Frances Morton Editor

Who would play you in the movie of your life? I asked my husband recently who he would cast for me and he replied “Meryl Streep”. I’m not sure if that’s because La Streep, often called “the greatest actress of her generation”, can obviously play any role or because we both have biggish noses. I was hoping for someone, well, of my generation. And when I say my generation I mean 20% younger, which is the age science tells us we generally identify as. Some take that to the extreme. In 2018, a 69-year-old Dutch man went to court to change his birthdate to 20 years younger on the grounds that his official age did not reflect his emotional state and he was being discriminated against on a dating app. He lost his case.

Give it a go. Think of the age you feel. Now compare it to what you actually are. By that calculation, I’ll settle for Emma Stone.

Screenwriter Halaifonua (Nua) Finau got to cast himself for his film Red, White and Brass.

It’s a joyous retelling of when Nua and his church mates started a Tongan brass band to get free tickets for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. John-Paul Foliaki plays Maka, a character based on Nua. It’s a stroke of perfect casting and will surely be a breakthrough role for the young actor. Mike White went on set during the filming to get the wild true story that falls under the category “you couldn’t make this up”.

Long time Sunday/Rātapu readers will recognise the return of Megan Nicol Reed. As a columnist, she wrote in these pages her sharp observations of life in the inner suburbs with a “long-held conviction that privacy is overrated”. Nicol Reed has turned her razor eye to novel writing, with her gripping debut One of Those Mothers out this Thursday. Kia tau te rangimarie,