Celebrities - Australia and New Zealand are fighting for ownership of Best Actress Oscar Nominee

-Kelly- · 02-06-2004, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Keisha is an Aussie!

Australia and New Zealand are fighting for ownership of Best Actress Oscar nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes.

The 13-year-old star of "Whale Rider" was the pride of the Kiwis before her father revealed she was actually born in Australia.

Keisha spent the first four years of her life in Western Australia. Her Australian father, Tim Castle, is a sheetmetal worker who now lives in New Zealand.

"She was a little Aussie," said Castle.

"We Aussies love to claim any Kiwis that do well - Phar Lap, Russell Crowe - but (we) don't have to claim Keisha because she is already one of us."

New Zealand tabloids are declaring it an "Ocker Shocker!"

Source

Fighting over an actress? [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img] good lord

and

Quote:

Shy Keisha earns place in history

Keisha Castle-Hughes was too shy to even try out for school plays.

Still, the then 11-year-old stood out when casting director Diana Rowan visited her Auckland primary school, looking for a girl to play the lead role in the film Whale Rider.

What a debut role that turned out to be, earning Castle-Hughes a place in Oscars history.

Castle-Hughes, now 13, was as surprised as anyone when she became the youngest person ever to be nominated for a best actress Academy Award.

"I still haven't been able to let everything sink in," she told AAP, after a hectic day of media interviews.

"It's a bit strange."

Despite her lack of acting experience, Castle-Hughes was chosen from thousands of girls for Whale Rider, directed by Niki Caro.

It was Rowan who discovered Kiwi actress Anna Paquin, who was 11 when she won the best supporting Oscar in 1993 for her performance in The Piano.

It's the category Whale Rider's distributor had been pushing for Castle-Hughes this year.

She now finds herself up against leading ladies Diane Keaton (Something's Gotta Give), Samantha Morton (In America), Charlize Theron (Monster) and Australia's Naomi Watts (21 Grams).

Castle-Hughes said she had tried not to think about the Oscars, before her mum woke her at 3am to give her the news.

"I put it to the back of my head so I wouldn't have to think about it," she said.

"Now that it's happened it's just absolutely amazing."

Castle-Hughes and the low-budget film have already picked up numerous awards, including best young actress and best family film at the 2004 Critics' Choice Awards, from the American Broadcast Critics' Association, and the 2003 Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Audience Award.

Castle-Hughes even appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno before Christmas, an exciting but not overwhelming experience for the young Kiwi.

"I didn't even know who Jay Leno was so when I got asked to go on the show it wasn't much of a big deal," she said.

Since Whale Rider, Castle-Hughes has had a cameo role as a "regal leader" in Star Wars: Episode 111.

She has had other acting offers, "but nothing's in the pipeline at the moment".

"I'm just focusing on one thing at a time, and this is a pretty big thing to be focusing on."

Castle-Hughes had never even tried out for school productions before Whale Rider.

"I'd never done them when I was small, I was always too shy."

She overcame that to take on the role of Paikea, a girl who bucks tradition to become leader of her Maori tribe.

Castle-Hughes, who is two months shy of her 14th birthday, will make the trip to Los Angeles for the 76th Academy Awards on February 29.

Before then, she has the Screen Actors' Guild Awards, where she is a finalist for the best supporting actress.

The Oscars is something Castle-Hughes had never dreamed of. In fact, she didn't even look further than Whale Rider.

"I'd always wanted to act ever since I was little," she said.

"It was something that came up and I was really excited about it as well.

"I never thought about what would happen after the film."

Source

[ 02-06-2004: Message edited Crazy_D+J_Fan ]

Evie · 02-06-2004, 07:05 AM

I saw that on the news. It's ridiculous. I say let NZ claim her as their own. She's a citizen isn't she? Stupid greedy Australian film people trying to claim her as an Aussie (yes I know she was born here, but I'm talking overall) just so we look better at the Oscars.. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Anywho. Hope she wins the Oscar. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Nadine · 02-06-2004, 07:52 AM

It's not her fault that she has an Aussie father and a NZ mother, hence why the fight is occurring.

Since we've been claiming Russell for years we should give them Keisha [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

algernonsidney · 02-08-2004, 05:32 PM

I thought slavery was illegal in these countries. I didn't know that they still owned people there.

Chris

- Jen - · 02-11-2004, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by gossipcom:
Since we've been claiming Russell for years we should give them Keisha [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

can we trade Russell for Keisha ?? cos i think that would be better [img]smilies/lol.gif[/img]

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