By Cathy Aronson

Second-Hand Wedding has broken the $1million mark at the New Zealand Box Office. The Big Idea and Scoop TV met with two of the stars from the small film with a big heart. Read more to see the YouTube vlog.

Geraldine Brophy and Holly Shanahan make a convincing couple. Geraldine has a wise motherly manner and Holly has a fresh, wide-eyed energy. Yet both actors are strikingly different from their mother-daughter characters in the bittersweet dramatic comedy Second-Hand Wedding. By Cathy Aronson

Second-Hand Wedding has broken the $1million mark at the New Zealand Box Office. The Big Idea and Scoop TV met with two of the stars from the small film with a big heart. Read more to see the YouTube vlog.

Geraldine Brophy and Holly Shanahan make a convincing couple. Geraldine has a wise motherly manner and Holly has a fresh, wide-eyed energy. Yet both actors are strikingly different from their mother-daughter characters in the bittersweet dramatic comedy Second-Hand Wedding.Geraldine's thespian voice, polished attire and considered conversation are in notable contrast to her bargin-hunting 'soap-opera' character Jill Rose. Holly has a 'unique taste' and is an avid op-shopper and hoarder, unlike her character Cheryl.

"She's very normal, she's a very middle of the road young woman, and it's absolutely not like me at all. That's hard and challenging as an actor so it's attractive to play," says Holly.

The character development and personal chemistry between actors was important in a film whose key element was a believable family.

"This film doesn't have tidal waves and explosions, it is very much an emotionally heart centred film, so it needs to have actors communicating," says Geraldine.

Cheryl's getting married and dreading the thought of her mother decorating her reception with second hand treasures, so much so, she won't tell her mother she's engaged. When Jill finds out her trust has been betrayed it causes a serious rift between mother and daughter and throws into doubt her whole reason for living.

As the synopsis says "Set in the present, in a time when trademe and e-bay threaten the primeval urge for a firsthand crack at the second-hand. Jill keeps the dream alive until she is forced to confront the habits of a lifetime and concede that no bargain is worth her daughter's happiness. Father of the bride, Brian, quips that Cheryl's upcoming wedding will be the first time anyone in the Rose family has given something away - and that's the crux of it."

Geraldine says the film was a challenge as it relied on an audience engaging on the basis of banality "whereas often you'll find we are quite quickly and concentratively attracted to the strange and bizarre."

"It's much more difficult to get us engaged with people who we think are the same as us. But we learn more from that experience once we do engage, and I think we are often rewarded more, I think we feel comforted by knowing there's people out there like us who think and feel the same things."

The low-budget film relied on actors and crew working for love and passion, expenses and best wishes for a profitable box office return. The film hit the $1 million mark at the New Zealand Box Office after five weeks on screen.

A quick four-week shoot last August on the Kapiti Coast in Wellington, a great director, cast and crew and a New Zealand Film Commission postproduction boost has helped.

"In my professional work there are often projects that I am attracted to as an artist, that I would do, without necessarily thought of remuneration. I can't always afford to make that choice but sometimes your investment is down the track. And any piece of theatre I ever do is a risk from that perspective any way," says Geraldine.

Holly was available, was drawn to her character, a nice script and a 'certain magic' about the film. The characters are real people that you know or you know of in your circle friends and acquittances.

"It came off the page from the word go and that did continue the way through."

That didn't happened so freely for the producers who turned down scriptwriter Nick Ward (Stick Men, The Ferryman) because the script lacked risks, inherent drama and was about nothing.

Possibly hard for someone who wrote a movie based on his family, right down to the details of the garage selling partner in crime Muffy, Holly wearing Cheryl's actual wedding dress and the real dad Brian driving Cheryl in his real Model-T Fords to the wedding. But the story's simplicity is its strength.

"There are no experts out there judging what stories ought to be told. They are ordinary people, who have knowledge, but it's subjective,' says Geraldine.

"It doesn't meet any political agenda, it doesn't meet any action packed agenda, it's not really showing our scenery as another character in the film, which we frequently do .. although the Kapiti Coast is beautiful, and is seen. It's about people, and it's heartland New Zealand, and that's something we haven't seen for a wee while possibly."

Both actors praise the work of first time feature film director Paul Murphy, a 'cheeky character' with 'film under his finger nails' after growing up with his veteran filmmaker father Geoff Murphy. The yellow Mini that Jill races to the garage sales in pays homage to his father's movie Goodbye Pork Pie.

Paul has spent the past 30 years in the industry starting out in the technical area working on sets, lighting, key grip and then directing commercials and television drama (Sensing Murder).

Holly said he dug deep, got personal and worked closely with the actors. "I think this film needs it and needed his gentle touch."

He also never just set up a shot, says Geraldine. "He was interested in every single shot being a point of story telling. And that means that everyone involved in it has to have some communication."

Geraldine's character Jill was modelled on Nick's mother and her 'Aladdin's Cave' of treasures. Geraldine was interested in playing a character that gets to run the gambit of emotions.

"We all love the character roles who are the villains with great eccentricities or some sort of deformity or perversity, they're great, I like those myself. But there's a great challenge to be had in conveying someone who does appear normal, that's a harder task and I was really interested in that challenge."

Holly's task was to appear normal. Holly doesn't buy any clothing new unless it's for an event and she loves her vintage summer dress, a green floral print 'sixties number' that Cheryl might not be so found of.

But Holly can relate to the trauma of garaging selling. She recalls as an eight year old watching as her favourite dinosaur transformer was carried out of her garage in somebody else's hand.

Geraldine recently held her own garage sale to fundraise for her daughter's school trip and was intrigued to see what would sell, including broken things.

"I let my girls go through everything before we had the garage sale so there were a lot of things reclaimed."

Prior to the film Geraldine did not know much about garage selling. " I didn't realise how serious a cultural past time it was. It's a wonderful thing to do really because it's recycling, people come to your home and give you money for your rubbish."

While Geraldine did not haggle at her fundraising garage sale, as she find's it deeply embarrassing, she did enjoy the interacting and engagement instead of the mall mentality.

Geraldine is more at home in the theatre and will be spending the rest of the year writing and directing.

She says theatre and film are different in terms of the disciplines required to make them happen "but essentially they're just different forms of story telling, and that's what I do."

"Like Holly says, you create yourself. You're an artist, that's what you do. You will continue, and you will get over the stumbling blocks, you will stand up again and be glad something works and buffer yourself when it doesn't. Because really there isn't a choice, that is what you do, you have to tell the story."

After four years almost full time in the industry, including Outrageous Fortune, Holly is ready for a break in the UK and also has 'millions of different creative things that just need to come out of me' including writing, publishing, music and art.

"It's a hard job. It's not easy. It's not for everyone. But it's so satisfying when it's satisfying; it's so unsatisfying when it's unsatisfying. And that's why we do it, and that's why we love it, cause when you get those satisfying moments it's so worth while."

Holly says its encouraging to see New Zealand starting to embrace it's own work but there is still a long way to an expectation of success.

'There's great work happening, there are great people in this business in New Zealand, amazingly talented people. If we really believe we're making some really good stuff, I think even that sentiment will improve our industry."

Geraldine says she is very pleased to see more embracing of NZ work by New Zealanders and the more we make the better it is. The challenge is to 'continue the spirit of bravery that makes it happen.'

"I find myself intolerant, of a need for fiscal accountability, to the extent where entertainment is the keynote word and not art. But those are probably my pet little political beliefs and now is probably not the time to go there."

YouTube vlog interview: With Second-Hand Wedding stars Geraldine Brophy and Holly Shanahan. Special thanks to Selwyn Manning from Scoop TV for filming and producing. Thanks to Geraldine and Holly for helping us launch TBI YouTube TV.

Send TBI your vlogs: Send us your interviews and clips and help us grow TBI YouTube. We would love to see everything from your professional productions to your random vlogs. Email editor@thebigidea.co.nz for a submission form.

TBI2: Our new website will allow you to upload your own podcasts, videos, audio and other creative content in our revamped showcase gallery. To find out more about the rebuild and how you can contribute visit the invest site.

26/06/08