Latest news with #JohnWood
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Williamstown Blue Heelers house could fetch $2.4m
A historic Williamstown house that appeared in the long-running police drama Blue Heelers is poised to cop a $2.19m-$2.4m sale. The circa-1907 home at 8 Thompson St was used in external shots for the television show, alongside its neighbour at 10 Thompson St that served as the fictional Mt Thomas police station. Airing from 1994 to 2006, Blue Heelers starred actors John Wood, Lisa McCune and William McInnes and won 25 Logies. The two properties are heritage-listed as Williamstown's former real-life police station, known as the Sergeant and Watchhouse Keeper quarters. Nowadays, No. 8 features a sitting room that doubles as a fourth bedroom, Baltic pine floors, ornate fretwork, decorative fireplaces, pressed-metal ceilings and a kitchen with a walk-in pantry. It's also set for a significant windfall from its days on the show, with sales records showing it sold for $832,500 in 2003, potentially a $1,567,500 uplift. Jellis Craig's Anthony Christakakis said that council-approved plans to extend the home, accompanied by a garden redesign from Richmond's Eckersley Garden Architecture, were in place. 'The owners who intended to do the extension have moved overseas for work reasons,' he said. 'We have had lots of interest with some young families, especially locals – I think, being on a corner block over 700sq m with the potential to subdivide, subject to council approval, creates endless possibilities.' Mr Christakakis also had the listing for no. 10 that changed hands in June after being advertised with a $2.85m-$3.1m asking range. He declined to comment on the sold price but said the five-bedroom abode was bought by a family. 'They are in the process of getting plans drawn up, I believe, for a renovation,' Mr Christakakis. And plenty of Blue Heelers fans came through the doors during the sales campaign. 'There were many people who came through just to have a look and a lot of people took photos out the front,' he added. No. 8 Thompson St will be auctioned at 10am on August 17.
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The play that changed my life: ‘Michael Gambon's offstage anarchy as Falstaff made the show better'
In 2005, I was in my late 20s and just getting going as an actor. Nick Hytner cast me in his production of Henry IV Parts One and Two, with Michael Gambon as Falstaff. It was front-page news: the expectations on him were so ridiculous. And it didn't quite work, at first. My central role was Westmoreland, but Nick had sort of amalgamated him with several boring lords, normally played by kindly old veteran actors, and 'sexed' it up with a young cast. So as a young actor I had an assortment of funny little cameos, working with Gambon. Michael always played as if the most interesting person on the stage was the one he was talking to. His mission to corpse me, to just get something from me – a reaction, a laugh, whatever it was – was so alive in his eyes. And I've tried to do that ever since. I mean, sometimes you look into somebody's eyes on stage and you're looking into a void. But when Gambon found somebody that he could connect with, it was more fun than I'd ever imagined. In the recruiting scene in Gloucestershire, three-quarters of the way through, when Shakespeare really puts the brakes on the story, I was Francis Feeble, whom Falstaff enjoys calling a 'woman's tailor'. Nick had managed to coax John Wood out of retirement to play Justice Shallow [meeting his old friend Falstaff]. I was too young really to understand the impact he had had on a certain generation of theatregoers. But there was always a gasp of excitement when he appeared. Gambon was in his pomp, 'the Great Gambon', but John Wood scared the bejesus out of him. He was scary, the great intellectual Shakespearean with a famously quick temper. He was by then diminished with emphysema but still had astonishing power even when forced to use his falsetto. Gambon suddenly had to try hard. He stopped his insouciance and raised his game. Wood's first line was two words, 'come on', repeated three times. You need a master to make use of that. It took maybe two minutes for him to say them. But an alchemy of connection happened. I could feel it at the back of the stage. Wood was doing absolutely nothing, not playing, absolutely trusting Shakespeare fundamentally. It was magnificent. We didn't get great reviews. But the production rapidly became legendary in acting circles because Gambon became the Lord of Misrule, soaking backstage with water fights. It got to the point where I was permanently wet, we all were. Michael would throw a water bomb at me as I walked on stage. The poor actors in the building doing the other shows had to step through puddles. Gambon was Falstaff on and off stage, it was as simple as that, and we became the Rogues' Company. That anarchy off stage made the show better. It's horribly pretentious to say, but I think this was the spirit of Shakespeare's company. There was this conviviality, this camaraderie. People were turning up to work early, leaving late, even hurrying their scenes to get back to the action. I also learned something that directors and producers and critics don't want to know about – which is that productions evolve, especially during the 'little hiatus' in a National Theatre production while another show is opening. In ours, Richard Harris had just died and Gambon had got the Dumbledore gig. So the production company flew him out to America and he had new titanium gnashers fitted. When he came back, he suddenly had these brilliant teeth. We heard lines that had been indistinct the first time, when we had thought he didn't know his lines. We took 20 minutes off the show, which is unheard of, because he had become so distinct and clear. For the final three weeks you saw an astonishing piece of work. Elliot Levey is in Giant at the Harold Pinter theatre, London, until 2 August As told to Lindesay Irvine
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBC Sports analyst John Wood weighs in on the challenges of the Oakmont Country Club golf course
The challenge of the Oakmont Country Club golf course should not be underestimated. The announcers for the U.S. Open have been highlighting that point. Channel 11 talked to analyst John Wood from NBC Sports to learn more about what makes the course so difficult. Watch the attached video for our full interview with Wood. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
USA Today
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
MMA Junkie Radio #3571: Interviews with Miranda Maverick, John Wood, UFC recap, more
MMA Junkie Radio #3571: Interviews with Miranda Maverick, John Wood, UFC recap, more Monday's episode of MMA Junkie Radio with "Gorgeous" George and "Goze" is here. Monday's episode of MMA Junkie Radio with "Gorgeous" George and "Goze" is here. On Episode 3,571, the fellas welcome in UFC women's flyweight contender Miranda Maverick and coach John Wood. The guys also discuss the fallout of UFC on ESPN 68 and more! Tune in!
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Merab Dvalishvili's coach downplays broken toe
Last week bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili revealed that he broke his toe two weeks before his UFC 316 rematch with Sean O'Malley. The championship rematch with O'Malley headlines the UFC 316 fight card at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on June 7. The injury appeared to be similar to what forced Conor McGregor out of his scheduled return at UFC 303 last year. Advertisement In an appearance on Submission Radio, Dvalishvili's coach, John Wood, downplayed the injury. "He loves to rile everybody up. The thing is, as much as people think, 'oh, that's stupid or this or that.' He would never post something that was going to take him out of a fight," Wood told Submission Radio. "So guys, if he's posting something it's really not that bad and it's not going to bother him that bad. "I'm sure he broke his toe but like you don't understand. Every camp and every fighter, even O'Malley says it, everybody is banged up," Wood continued. "There's a level of injuries you go into fights with. That's the way it is. That's the way it's going to be, and that's the way it always is. It's just one of those things, obviously, Merab likes to post about a little more than everybody else. It's alright, though. He's all good." Wood doesn't see a broken pinky toe playing any role in the upcoming UFC 316 title fight. He considers the injury minor compared to others Dvalishvili has had going into fights. Advertisement Related: Dana White sends money to fighter after cutting him from UFC "That's nothing compared to a lot of the things we've had going into fights," Wood said. "He's had some massive injuries going into some massive fights before, and been banged up. Broken ribs and backs complete out of whack. But that's just the way it goes. He's going go show up and do his job no matter what." Dvalishvili earned the 135-pound championship by defeating O'Malley at UFC 306 last September. Following the fight, O'Malley underwent hip surgery. The rematch with Dvalishvili will be his first fight since losing the title. While O'Malley watched from the sidelines, Dvalishvili successfully defended the title at UFC 311 in January, defeating the Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision.
