What Do The Critics Say?

"It's a lovely character study, full of whimsy and the same kind of oddball jerktitude of Napoleon Dynamite, but less abrasive. Sweet, joyless, whimsical, and fantastically acted." Karina Montgomery REC&ART MOVIE REVIEWS "Slight yet undeniably touching, this loser comedy has some brittle wit and an odd charm. Deserves a wider audience than it's destined to find." Jamie Russell CHANNEL 4 FILM "Contrived? Yes. Second-hand ideas? A few. But this funny ha-ha, funny peculiar indie is lifted by a stand-out female lead" and writer-director Cohen could be the southern hemisphere’s Jared Hess." Jonathon Dean TOTAL FILM "New Zealand's answer to Napoleon Dynamite." LITTLE WHITE LIES "Underneath the quirk there’s a real heart." Marrit Ingman AUSTIN CHRONICLE "Eagle Versus Shark redeems itself with a generous spirit and a good heart." Gary Thompson PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS "Even if it's not quite "Dynamite," Eagle vs Shark is still pretty good." Todd Gilchrist IGN MOVIES "This truly inventive and wacky tale of love among the nerds is a rare original and a real find." Pete Hammond MAXIM "Horsley and Clement make terrific leads and their relationship is oddly touching, even if Jarrod doesn't quite realise how lucky he is. The script is extremely witty and the actors deliver their lines in an amusingly deadpan fashion throughout, with frequently hilarious results. This is a sweet-natured, extremely funny romcom that marks Waititi out as a talent to watch. Highly recommended." Matthew Turner VIEW LONDON

The Inside Story There are people in life who are ordinarily odd. We all know people like them. They don’t fit yet they do. They are disregarded yet they are more real than any big Hollywood character. This film is about them. It’s about giving those who go unnoticed in life a chance to shine on the big screen. "Eagle vs Shark" came into existence through 2007 Newport International Film Festival Jury Award winner Loren Horsley who had the character of Lily in her head. She tapped into her teenage years, the awkward, embarrassing moments and I thought wow, it would be really cool to make that young, gauche girl the central character of a story. The thing about Loren ("Heinous Crime" & "Kombi Nation")is that she is incredibly generous and puts up with a whole lot of shit. She remains good in the face of any kind of adversity and that became one of the strongest traits of Lily. Lily is really odd but there is something that draws you to her. She isn’t confident yet she is because Lily will still quietly stand up for what is right and wrong. She’s vulnerable and can be hurt but she still believes. That’s how "Eagle vs Shark" started out: a lot of really horrible things happening to somebody who didn’t really deserve it. It became a bit of a game playing with this person’s world. What’s the worst thing we can do to Lily today? The weird part about that was we didn’t have to look too far. We drew on our own experiences, remembered what had happened to mates. The very ridiculous was actually surreally real. The more we played this game the more we realized that Lily was someone we wanted to fiercely protect. We started to want the best for her and realized that a question we hadn’t asked was perhaps the most important one for her: "What sort of person would Lily fall in love with?" When it came to what kind of guy Lily would go out with we simply took the worst traits of every male we knew and plonked them into one package; Jarrod. So while I could say it was an in depth, serious research of human character, in truth "Eagle vs Shark" is us looking honestly at us. By the time I finally sat down to write it, it had been running around for so long in our heads, perhaps our lives, it sprinted mirthfully on to the page. That’s been the difference between making my first feature film compared to the short films: the funny moments last longer. Obviously, there was a bit of pressure to make something good because the short films, "Two Cars One Night", "Tama Tu", had done well. Those short films were set in a Maori world. With "Eagle vs Shark" there are similar poignant moments with characters but the subject is so different. Yet with all my films, I hope that the stories and the themes are universal. They involve people and situations we can all relate to. So, there was an expectation to follow-up with something of importance. I had been working on a feature film, "Choice", an extension of "Two Cars One Night", which I had work-shopped at Sundance. But "Choice" would have taken another year of development and there was a momentum, an excitement, we needed to run with. Sundance were looking for more scripts so I asked whether we could also workshop "Eagle vs Shark". They said fine and we went for it. We wanted to get back out there as soon as possible. We knew we had a wonderful little yarn so we thought, stuff it, let’s just commit ourselves to a small film, small budget, and make a great little story right now. When I talk about '‘we' I mean the team who has been with me from the start. For his debut feature, Taika Waititi called on a loyal line-up of New Zealand film makers who could turn off the predictable, turn up the possible and bring it home on target. A small crew of just thirty five, which included two time Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Award winner Joe Bleakley (Lord Of The Rings II & III), heard the call for battle, and still showed up. No eagles or egos were slaughtered during the making of this film. The enemy for cast and crew was laughter. "I’ve watched it more than thirty times and still laugh out loud," says Oscar nominated producer, Ainsley Gardiner, ("Two Cars One Night" & "Tama Tu"). "One minute you’re laughing, next minute you’re squirming in your seat with the discomfort of reality." With producer and three time New Zealand Film Best Actor Award winner Cliff Curtis ("Whale Rider, "Jubilee" & "Desperate Remedies"), Gardiner established Whenua Films (formerly AIO Films) to give indigenous film makers a voice, telling stories that transcend all cultures. "To be honest I just want people to be treated well and enjoy the Milo. You learn restraint and resourcefulness, you learn to hang on for dear life and you learn to trust," says Ainsley. "The backbone of "Eagle vs Shark" was a small, determined cast and crew who turned an essentially little film into an exceptional one." "Eagle vs Shark" (named after the two main character’s favourite animal)s, was shot on location in and around Wellington, New Zealand. Yet it’s a story set anywhere thanks to society’s universal hang-ups. "I have long been interested in those of us who struggle to survive in society; those who live in the social world yet are still on the outskirts. The characters of Lily and Jarrod are such people, not really welcomed into the circle but still tolerated," says Taika. Principal photography commenced on November 1st 2005 with Taika teaming once again with two time New Zealand Film Award winning Director of Photography, Adam Clark ("Two Cars One Night" & "Rose"). It was an intense five week shoot spread across bus-stops, backyards and beaches. From wallpaper to washing line, hamburgers to hula hoops, sets and props were deceptively simple, allowing characters to take centre stage. "I want actor's performances to be real. It’s the little pauses, glances, nuances that go unnoticed every day that tell us everything," says Taika. "Eagle vs Shark" is based on a script collaborated on by Taika and, actor Loren Horsley who is a founding member of both the Wellington Artists Charitable Trust (WACT) and the film-making group, The Chapel Collective. Horsley who appeared "Kombi Nation" & "Heinous Crime", developed and plays the lead character of Lily McKinnon. While visiting Utah, Loren slipped into character and on to the streets of Salt Lake City as Lily. "I took her out for a trial walk and the Red Sea parted. No-one wanted to be near her," says Loren. "In truth, Lily faced the jury and won." For the lead of Jarrod, Taika turned to his cohort in comedy, Jemaine Clement, ("The Humourbeasts", "Flight Of the Concords" & "The Tongan Ninja") whose innate sense of the inane is award winning. Jarrod needed an actor who could evoke humour for the wrong reasons yet stir sympathy as he struggles to figure out the game. "You haven’t lived until you’ve played tag, peek-a-boo and bullrush," says Jemaine, whose career began as a writer. It was the intention of production that all aspects of filming reflected an intimate story. The uncomplicated script shrewdly reveals the complexities of the characters. At times their words and their worlds are wide off the mark. That’s the whole point. Or too close for comfort. That’s reality. Equally, "Eagle vs Shark" makes no excuses for the characters. They are who they are on a journey that simply unfolds. They just happened to hop on the wrong bus and forgot to tell the driver. "Eagle vs Shark" was funded by the New Zealand Film Commission and Executive Producer Emanuel Michael's Unison Films, New York ("Shock Act" & "The Elephant King"). Synopsis

Lily, a shy fast-food restaurant cashier, is one of those weird, sweet-natured girls with stringy hair. Despite her shy awkwardness, Lilly is both quite lovely and very charismatic. But most people don't have enough vision to notice, and the truth is that Lily isn't looking to change. She cashiers at a fast-food joint and pines for Jarrod, the self-aggrandizing, clueless geek from the computer store across the way. Fiercely optimistic, Lily crashes Jarrod's animal/video-game extravaganza, impressing him enough with her shark suit and gaming prowess to score a hookup with Eagle Lord himself. Soon Lily and her brother are driving Jarrod back to his hometown to confront his childhood nemesis. But here Jarrod's self-absorption blossoms so mightily that it may drive even the most adoring of girlfriends away. As Jarrod prepares to exact his revenge on the past, Lily's quiet power gathers force as well.

The Verdict "If you like your comedy a little on the quirky side, a.k.a "Napoleon Dynamite" or "Be Kind Rewind", then this little indie style production from the 'land of the long white cloud' will prove a real treat. "Shark vs Eagle" is a spirited 'art house' film with a huge heart. Thanks to an enthusiastic cast, a wickedly dark at times storyline and, the vision of both Loren Horsley and Taika Waititi, "Shark vs Eagle" rises above the tag of just another 'nerd' film. Well worth having a look at. 3 1/2 STARS." The Cast

Loren Horsley Jemaine Clement Joel Tobeck Brian Sergent Craig Hall Rachel House Morag Hills Bernard Stewart Taika Waititi David Fane Cohen Holloway Gentiane Lupi Chelsie Preston Crayford Adam Gardiner Jackie van Beek Miranda Manasiadis Ban Abdul Mike King Madeleine Sami Anna Horsley Dylan Taylor Cori Gonzales-Macuer Aaron Cortesi

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Lily Jarrod Damon Jonah Doug Davis Nancy Vinny Zane Gordon Eric Elisi Mason Tracy Jenny Tony Burger Staff Burger Staff Burger Staff Burger Staff Burger Girl Customer Meaty Love Girl Meaty Love Boy Mark Dunca

The Crew Directed by Taika Waititi Story by Taika Waititi & Loren Horsley Written by Taika Waititi Produced by Cliff Curtis & Ainsley Gardiner Original Music by The Phoenix Foundation Director of photography Adam Clark Film Editing by Jonno Woodford-Robinson Casting by Taika Waititi & Loren Horsley Production Design by Joe Bleakley Costume Design by Amanda Neale Run Time 93 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2008 - Icon Distribution - All Rights Reserved ©2008 All Rights Reserved The Movie Pages - Protected by Australian, International, Copyright & Trademark Laws.