I'm in a good movie. I can't believe it! I'm in a good movie. I can't believe it! (LAUGHS) I'm back! READS: 'Kiwi actor Temuera Morrison tells Remix why his recent role on Mt Zion 'was the perfect end to his acting career.' So you're a director now? Oh, hi, Tem. It's, uh, Craig Johnson here. Yo. There's a saying ` 'if it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage'. I'm ready to direct as well. I'm ready to direct as well. Mm. So this might be my opportunity. I think my chances of making a movie with this guy is better than those ones in Las Vegas. # Nobody's calling on the telephone... This is a story about me ` Temuera Morrison. Jake the Muss; Jango Fett from Star Wars; Abin Sur, Green Lantern. I was on every casting agent's speed dial. I had it all ` the cars, the homes, living the Hollywood high life ` and then suddenly the phone stopped ringing. The recession hit, and now I'm out of work and running out of time. # ...son of a gun. # This is six months in my life as I aim to get my career and life back on track. # Wake up in the morning. # Feelin' out my clothes. # Hey. Hey. Hey, you. (CHUCKLES). Hello. You know, I think it's time now to work with my NZ agent, Gabriella. I need to catch up with you on these scripts. I need to catch up with you on these scripts. Somebody had a script ` the cowboy one. Well, there's that one, which is a local feature. She was Robert Bruce's partner, and then Robert sadly passed away. And Gabriella decided to buy the business off the trust; keep the Robert Bruce name up there. Cos he goes way back ` one of the first agents in our country. I've got this script. Sounds like` I've got this script. Sounds like` It's very close to Warriors, so... I'm sick of all that stuff. We've done all that. I'm sick of all that stuff. We've done all that. Well, it's a good script. We've done all that. Tem keeps talking about film scripts slowing down; not coming through as fast and as frequently as they used to, which isn't actually the case. This is, uh, an American project. I'm getting scripts through all the time, and it's just a matter of choosing the right ones and strategising whether a particular script is the right one for him to do at this particular time of his career. Which ones have got the finance? None of them? Which ones have got the finance? None of them? None of them. I've got some news too. There's a guy I've been dealing with. He lived in Dubai. Well, he's got a script ` nice little story; very country; very, uh, Kiwi. nice little story; very country; very, uh, Kiwi. Feel-good? You've seen a draft? Or are you still waiting for one? You've seen a draft? Or are you still waiting for one? Yeah, seen it. I've seen it. Craig's, uh, script is the one that really appeals to me. So I think I'm gonna show him around my mum's farm. But I tend to try and keep all my options open. So, yeah, I've kind of just scribbled out a script for you... Every now and then I get an opportunity just to lay down a video audition. It still happens. And in this particular case I got a call from my agents in LA. Can't be flying up and down to LA every week or every month, so that's another option for me to do ` send it off to America. Sometimes it's just about your look. I might be too young; might be too ugly. And it's American accent, yeah? And it's American accent, yeah? Yes. So I need you to have a listen. What I do is get my friend Paul Gittins ` he taught me a lot about acting, and he's good with the American accent as well. I'm just struggling with these words, like 'stragglers'. We were the original cast of Shortland Street. So he's a great friend. And... action. Uh, hi there. Uh, my name is Temuera Morrison, with Abrams Artists, and here's my audition. Thank you for the opportunity. That's enough! He's learned his lesson ` right, boy? He shouldn't be outside the walls. Cut. Cut that. Let's do it again. Sorry. That's the other good thing about it. You can do it a couple of times, pick the best take and send it. You know what I mean? Otherwise, if you're there live and in person and you bugger it up, it kind of... throws you off a little bit. OK, straight into it again. I remember I got an audition through my agent in LA, I was there, and I peeked at the scene I was reading. I was a cop. The scene was with J Lo. And I spent most of the pre-audition thinking about working with J Lo. It came to action, saying my lines, and it all just` It went out the door. 'Uh... Uh...' That's enough! He's learned his lesson ` right, boy? How was that accent? How was that accent? The key ones that, sort of, ping out at my ear are that word 'caught'. < Caaht. Cawt. < Caaht. Cawt. Caught. It's,... 'He's never been caught.' Caught. Caught. Caught, yes. Still got a bit of work to do with that accent. But, uh... Put a note at the bottom ` 'Still working on the accent.' Here's hoping. Yeah. I like that. The worst part is waiting ` waiting for that phone call. Did I get the part? No? Cliff got it?! Aw. All right. (CHUCKLES) BLUESY MUSIC As I come around these corners, all my childhood memories come flooding back. I'm gonna show Craig, the producer, my family farm. This is where my mother's from. We're part of Ngati Maniapoto. And every school holidays we were brought over this way to our mum's farm to spend time with our grandfather and our grandmother. A lot of people don't know this side of me, so... I kind of treasure this side. This is my quiet, humble side. My nan's side's more quiet. My Morrison side's always singing and dancing and stuff, whereas the farm side is always just kind of cruising in the background. I remember vividly riding a horse, on those cold winter mornings, with my grandad up the hill, feeling like Tonto and Kemosabe. I think I was Tonto. It's kind of funny, cos I was thinking about happiness not so long ago. I was trying to remember a moment in my life where I was just so happy. And I had to go all the way back to my days on the farm. Our uncle's getting a little... you know, bit older now, so who's gonna take over? So... you never know. It might be from Hollywood to Otorohanga. I think Tem does sometimes get a calling to go back and help on the farm. He might have two days free ` what does he do? Jumps in the car, goes and hires a mower and pushes the mower around the farm. Cos he doesn't want his uncle, who's getting older now, to be pushing the mower around. So he'll go up there and do it himself. Oh, sorry ` so he'll go up there, take me up there and make me push it around with him. (SHOUTS) Hi! Kia ora, Tem! Welcome home. Yeah, thank you. I've got this fella coming over. Yeah, thank you. I've got this fella coming over. Oh, have you? One I was telling you about ` that fella who's got a movie idea. One I was telling you about ` that fella who's got a movie idea. Kia ora. Kia ora. Kia ora. My uncle Pat, he's my mum's brother But he's like our big chief. He's very special, because he's spent most of his life working for his people; for us as a family. So he's one uncle I really really look up to. I didn't see any more Maoris along the road there. Have they all sold up? Not many Maoris today. We're the only ones left? We're the only ones left? We're the only ones left. We're the last of the Mohicans. Last of the Mohicans? (LAUGHS) OK. Here he is now. Gee, You did well to find the place. GPS. Gee, You did well to find the place. GPS. Tem. Good to see you again, brother. Good to see you again, brother. Good to see you too. Good to see you again, brother. Good to see you too. Tena koe. Nice to see you, Craig. I was quite excited about showing Craig my mum's farm here. On a real fine day, Craig, we can actually see... Ruapehu. What about your land? What about the future for you here? Oh, it'll always be here. This is home for us. It's going nowhere. Here's the next farmer here. That's me, uncle. That's me, uncle. He might have racehorses; he might have donkeys. Tem started to come here... I suppose he was a 2-year-old, he was 3... But he's always come back. He hasn't forgot his Maniopoto roots. Whether he'll get to actually managing the animals, I'm not certain about that. I think it's a romantic notion ` that I could actually come back and work the farm. I think I've been Hollywood-fied. Is there such a word? There's no room service up here, uncle. No room service. (SNORTS, CHUCKLES) Can I see Tem as a farmer? (LAUGHS) I think until the director yells, 'Cut!' (CHUCKLES) 1 You see, sharemilker's house could be there, and the old man's house is across the road. I want a crane up here. I want a crane. Get a crane up here now. I want a crane shot. Is the helicopter ready? I'm, uh, very excited about directing now. And it's been one of my goals, I guess, you know, dreams, way back. How's our budget, buddy? How's our budget, buddy? (CHUCKLES) Yeah. How's our budget, buddy? (CHUCKLES) Yeah. Helicopter shot? This is gonna be wonderful for me. At last I can direct. Action! Do it again! Cut! Well, thank you for coming, my friend. So, uh... Yeah. Thank you very much. Thanks for your time. Yeah. Thank you very much. Thanks for your time. Give us a hongi. Hongi, mate. Mm. You gotta close your eyes and go 'mm'. Very important. Mm. I didn't hear the 'mm'. I didn't hear the 'mm'. Oh. BOTH: Mm. BOTH: Mm. That's better. BOTH: Mm. That's better. (LAUGHS) You know, it's a frightening kind of thing, to tell Tem about this. And I don't want to let Tem down either. Film investment is a skittery prospect at best. Drive careful! Oh well. Wonder if I'll see him again. PHONE RINGS AMERICAN MAN: Hello, Tem! Steven Lo. What's happening, my brother? I'm out in the country. I'm calling you because I've got somethin' for ya ` the... convention that's, uh, being held in Chattanooga, Tennessee would like for you to come. Hey, that's fantastic. Well` Hey, that's fantastic. Well` Yeah, it's... Fantastic. That's great. Put me in, bro. Put me in. That'll be great. Awesome. Funny ` when you least expect it, something comes along. Yeah, put me in. Chur, bro. Gives me another opportunity to go to another place. And the bigger picture ` it's work again. I wonder if that's tornado country over there ` Tennessee. OK, boo. I'll see you soon, eh. So, Tem's off again. This might be the 70,000th time I've said goodbye to him. At least he's going to do something, which is what I think attracted me to him in the first place ` his persistence. (LAUGHS) Cos he was very persistent. I'm just kind of thankful that these opportunities come up for me. And this is where being in Star Wars really is kind of cool, cos the movie lives on. BANJO MUSIC A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. I get to Chattanooga. It's freezing cold. No one there to pick me up. I start to get worried. You start to wonder sometimes. 'What have I got myself into?' There you are. There you are. Well, I got your car right out here. There you are. Well, I got your car right out here. OK, buddy. Thank you very much. Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennessee. We're up in here, sir. We're up in here, sir. Thank you very much. Oh, here's the driver here. Hello, sir. How are you doing? How are you doing? How are you doing? Tem Morrison, from NZ. So Daniel's here, you said? My son, Boba Fett. Yes, he is. Yes, he is. Yes, he is. Yes, he is. The Fetts are here. Yes, he is. Yes, he is. The Fetts are here. The Fetts are here, and all that. And what's the plan for tomorrow? And what's the plan for tomorrow? The plan for tomorrow? Well, we're gonna get up at 5.30am and go and do a live interview. ROOSTER CROWS If you look out, that's the convention centre we'll be at tomorrow. OK. We're right in there? > OK. We're right in there? > Yep. Our hotel is next to it there. The Marriott, right next to it. I thought I was staying at the Choo Choo. Oh, well, your agent told me it wasn't nice enough. Is that right? > Is that right? > Yes. You are our biggest guest ` you. You are our biggest guest ` you. Oh! Me, the biggest star here. There's nobody else. We are here. We are here. Thank you very much for picking me up. I'll see you... What time? Oh, 5.30. 5.30, right here. I will pick you up. # Chattanooga choo choo... # Look at this place ` Chattanooga. A day in the life of Temuera Morrison. Another hotel room. It can get a bit of a drag sometimes, when you're living out of the suitcase. 'Oh, another hotel room.' They all start to look the same. Pretty cold out there. I guess it can get a little bit lonely. But that's the worst of it. (EXHALES) Gee. It's still surprising that, you know, one minute I'm here, one minute I'm there. One minute I'm on the farm, one minute in a Maori environment, and then all of a sudden... it's kind of weird, I'm in Middle America; Chattanooga. Sometimes I ask myself, 'What the hell am I doing here?' Gotta go on television at 5 in the morning; try and promote the show. I think three people are coming so far. I think I'll be on the Chattanooga choo choo out of here. (CHUCKLES) WDEF News 12 This Morning, live in HD, starts now. How do you pronounce it? How do you pronounce it? Temuera. Temo-rera? Temo-rera? Te-mu-e-ra. You know, when you do these conventions, no matter where you are in the world, you gotta do all the press stuff as well. Sometimes it's a bit early for my liking, but hey. This morning we're really pleased to have Daniel Logan, who played Boba Fett in Episode II; T Morrison, who played Jango Fett in Episode II as well; and Todd Patton, with Con Nooga. Daniel Logan, well, he was just a little kid ` like 11, 12 years old ` when I first met him. I live down in NZ, so, um, this is part of my reason for being here. I like to come up and see my son again. When I met Tem, I thought he was gonna be mean or, you know, different than he was. But he just embraced me like a son straight away. The first day, he said to me, 'You call me Dad, and I'll call you son.' I replied, 'OK, Dad.' Tell us what the temperatures are. Well, look, over here we got 36 degrees at, uh,... Decatur. Cleveland's looking like 36; 37 Chattanooga. Elli-ya 34. Ellijay. Ellijay. Oh. Ellijay. Oh. Ellijay. Go ahead and say it again. Ellijay. Ellijay. All right, very good. Ellijay. All right, very good. I knew that. Let's give him a hand. He did a great job, didn't he? Here is Nori with Time Saver Traffic. And here's Nori with Time Saver Traffic. And here's Nori with Time Saver Traffic. Good. Very good. Killer! Killer! (LAUGHS) Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. You've got a great show here. Best television I've ever been on. 12 News. I can't see anybody here, Kirsty. This could be the no-show convention. It was a bit tragic, actually. It was a bit tragic. Look at this. Look at this place. The Chattanooga choo choo needs to get running again. There was nobody here. 1 (UTTERS WAR CRY) Look at all these posters. With this particular convention, it's not just solely Star Wars. This one included a lot of other genres. The zombie genre's very big now. Ooh, man. That's scary. (SNARLS) There is a particular kind of... breed that come to these conventions. I'm trying to make her a zombie, and she keeps lassoing me. Last year was my first year coming. But these cons are always so fun. This year I brought a group of friends with me. A whole range of weird people all in the same place. May the force be with you. Some of them just sort of stand there and look at me like this. Can I high-five you? Can I high-five you? High five, buddy. High five. (CHUCKLES) (CHUCKLES) It's all good. It's all good, buddy. Stand up. Get up. One guy, I wrote my name, Temuera Morrison, on his calf muscle. The next day it's tattooed. Can I hug you? Can I hug you? Go. Hug me. All good, buddy. All good, mate. Yeah, I'm here all day. Do you want a name, or just my autograph? Thanks, man. Thanks, man. No problem. Tem signs autographs for free all the time, you know? I'm gonna buy one now. No, no, no. No, you don't have to buy one. No, no, no. No, you don't have to buy one. I'm gonna buy one. Everybody, all they have to say about him is, 'Oh my God. He's a great guy. 'He gave me and my family autographs for free,' you know? And I'm, like, 'We're meant to be making money at these things.' OK, how are we gonna get through this day, man? I'm sick of this already. I'm done with all this. How long to go? 5 o'clock. 5 o'clock. 5 o'clock? Oh my God. What's the time now? 11. 11. 11. Sometimes you just think, 'Man, I'm done with this. I'm not going this any more. I'm done.' I'm really hopin' to see you in the next Star Wars movie. I'm really hopin' to see you in the next Star Wars movie. Thank you very much. Sometimes I think, 'This isn't me. I'm bigger than this. I need to be working in the movies, 'instead of signing autographs.' BOTH GROWL Don't see George Clooney signing these pictures. (CHUCKLES) What was your favourite part of filming? What was your favourite part of filming? Filming Star Wars? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Uh, lunch. What's up with the fries, buddy? What's up with the fries, buddy? LAUGHTER I was hungry. I was hungry. This guy carries fries around. I've been doing Star Wars almost 13 years, and they're very enjoyable ` not only do they allow me to continue making money, but they allow us to continue being in the public eye without even having a film or be in a movie. BOTH CHANT HAKA Me and Tem together, we just... We rock it together, you know? We're different than everybody else, cos we're NZ boys. CHEERING To be able to come out and be able to do these conventions with Tem, it is, uh... it is an honourable experience. I hereby knight you to the order of... to the order of... McDonald's franchise! to the order of... McDonald's franchise! ...the Fetts. We both grew up in a very small place. I mean, now... Star Wars has taken us all over the world. I grew up without a father most of my life. When I was in Star Wars, I never had one. Tem became the closest thing to a father figure that I had. Um, and he really embraced it. He even embraced it so much that he would even call my house. And when he'd call, he'd be, like... IMITATES TEM: 'Hello! Hey! Is my son there?' LAUGHTER I grew up without a father, you know, and my brothers and sisters were, like, 'What the hell? Click!' Cos we were always told, if anyone calls, click. Don't talk to them. Daniel, I try, you know, to give him a lot of support. Boy, he came from a rough upbringing too. His dad's a mobster ` locked up, I think. And then my family, because we're all fans, 'Oh my God! We just hung up on Temuera Morrison!' LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE You're a good boy, son. I try. His waka was heading towards a gangster lifestyle. But paths can change. Instead of being at a Mongrel Mob convention, he's now at a Star Wars convention. ROCK MUSIC That's another one done and dusted. Chattanooga, Tennessee. I'll put that down on my list. Wonder how many more of these I'll be invited to. Back to the traffic. Back to the big smoke. Ugh. Still not as bad as Los Angeles 405, though. Yeah, well, it's just nice to be back from Chattanooga. Chattanooga wasn't, uh, as big as I thought it was gonna be. I thought the numbers were a little down. But, hey, I had a great time. There's a few things going on here in Auckland. Gabriella's ringing with a few bits and pieces. So I think I'm gonna base myself in Auckland for a little bit. Yeah, and the good news is, now that I'm back, I've heard that my 8-year-old daughter Aiorangi has moved back to Auckland. So it'll be way cool ` have my son in Auckland and my daughter in Auckland. So... at least I can spend more time with my kids. How y'all doing? How y'all doing? Hey. Oh, looking good. Yeah. Good to see you again. Good to see you again. Good to be back. How was it? Chattanooga. Chattanooga. Uh-huh. The Chattanooga choo choo. (CHUCKLES) Well, it could have been a bit busier, I guess, but, yeah. It ended up` It was what it was, you know? Chattanooga. Well, in the meantime, I've had a call from Dean Lonergan. And he wants you to consider a celebrity fight. He already called me. So what are you thinking? > That's it! I thought I was fit, but... Have you had any fights before? Have you had any fights before? I've had heaps of fights, but they've all been in the movies. CHUCKLES: I don't he realises what he's got himself into. This ain't acting. We have some problems. Mike can't fight. I was fighting the DJ; now it's like the unknown. DING! DING! All in all, I guess I'm shitting my pants. Copyright Able 2014