Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
The daughter of the Dutch national team’s dressage coach Sjef Janssen and dressage trainer Kerensa Muller, Kayden Muller-Janssen paved a different career path for herself. A former competitive baton twirler, the 20-year-old singer is best known these days for her acting career, which includes Disney’s “The Villains of Valley View.”
“From the age of 12, I was on tour all across North America in a 35-foot motor home with my family’s band The Neilsons,” says Tami Neilson, “I met and married a Kiwi and moved across the world to New Zealand 15 years ago. I am lucky enough to be a dual citizen of both countries.”
Filmmaker and New York Times bestselling author Ransom Riggs is best known for his “Miss Peregrine” books. An avid traveler, Rigg says his ideal vacation is to “somewhere I’ve never been before, and preferably, someplace I can’t pronounce. Madagascar has been on my list for a long, long time. While I can pronounce the name of the country, just give its capital city, Antananarivo, a try.”
The “Lord of the Rings” crew may have left New Zealand, but Wellington hasn’t lost its buzz – particularly not the city’s Cuba Quarter. Located adjacent to the financial district, the nabe is home to funky boutiques, cafés and some crazy nightlife.
It is nearing lunchtime on the set of “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”–which opens Wednesday–but there still are a few more shots to complete before they will be dismissed. A beam of light radiates above the actors, making them appear even more angelic than they will be on screen. With their flaxen, waist-length hair, these elves are the gorgeous supermodels of the movie. Even the horses know it.
For decades, the joke around Wellington was that Americans only knew of New Zealand as “that place by Australia.” But thanks to “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which was filmed in Wellington–New Zealand’s capital–the country is stepping out of Australia’s shadow.