How Kiwis handle the truth
Well-known New Zealanders reveal what they’ve learnt from playing the fame game. By Philip McSweeney.
It’s our apathy and our unwillingness to extend kinship beyond our own little group. If we just think about the here and now, we’re in danger of losing everything we think we have. Lucy Lawless, actor We had dinner with Keith Richards and Johnny Depp, who are good friends. We went outside and there were 150 people trying to pull pieces of clothing off Keith. It was just insane... I found them – because they were in a difficult situation where they’re slightly separated from the world because of what they do – normal. So the best thing about it all was that I met some people I liked. Andrew Law, neurosurgeon I know everything about myself: from a physical level to a mental level to an emotional level. What I can take and what I can’t, and what I need to focus on. It’s very much about the controllables – making sure you control as much as you can and try to ignore anything you can’t. Mahe Drysdale, athlete Sometimes I wish I didn’t have the mind that outgrew New Zealand, because if I could happily be in New Zealand with how big I dream then that would be awesome. But I feel like I reach the ceiling every time. Gin Wigmore, musician
Fame? It’s all about the fightback. Or so say the creators of a glossy coffee-table book that looks behind the glitzy, spot-lit lives of 60 well-regarded New Zealanders to reveal the indelible truths they’ve learnt along the way.
Because those authors are the odd-couple pairing of irreverent sportscaster Ric Salizzo and elder statesman muso Mike Chunn, they’ve already got a bit of a head start on the rest of us when it comes to understanding the fame game – but in researching I Know
This To Be True, described as revealing ‘‘truth, wisdom, beauty and other stuff that matters for 60 New Zealanders in the middle of interesting lives’’, they seem to have discovered that Kiwi renown rarely comes without a battle.
Many interviewees found moments where they failed, or took a wrong turn, as valuable and forming as their successes, says Salizzo.
‘‘And believe me: a lot of them have failed . . . it’s about how they responded that makes them so worthy. It’s that Kiwi drive, to prove people wrong and to believe in yourself, that really shines through.’’ Chunn agrees. ‘‘My parents’ friends used to say, ‘Michael worked so hard to get an engineering degree and he wants to be . . . a pop star? Doesn’t that bother you?’ They’d say something in response, like ‘he can follow his dream,’ but I think they really wanted to say: ‘f... off’.’’
Salizzo recalls failing journalism school, visibly wincing.
‘‘I’d had a rowdy day at the cricket one Saturday and ended up having to appear in court, so I called in sick the Monday of my appearance . . . little did I know that was the day my class were doing court reporting. I looked over and saw them all there and knew I was f...ed.’’
I Know This To Be True was born when Salizzo, who lost his fellow journalist wife Cathy Campbell to a brain tumour in 2012, wanted to work on something inspirational. He joined forces early on with Chunn and dedicated the book to raise funds for Chunn’s Play It Strange organisation, which encourages young songwriters and musicians.
Contributors run the full scope from the venerable – Sir John Kirwan, Dave Dobbyn, Dame Silvia Cartwright – to relative newcomers like Rose Matafeo, Gin Wigmore and Beauden Barrett.
‘‘I’d like to say it was a really well-thought-out plan, but it was just the way we did it,’’ Salizzo says.
‘‘I mean we wanted to have a good representation of what New Zealand looks like, but I wasn’t going to be one of those people who said ‘we need x number of these people.’ In saying that, having a variety of fields and personalities was really important, but we just wanted interesting, engaging people – and we got them.
‘‘I didn’t do a lot of talking. Mainly I just sat back and listened to these brilliant New Zealanders talk about what they had to say. It was really, really cool stuff. We asked them about their upbringing and what they thought about the state of New Zealand at the end. Other than that there was – consciously – no direction. It was about listening and learning.’’
Chunn, who was also interviewed for the book, described the experience as ‘‘almost feeling like therapy’’.
‘‘Each person’s story starts with their parents, and the values they instilled in them. It’s the kind of question that really makes you think about your answer.’’
For both Salizzo and Chunn, the crux of the project is the importance of storytelling ‘‘without bull .... ’’.
‘‘I think New Zealanders will pick up this book and see things they recognise ... people not doing it for the fame, or success, but because they want to,’’ Salizzo says. ‘‘There’s something incredibly special about that.’’
I Know This To Be True is available October 3, $49.95. The television special screens on TV One at 8:30pm, October 2.