12/17/10
Sorry, guys, my bad!
Someone asked me yesterday if I was working with a certain writer and I let some cat out of a bag.  If you can delete any re-tweets, that'd be grand.
Sorry to everyone involved.  I should know better.  I'm usually pretty discreet about stuff, but I got confused about what was publicly known.
My apologies for the inconvenience.
L


10/15/10
I have to say, this role of Lucretia, has proven to be the most complicated and exciting character I have ever played.  I have had loads of incredibly challenging and rewarding scenes with some high-caliber actors like John Hannah, Jaime Murray, Dustin Clare, Stephen Lovatt and Jeff Thomas.  With the help of some tremendous directors, I have reached a place that feels pretty freaking uncomfortable, if I am honest, but which I believe is the best headspace in which to do good work.  I feel like I don't know what the hell I am doing anymore.  Increasingly, I find that if, after a take, I know exactly what I “did” in a scene, then I wasn't really there.  Figure that one out!  I guess the objective is to be utterly aware of the other characters and utterly unconscious of self.  Otherwise you're just pulling faces.

The prequel, Gods of the Arena, is nearly at an end.  It has been a rare pleasure to visit our characters as they were before the rot set in.  You get to see them when they were full of hope and potential.  You get to see the forces which shape their characters and the poor choices which eventually shut down their options in life.

I am so grateful to everyone that gave me this work opportunity.  It has been such an honour to be part of this show.
L


10/11/10
Thank you all for participating in your own communities and in mine, this Feel the Love week.

Something odd has happened to me whereby everything makes me tear up.  A friend adopts a kitten, I cry.  A colleague misses a flight, I cry.  I'm not even remotely sad, tears stream down my face.  So random acts of kindness by old friends towards strangers is even more touching.

I am joining in the movement by aiding an unwell girlfriend on the excursion of her dreams.  You inspire me to be better than I am.

Thank-you too, all those who participated in the Starship SpringClean.  The team at the Starship Foundation were just gobsmacked to receive nearly $18,000 for the costumes and some $7,000 from Feel the Love.  Truly, that is incredibly generous of you!  I am really in awe that the friends of a show that ended eight years ago are still a force in the community.  On behalf of Andrew, Bobbie and the team, THANK-YOU!!!

We are boxing through the prequel and will be done in a few short weeks.  John Hannah is in fine form, Jaime Murray is a life-saving pal on set and we have a raft of fabulous characters you will love to hate.

As for the second season, it seems futile to try to replace Andy Whitfield in the role of Spartacus -- the man is one in six billion, but with Andy's blessing, they hope to find someone who can re-interpret the role, bringing his own unique qualities.  We will give that person full support so that they will be all they can be.  It's going to take some courage to fill those shoes, eh?

Got to go scrub the gafquat out of my hair so I can sleep. early start.
Love always, always, always,
Lucy


9/21/10
By now you will all have heard the news that our beloved Andy Whitfield is going back into treatment for cancer.  We know his fortitude and grace will carry him through to his true recovery.  With two little babies and a wonderful wife, he has everything in the world to look forward to, including a brilliant career.

Chloe Smith, our producer, came down to speak to all of the crew on Monday about Andy's decision to leave the show to concentrate on his treatment.  People were shell-shocked that this can happen to so young and vital a man as our star.  I can tell you that we all went home and clutched our children a little tighter than usual and hugged our partners in gratitude for having them in our lives.

Andy, your colleagues at Spartacus are behind you all the way.  Lots of love, we miss you and can't wait to see you burning up screens big and small like the Supernova you are.
Love always,
Lucy and the gang


9/12/10
Hi all! 
Well, well, well, what do we have here?  This is a 42-year-old actress squinching into an Amazon Bikini that was designed for her more than a decade ago.  It was painfully revealing.  You would think I wouldn't care after Sparty but I do!  I do!


I borrowed the cossie back from Starship to do a stint on Madeleine Sami's new show in which she plays several characters.  Pretty bloody funny.  We can't show Madeleine's character, but this show is going to be a scream.  The bow and arrow are ex. LEGEND OF THE SEEKER and Madeleine's scimitar came from the Two Dollar Shop.  The outfit is going back to Starship today for the Starship Spring Clean.  I confess that this costume was more revealing than it needed to be because the loincloth was 5 inches short.  I thought, there's no way I expanded 5 full inches and then I realised the loincloth had VARIA on the back.  Well, it's mine now.

Off to work now. It's been an amazing experience this prequel.  I thank heaven every day for having John Hannah and Jaime Murray beside me.  They are joyful, professional and always prioritize truth in their acting.  I am so lucky to have been cast alongside them.  This job could be hell with anybody else in these roles.

Whoops! I'm late.
Ta Ta!
L


7/14/10
I am hearing whispers that our Government in NZ is proceeding with plans to open up our best preserved forest (schedule4 land) to mining despite heavy public opposition.

I want to ask, Who do you work for, the people of New Zealand or the overseas mining companies?  It is bizarre and I hope not true.

I thought this government was responsive to the will of the people but now I'm not so sure.

Dear NZ Government,

Don't forget to keep your money-grubbing hands off our Schedule Four Land.  What's under our first-class forest is dirty, low-grade coal.

Our wealth is in our soil, our waterways, flora and fauna.  This is our brand and our heritage and you have no business degrading it.

What has the world come to when we must protect the habitat of our national icon, the Kiwi, from our own government?!

We all remember a time when we took pride in our spirit of enterprise and ingenuity.  In contrast, you seem to be resisting the need to evolve.

The people of New Zealand want you to lay the first steps to a clean and sustainable future, not a filthy, degraded one.  The knowhow is out there.  What are you going to do about it?

Dirty coal is a thing of the past and so is the thinking that goes with it.

What else have you got?

Best to you,
Lucy Lawless


6/24/10
Relais Regina Teodolina, lago di Como, Italy
This is our favourite hotel in all Europe so far. We so recommend it!!
L


6/22/10
Wow.  Visiting Dachau is a pretty devastating experience.  It was the first concentration camp, the model for all others to follow.  I imagine a trip to  Dachau, while not explicitly an extermination camp with fully operational gas chambers, nevertheless managed to degrade and annihilate tens of thousands of perfectly decent, healthy human beings.  I think Auschwitz would leave me a puddle on the floor.

On the train home, I met a couple who run the Holocaust Museum in Melbourne Australia.  They had a very unique take on hatred which they have learned from their friends who actually survived the camps.  They don't bother with it.  They don't hate the Germans today.  They don't give in to the “Them vs. Us” mentality that was one of the Nazi's primary tools.  They refuse to see Nazis as “monsters” because to do so would distance you from the potential for all of us to behave monsterously given certain circumstances.  I found them very helpful in getting beyond the weight of Dachau and make sense of the dread thoughts it inspires.  Thanks Zvi & Marian.
L


6/20/10 addendum
I, the superior tourist, took a little Wanderung in the Swiss forest.  It persisted down this whole way and I had to assure the apologetic Swiss that NZ'ers always carry the good weather with them on the inside.
L


6/20/10
I left my computer at home so am working off this nice little iPad which means I am unable to download all the good photos we are taking around Europe.  I am stuck with the shots off my phone, so sorry about the poor quality.

We left Paris and travelled through Burgundy, renting a car and getting delightfully lost?  Burgundy is jam-packed with medieval villages, Chateauneuf being one of the best.  We stayed at the Abbaye de la Bussiere, which made Rex's eyes bug out of his head.  It's incredibly tasteful and yet relaxed at the same time.  The owner, Clive, and his staff are kind of groovy and they really don't mind if you scream about the ancient abbey as if you own it, fall in the lake, play the piano.  The degustation menu was out of this world, though I couldn't wrap my head around eating the frogs legs.  People may say they taste like chicken, but by God, they feel like frog.

Rex has been doing a video blog and I shall give you a link as soon as it's done.

He weaseled his way onto the piano in only the fanciest place in Lucerne last night, the National.  We were both wearing dirty old sneakers and traveling clothes, but his playing was so exquisite, the manager came down, poured us both fancy cognacs and invited him to play tonight.  So we might go down after an authentic Swiss fondue.  I am doing my best to not go crazy on the bread and cheese here since Barcelona nearly finished us off.  I have never eaten so much pig in my life.  It wasn't kosher but it was mighty delicious.

Tomorrow we go east!
L


6/12/10
Helloooo, everyone!

Peter and I had a terrific time in Monte.  Since we have come so far, it would be a shame not to see a bit of Europe.  I have not been here in years.  I am sending a couple of holiday snaps so anyone who's interested can play Where's Waldo?

I am traveling with my buddy, Rex, who has played piano for me a couple of times in the past.  We have these characters we play, “Mother” and “Father” who can't stand anything "foreign."

It is a bit like being at school camp with booze.  Lots of laughs.  We met a kid on the train who was posing as a Canadian med student who wants to show us the architecture of the town we are in.  He has invited us out for dinner tonight, but we reckon we're going to wake up in a park with a kidney missing.  I'll let you know how it pans out.

Our mission in each town is to find a piano bar and to have a jam.  We have one already lined up in this town so if you can figure out where we are and you are in that town, come hang!

Hooray for everything!
Hope you are all well.
L


6/4/10
Rob Tapert Snr passed away this week in Detroit.  He was a wonderful, funny man till the end -- a terrific Dad and husband.  Rob and all of us were very lucky to have had him.  Thanks to all of you for your condolences.  It was not unexpected but a shock all the same.  You may know someone is dying but you don't expect them to die "today."  In the last few months he enjoyed a constant flow of visits by his children and grandchildren who were happy to reward him for the years of laughter, kindness and paternal support he had lavished upon them.

I wish Pat, his wife a joyous future even without the man who was her card partner, travel companion and undoubtedly the love of her life.

We should all be so loved!
A life well lived.

Blessings always,
Lucy


3/31/10
So my friends, another year goes by.  I had a terrific birthday.  Rob and I went to a little Japanese speakeasy in Queen St and then to The Hurt Locker.  I liked the movie on many fronts but hated that they portrayed the army psychiatrist as such a dope.  I simply don't buy that the US military employs Korean War era psychiatrists who don't know their arse from their elbows in terms of what their boys face.  Anyhoo, getting blowed up is what happens when you patronize the natives, I guess.

I want to thank all of you who participated in Earth Hour.  Here is a photo of me, newly minted 42, during the blackout.  Also a photo of Rob and my cat who finally arrived from America after a torturous 9-month quarantine and importation process.  As you can see, he is exhausted!  He still hates my dogs since his only experience of canines is the coyotes of LA that ate his brother and also Calvin, the cat we saved from Hurricane Katrina.  So I guess he's having a little trouble getting over his prejudice.

     

And here is a photo of Rob's baby girl.  She is a roly-poly little bat-faced girl.  She is not going to win any beauty contests but she's insanely smart and will give Koha pointers on whom to trust and distrust.  We are not sure of Koha's background but she was not well socialised in the crucial period of 8-12 weeks so she has some fear/aggression that we are slowly weaning her away from.

In other news, Andy sounds like he is doing great and we are so thrilled.  Shine on, Andy!

Viva is shooting another movie in Aussie.  It is a gritty and contemporary role so it should give everyone a chance to see her versatility and talent.  She's a rock solid chick and I am very proud of her.  Go Viv'!

And how was your day?
L


3/28/10
I loved Earth Hour last night!  We had all the candles going.  I find it's a great time to slow the world down and get some personal business done.  There is something ancient about being in firelight.  When all the technology is switched off, life happens and you are finally present and aware.

What a great gift to give the world and yourself!

Please show the powers that be, that you care about our planet and how we spend her resources.

Much love,
Lucy


3/17/10
By now you will all have heard that Spartacus is on hold for a few months while our star, Andy Whitfield, undergoes treatment for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  I know he is going to "kick this one in the guts" as we say Downunder.

He is strong and young with a great attitude and a wonderful family and medical team behind him all the way.

We are looking forward to having him back kicking Roman ass --better, stronger, faster!   Rock on, Andy!

In the meantime, I am deciding what to do with myself until Sparty resumes in September.  I've got a lot of work to do with Sign-On and Starship continues to be a wonderful focus.  Still loving those guys after all these years.

With any luck I may find a fun project.

Lots of love,
Lucy