December 5, 2007

2007 NZ COMEDY GUILD AWARD NOMINEES

From record crowds and television ratings in New Zealand to cult status and Hollywood offers in the US, 2007 has been a huge year for New Zealand comedy. Annually, the members of the New Zealand Comedy Guild vote on those they believe are the best in the business, and it is with great pleasure that we announce the nominees for the 2007 NZ Comedy Guild Awards.

The list covers some established stars, some relative newcomers and a good dash of those who are just bubbling under. Jeremy Elwood leads the nominations with four nods, while Dai Henwood,   Brendhan Lovegrove, Jamie Bowen and Simon McKinney each have three. Flight of The Conchords make a welcome return to the list, both for their series and in the offshoot success of Rhys Darby in two categories.

The winners will be announced at a special ceremony on Dec 16th, to be held at the Classic Comedy Club in Auckland, hosted by Dai Henwood.

For further information or bookings, please contact the NZ Comedy Guild at nzcomedyguild@gmail.com or phone Guild President Jarrod Baker on 021 120 6853.

And the nominees are…

1. BEST NEWCOMER
Diane Spencer
Clayton Carrick-Lesley
Rhys Matthewson Moody

2. BEST SHOW CONCEPT
The boy with tape on his face – Sam Wills
Clean comedy show – Dave Wiggins
Passport Control – Jeremy Elwood
Rock 101 – Mrs Peacock 

3. MULTIMEDIA Award for BEST SHOW
The boy with tape on his face – Sam Wills
Rock 101 – Mrs Peacock
AotearoHA! – TV3 / NZ International Comedy Festival
I do these things so you don’t have to – Jamie Bowen

4. BEST COMEDY VENUE
The Classic Comedy Club and Bar (Auckland)
The Cook (Hamilton)
San Francisco Bathhouse (Wellington)
Buzz (Lower Hutt)

5. BEST MEDIA SUPPORT
Radio New Zealand National
Māori Television
Wellington Access Radio
C4
The Rock
New Zealand Herald

6. BEST INTERNATIONAL GUEST
Stephen K Amos
Phil Nicol
Mickey D

7. BEST INDUSTRY FRIEND
Nigel Grant
Jan Maree
Matt Elliot
Richard Carrington

8. BEST NZ ON-SCREEN COMEDY PERFORMANCE
Rhys Darby – Flight of the Conchords – HBO
Andre King – AotearoHA! – TV3/NZ International Comedy Festival
Simon McKinney – Festival Gala – TVNZ/NZ International Comedy Festival/Satellite Media
Dai Henwood – Various – C4

9. MOST IMPROVED COMEDIAN
Figjam
Darren Jardine

10. THE ANDREW KOVACEVICH MEMORIAL CUP
Brendhan Lovegrove
Andre King

11. Bfm GAG OF THE YEAR
Jeremy Elwood – "Deerhunting"
Brendhan Lovegrove – "1.4 Billion Chinese"
Derek Flores – "Dick Smith"

12. BEST MC
Simon McKinney
Jamie Bowen
Jeremy Elwood
Andrew Clay

13. BEST MALE COMEDIAN
Brendhan Lovegrove
Dai Henwood
Simon McKinney

Jeremy Elwood

14. BEST FEMALE COMEDIAN
Irene Pink
Jan Maree
Michele A’Court

15. THE KEVIN SMITH MEMORIAL CUP FOR BEST ARTIST ACHIEVEMENT
Flight of the Conchords – For renewal of their HBO series
Rhys Darby – For his landing of a role in Yes Men with Jim Carrey
Dai Henwood – For his overall contribution to C4’s programming.

16. THE GREEN ROOM AWARD
Jamie Bowen
Grant Lobban
Dave Wiggins
Vaughan King