FROM THE EDITOR

I’ll never forget the first time I interviewed Taika Waititi.

It was 2015 and Taika, although already incredibly successful thanks to movies such as Boy and What We Do in the Shadows, hadn’t quite cracked Hollywood with his offbeat, Kiwi approach to directing. Nevertheless, as a massive fan of his work I was a touch nervous as I dialled his number, ready to talk to him about hosting the upcoming Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

And then, all of a sudden, a slightly odd, high-pitched voice trilled down the phone line: “Hello, it’s Polly here!” Thinking I’d punched in the wrong number, I apologised and tried to hang up, before I heard a quick, “No no, just jokes… it was me, Taika, all along!”

Turns out he’d been pretending to be his assistant, Polly. “Did you really believe it was Polly? Awesome!” he laughed.

What followed was a delightfully fun interview that meandered into his previous life as a ska musician, his hatred of travel and his incredulity that Americans still used cheque books. It was clear he was a man of wicked humour, talent, intelligence and fun, who didn’t take himself too seriously and didn’t care about sticking to the status quo. “My attitude is, no-one will remember us in 100 years,” he told me. “Except for Richie McCaw. So who cares what people think – do whatever you want!”

I wasn’t surprised, therefore, at his Oscar win last week – or the hilarious roll of photos of him posing with his little gold dude at the glamorous after parties!

Congratulations, Taika – we’re all so proud!