArctic #LucyLawless pic.twitter.com/iL1386zR2Y
-- AUSXIP Lucy Lawless (@lucylawlessnet) July 23, 2017

Official Greenpeace Photo: Lucy and fellow protesters jump into the freezing Barents Sea to protest #EndOil #SaveTheArctic #LucyLawless pic.twitter.com/9lDNueIVV1
-- AUSXIP Lucy Lawless (@lucylawlessnet) July 23, 2017

Official Greenpeace Photo: Lucy and fellow protesters jump into the freezing Barents Sea to protest #EndOil #SaveTheArctic #LucyLawless pic.twitter.com/ymYq1Xootp
-- AUSXIP Lucy Lawless (@lucylawlessnet) July 23, 2017

New Zealand TV 1News reports of Lucy and the Greenpeace activists on the BarentsSea #LucyLawless #SaveTheArctic pic.twitter.com/A5xA3W5Bqy
-- AUSXIP Lucy Lawless (@lucylawlessnet) July 23, 2017

Video: Lucy getting ready to protest. All rugged up against the cold. #LucyLawless #SaveTheArctic #greenpeace pic.twitter.com/nS2DcZs1ny
-- AUSXIP Lucy Lawless (@lucylawlessnet) July 23, 2017

The Norwegian people need to know what their government is doing on their behalf...Lucy Lawless #SaveTheArctic #greenpeace pic.twitter.com/bOHjpnrBvk
-- AUSXIP Lucy Lawless (@lucylawlessnet) July 23, 2017

"I don't ever want to look my kids in the eye & explain why I didn't do all I could to protect them from climate change" - @RealLucyLawless pic.twitter.com/4tR3gGvTW8
-- Greenpeace (@Greenpeace) July 21, 2017

21 July 2017

Official Greenpeace Photos of Lucy With Arctic Sunrise

Greenpeace has released the following photos of Lucy from the Save The Arctic voyage to Bear Island to document the pristine environment after the Norwegian government granted four new licences for drilling in the arctic. The state owned company, Statoil, is planning to drill in the area.

For more about Lucy's role as an eco-warrior go to AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Eco-Warrior Subsite

21 July 2017

This Fight Is Making Us Sick by Lucy Lawless

By Lucy Lawless
21 July 2017

The boat is rocking and rolling inexorably towards its destination high in the Arctic Circle.

I wake from deepest slumber at 7.01am, exactly the same time as yesterday.

Breakfast is meager on a GP boat, which is exactly right, judging by some of the green faces. I am feeling annoyingly perky, glad to not be in hell with them. I was seasick once and pray it stays away.

After muesli I go up to the bridge where Nacho points out where a whale spouted a minute ago. I sit and wait but it is a full five minutes later that we catch it happening again. I am hoping the pod is heading in the same direction as us. I'd love to see them up close. I was on a dolphin watch experience in Whakatane once and a pod of pilot whales swam right underneath us. It was a mystical experience.

I am aware that I'm close to shirking cleanup duty so I sneak off and have a quick shower.

As I exit I see someone in rubber gloves cleaning the lav nextdoor. Wait, he's on his knees retching. Could that be my friend, Andrew from the Auckland office? He was wearing a blue T-shirt before and now he's wearing a red one. Andrew works comms and is communicating nicely with that toilet -roaring, he is. Poor devil. I wonder if when he signed up for bathroom duty, he knew how convenient it would be.

Unlike on land, the coolest chicks on boats are invariably the dirtiest. Miriam is a deckhand who is also in charge of garbage and recycling. Like all of them, she's wiry, fit and able. Her pants look like they've weathered many, many campaigns.

I help her carry the trash to the poop deck which is (naturally) located in the rear. Most of the sorting has already been done by the crew who deposit paper/organics/cans in the proper bins. Not to be shipshape would offend the hive.

When I come out, Andrew has moved on to the downstairs loos, toilet brush in hand. He tries to look chipper but he's green about the gills. There's a splatter of cack on his shoulder like the father of a newborn. Hey, Andrew, you missed a spot! It's a three-tshirt kind of morning.

At 10am we are getting fitted for drysuits which are designed to handle full immersion in Arctic waters. We are going out on the inflatables. The drysuits are heavy duty neoprene and devilish hard to get into. I put mine on and immediately regret it because suddenly I want to go to the loo "just in case".
But the briefing has begun in the bowels of the ship. As Nacho (Argentina) instructs us about safety protocols, Desiree (campaigner, Philippines) emits a wee splash of puke on the floor between the attendees. "Sorry!" She mutters preemptively and then showers them in a magnificent arc of breakfast. It was quite something.

Waiting for the inflatables to be launched, I'm staring down into the Arctic waters thinking how would one describe that colour? I imagine the paint swatch. Blueblack? Igneus rock? It's a scary color. It might roll over on its side and regard you with one whale eye. And it occurs to you that there's so much more below it that above and how you would not like to die inside of it.

Training goes on all day. It's all about transferring boats in different conditions. I want to protest that I'm just an actress, just here for the photo ops, but it's too late. Our little boat is momentarily deep in a trough and the massive Arctic Sunrise is high on the swell, just metres away. Beneath the waterline, the bottom of the hull is rose-coloured and for an instant, she is thrust so high out in front of the wave, you can see a gash of red like a ferocious smile. Then she chomps down hard on the Barents Sea. And we are drenched by spray.

For more about Lucy's role as an eco-warrior go to AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Eco-Warrior Subsite

21 July 2017

Press Release: Actor Lucy Lawless sets off on Greenpeace ship to confront Arctic oil drillers

Actor Lucy Lawless sets off on Greenpeace ship to confront Arctic oil drillers

Press release - July 20, 2017

New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless has just set sail on the Greenpeace ship, Arctic Sunrise, to confront the Norwegian oil giant Statoil as it drills for oil in the Arctic.

Up until last month, the state-owned Norwegian company was in New Zealand waters where it was prospecting for oil off the Wairarapa Coast using the world's largest seismic surveying ship, the Amazon Warrior.

During this time Lawless helped Greenpeace crowdfund for a boat, named Taitu, which the environmental organisation used to confront the Amazon Warrior at sea, stopping it from seismic blasting for a period of time.

She is now following Statoil across the globe and will spend just over a week in the Arctic with a team of climate activists, tailing the company as it drills for oil in one of the most pristine parts of the planet.

The Norwegian Government is opening up a new oil frontier in the Arctic, the northernmost for 20 years, and Statoil will drill up to seven wells there this year.

In November, Greenpeace and the Norwegian organisation, Nature & Youth, will take the Government to court, arguing that it is violating The Paris Agreement and the Norwegian Constitution.

Lawless says climate change is a global issue and the fossil fuels companies that drive it must be challenged wherever they are.

She will be updating people on her journey over social media as it unfolds.

"For me it's more than a case of 'not in our own backyard'. Climate change is the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. The companies driving it must be pursued and stopped - we will confront them in every corner of the world," she says.

"New Zealand is my homeland. I cannot stand by as big oil companies come in to drill against all our best interests. The age of oil must end."

The Arctic trip follows on from Greenpeace's at-sea action against Statoil in New Zealand.

Three swimmers, including Greenpeace New Zealand Executive Director Dr Russel Norman, travelled more than 50 nautical miles off the Wairarapa Coast in the crowdfunded boat, Taitu, in search of the Amazon Warrior, which has been blasting for oil on behalf of Statoil.

Norman and two others then put themselves in the water in front of the 125-metre long ship, forcing it to change course and cease blasting for a day.

Both Greenpeace and the three swimmers have been charged under the 'Anadarko Amendment' of the Crown Minerals Act. It's the first time anyone has been charged under the controversial law, which was passed in 2013 without public consultation, and is designed stop protest against oil ships at sea.

The activists face jail time and, along with Greenpeace, face large fines

For more about Lucy's role as an eco-warrior go to AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Eco-Warrior Subsite

21 July 2017

Video: Interview with Lucy From The Arctic Sunrise

We've come up against Statoil's reckless oil exploration here in NZ recently, and now we're sending one of our ships North to take them on in the Arctic - and Lucy Lawless is on board! Here she talks about why she's there, and why it would be AMAZING if you signed on to support the campaign at: http://www.savethearctic.org/en-NZ/peoplevsarcticoil

For more about Lucy's role as an eco-warrior go to AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Eco-Warrior Subsite

20 July 2017

Joining The Club To End The Oil Age by Lucy Lawless

Joining The Club To End The Oil Age

by Lucy Lawless
NZ Herald - 20 July 2017

OK, so I am not Greenpeace. And I don't work for them.

But I met the activist Bunny McDiarmid 25 years ago when I basically played her in a TV movie called The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.

She had been a crew member who was ashore at the time of the bombing in Auckland 1985. I met her and her partner, Henk, and found them to be completely unaffected, forthright, funny, educated and wise.

They were a revelation to me - nothing like the crazy hippies I had been taught to expect. I was raised in a conservative home and my Dad embraced all that Robbie Muldoon embodied in the 70s. There were "Think Big" stickers next to Rolling Stones ones on my brother's bedroom door.

Bunny eventually went on to run Greenpeace New Zealand and then after a short break last year, became the executive director of Greenpeace international. And now I count a number of their activists as the classiest and most decent people I've ever met.

So while I don't work for Greenpeace, I know who they are at their core and I believe 100 percent in their integrity.

So now I find myself on an icebreaker ship, going literally to the ends of the earth with them. Our mission is to hasten the end of the oil age.

We just cast off from the port of Tromso and the waters of the Sounds are utterly calm, the ship rolls left and right when it hits a current. The craft is crazily sensitive and makes me wonder what's ahead.

The medic administered sea sickness pills two hours ago to newbies like me. I'm wearing Norwegian boots with curled up toes as a sultan might wear. So my big toes can give a thumbs-up sign when something cool happens.

Before we left port, I went into town to get a cheap and cheerful raincoat and was lured down an alley by a shingle pointing to Tromso's (Ye olde) shoemaker. I was really charmed by the storybook cobblers, with little shoes all in a row.

"Gosh, did you make those reindeer boots or are you mending them?" I ask the apple-cheeked lady in the gingerbread apron. No, that's not reindeer she explains, "it's ....(snort, snort, snort)."

"What... pig? Like some kind of hairy boar, endemic to this area? Fancy!"

"No, not pig. It's, how do you say - oh, I wish I knew the name for it in English. You know..." she makes the action of repeatedly clubbing, "you know, the babies on the ice!"

"Oh, gosh, right, well, I don't think I'll be wanting a pair of those."

Jaysus, I thought as I left, definitely not in Kansas anymore.

For more about Lucy's role as an eco-warrior go to AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Eco-Warrior Subsite

19 July 2017

Why I'm In Norway Fighting Aggressive Oil Companies by Lucy Lawless

Lucy is currently on the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise and has written the following article for today's New Zealand Herald. For more on Lucy's role as an Eco-Warrior - check out the AUSXIP Lucy Lawless EcoWarrior Subsite

Why I'm In Norway Fighting Aggressive Oil Companies
by Lucy Lawless
19 July 2017

I never thought I'd find myself in Norway, let alone Tromsø, its northernmost city.

The countryside looks a bit like Mt Cook on a grisly day, except that it's approaching mid-summer. I'm here to go on Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise, to witness Statoil's push outside of Norwegian waters into the Arctic Circle for extreme oil.

They're one of the companies also pushing into deep New Zealand waters and the Great Australian Bight - which makes them one of the most aggressive and controversial oil companies on earth.

Like New Zealand, Norway signed the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions (to stop our planet heating more than 1.5 degrees) and then went right home and issued new oil leases.

It's crazy. Norway also has a constitution that protects the environment for future generations, yet they just handed a whole chunk of licences to Statoil, the state-owned oil company.

Now Greenpeace and others are suing the Norwegian government, which is why we're doing this ship tour. They want to make sure everyone knows what's going on in Norway, and how hypocritical it is.

Instead of investing in a business with a future, Statoil is actually profiteering from the melting Arctic. And if the Arctic goes, can the Antarctic be far behind? What would happen to low-lying cities and their people if all that ice melted? These are things that wake me up in a cold sweat.

In New Zealand, Statoil are looking for oil at perilous depths of two and three kilometres. If there's a spill, who are we gonna call? Why always look for the oil that going to cause the most damage if something goes wrong? And if it all goes 'right'? Then we are on a trajectory for famine, pestilence, wars and mass climate refugees on a level we cannot even comprehend. Is this the future we want for our children?

The sun doesn't set here in Tromsø. At 11pm, there's a blush sky which fades to twilight.

The Arctic has me in its thrall. I'm tucked up in my bunk for my first night on board. The Arctic Sunrise is an ice-breaker which means she doesn't have a keel, so I've been warned she's gonna roll "like a sonofabitch".

Ominously, her nickname is Washing Machine. So buckle up, crew, it's going to be a bumpy night!

19 July 2017

Lucy on Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise in Norway + Press Release

Lucy is in Norway to join the Greenpeace flag ship Arctic Sunrise to celebrate their win against the Russians. Justice served in Greenpeace Arctic 30 case as Russia ordered to pay the Netherlands €5.4 million in damages

Me and Carolina Nyberg-Steiser about to board our new home, @greenpeace 's #ArcticSunrise #Tromsø #Norway #SaveTheArctic

A post shared by Lucy lawless (@reallucylawless) on Jul 18, 2017 at 8:45am PDT

Greenpeace Right then, Right Now!!! Proud to be on board #arcticSunrise TODAY in #Norway #SavetheArctic #Greenpeace https://t.co/yYaova689n
-- Lucy Lawless (@RealLucyLawless) July 18, 2017

PRESS RELEASE

Justice served in Greenpeace Arctic 30 case as Russia ordered to pay the Netherlands €5.4 million in damages

Press release - 18 July, 2017

An international tribunal has awarded the Netherlands €5.395.561,61 plus interest in damages over the high-profile Greenpeace 'Arctic 30' dispute with Russia, concluding proceedings which resoundingly reaffirm the right to peaceful protest at sea.

The award follows a lengthy course of arbitration dating back to the unlawful boarding, seizing and detention of the Greenpeace ship, Arctic Sunrise, following a peaceful protest in international waters in September 2013. [1] [2]

The 30 men and women on board (28 Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists), known as the 'Arctic 30', spent two months in prison - first in the Arctic city of Murmansk and later in St Petersburg - before being released on bail and finally freed altogether by an amnesty adopted by the Russian Duma.

The Arctic Sunrise itself was returned to Greenpeace after nine months at port in Murmansk, having suffered considerable damage during the arrest and subsequent detention inside the Arctic Circle. [3] Inflatable boats and other equipment had also sustained serious damage.

Jasper Teulings, Greenpeace International General Counsel, said:
"The road to justice can be long but today's award emphatically upholds international law and the right to peaceful protest against oil drilling in the Arctic - and at sea worldwide."

Ben Ayliffe, Arctic campaigner for Greenpeace International, added:

"The Arctic 30's peaceful protest showed the world the extreme lengths some governments and corporations would go to in order to try and keep us hooked on oil. The brave action they took at that remote drilling platform inspired millions of people to come together to stand against the oil industry. From the icy Arctic to the Amazon Mouth and the tar sands pipelines of North America, people have followed the example of the Arctic 30 and are helping create a greener, safer and more prosperous world that no longer relies on fossil fuels or oil companies."

Russia was held liable [1] in August 2015 for the boarding, seizing and detention of the Arctic Sunrise and for subsequent measures taken against the vessel and the individuals on board. Today's award puts a figure on the damages owed by Russia.

Throughout the case, the Russian government refused to participate at any stage of the legal proceedings or to pay its share of the legal costs set by the Tribunal [4]. It is therefore not yet clear whether Russia will comply with today's binding ruling to pay damages. Any of those funds that are forwarded by the Dutch government to Greenpeace International will go towards covering costs incurred, including ship repairs - and of course compensation for immaterial damages suffered by the members of the Arctic 30 will be passed to the 30 individuals themselves.

Last week, after an extensive refit and refurbishment, the Arctic Sunrise set sail to campaign against exploratory oil drilling in the Barents Sea by Norwegian company Statoil [5], which is ploughing further north than ever before. Greenpeace and allies are challenging these plans in court and the Arctic Sunrise will play a leading role exposing the recklessness of drilling above the Arctic Circle this summer. [6]

Separately from the arbitration brought by the Netherlands, the Arctic 30 have applied to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that the actions of the Russian authorities breached their rights to liberty and freedom of expression. That case is still in its early stages. [7]

18 July 2017

Ash Vs Evil Dead Season 2 Best Buy Steelbook Version

Best Buy (in the US) has an exclusive version of the Season 2 Blu-ray edition of Ash Vs Evil Dead
What is a steelbook?

“a limited run of a Blu-ray or game, packaged in a premium metal case – often with classic or specially commissioned artwork.”

Genres:

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Horror, Thriller, TV

Starring:

Bruce Campbell, Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo, Lee Majors, Lucy Lawless

Plot Synopsis:

This season roars back into action with Ash leaving his beloved Jacksonville and returning to his home town of Elk Grove. There, he confronts Ruby, only to find that she too is now a victim of evil and in need of Ash's help. The former enemies have to form an uneasy alliance to give them a chance of success as Elk Grove soon becomes the nucleus of evil.

Technical Specs

2-Disc Set
Limited Edition SteelBook

Video Resolution/Codec

1080p/TBA

Aspect Ratio(s)

1.78:1

Audio Formats

English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles/Captions

English SDH

Supplements

Audio Commentaries
Season 2 First look
"Inside the World of Ash vs Evil Dead" Featurette
"Up Your Ash" Featurette
"Women Who Kick Ash" Featurette
"Puppets Are Cute" Featurette
"Dawn of the Spawn" Featurette
"Bringing Henrietta Back" Featurette
"The Delta" Featurette
"How to Kill a Deadite" Featurette
Fatality Mash-Up

17 July 2017

Kiwi Stars Making It Big Including Lucy–NZ Herald 15 July 2017

The NZ Herald has an article about Kiwi stars make it big overseas and of course they listed Lucy with Xena:

As countless think-pieces would have you believe, we're in the midst of an era of peak TV - a second golden age of television brought on by advances in the technology and distribution of television, resulting in an increase in the sheer number of original shows.

Its growth has seen a number of A-list stars make the once-embarrassing jump to TV, but the medium's rise also heralds an exciting time for new actors seeking a breakthrough, with more opportunities than ever. And in the past few years, many Kiwis have had their breakthrough moments on American screens. Here's a look at some of our favourite homegrown actors who have found success on the small screen.

via GIPHY

Arguably New Zealand's original queen of television, Xena continues to shine on the small screen in 2017. Lucy Lawless has reunited with Xena creator Sam Raimi for Ash vs Evil Dead, a television expansion of Raimi's 1981 cult film Evil Dead, as seen on Sky, with actor Bruce Campbell returning as the lead character and Lawless playing the mysterious Ruby Knowby.

Production of Ash vs Evil Dead takes place in Auckland, meaning Lawless often plays against fellow Kiwis on the show. Lawless also played the villainous witch Countess Marburg in the witchy US series Salem, which ended earlier this year.

July 2017 Archives

Justice served in Greenpeace Arctic 30 case as Russia ordered to pay the Netherlands €5.4 million in damages

Best Buy (in the US) has an exclusive version of the Season 2 Blu-ray edition of Ash Vs Evil DeadWhat is a steelbook?

Starring:

Plot Synopsis:

Technical Specs

Video Resolution/Codec

Aspect Ratio(s)

Audio Formats

Subtitles/Captions

Supplements

Best Buy (in the US) has an exclusive version of the Season 2 Blu-ray edition of Ash Vs Evil Dead
What is a steelbook?