But the band took Laurel and [drafted in] Lois. Australian Geographic Society Expeditions, Australian spiders: the 10 most dangerous, Lorikeets: Four things you didnt know about them, Entries are now closed for the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition 2023. for sexuality, a scene of war violence, some language, thematic elements and smoking, Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni & Tupac Shakur, Fatal Attraction Works As Entertainment, Fails as Social Commentary, Prime Videos Citadel Traps Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden in Played-Out Spy Game, New York Philharmonic and Steven Spielberg Celebrate the Music of John Williams, A Piece of His Fire: Harry Belafonte (1927-2023). The subject matter was difficult, but worthwhile, says Briggs about the play. Laurel Robinson: Weve been singing all our lives. In The Sapphires, an R&B-loving musician helps turn four Australian aboriginal women into a soul act. Filmmaker Tom Jennings spoke with On The Red Carpet. My son, Tony Briggs, is the writer of the story, so its similar to what I told him. The first popular on-screen pair to take their love story home was Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of "Days of Our Lives."." They met when their characters, Doug and Julie, met in the 1970s, and both actors and characters are still together in 2022 (via Soap Hub). I also remember seeing jets come down and flames shooting up, a guy told us it was napalm; we didnt even know what napalm was. As Robinson explains, "My mother['s] three sisters were taken away the oldest sister was 16 to a home where they were taught to do domestic work, and then they were farmed out to different families.". "I cannot wait to see how this next chapter of life presents itself to you, I'll always be on your sidelines cheering you on, no matter what you are up against.". It would be great to have a sequel, but the Sapphires deserve a documentary. But the film is without doubt a box-office hit in Australia, with screenings Down Under generating takings of 14 million Australian dollars (9m) in nine weeks. The Sapphires started as a trio with Beverley Briggs, Laurel Robinson and Naomi Mayers in the Shepparton Cummeragunja area of Victoria in the 1950s. From left to right: Lois Peeler, Naomi Mayers, Laurel Robinson and Beverley Briggs. Braving the bigotry of the audience, they sing a Merle Haggard song. Event Date. There was Elvis Presley. Despite his busy agenda fighting Voldemort and his lack of experience in romances, the star of the films managed to win the talented witch's heart to the point that she eventually became his wife. You'd be forgiven for not recognizing the name Ines de Ramon straight away, though, because unlike Wesley's former partners, Ramon is not an actor. The social climate at the time made it difficult for Aboriginals to receive medical and emergency care in hospitals, but the service aided in covering that health-care gap and has been doing so for the past 43 yearsan accomplishment Robinson is proud of. On "TVD" Enzo's romance with Bonnie Bennett was cut short when he was killed by Stefan Salvatore, but in real life, Malarkey has been enjoying a years-long romance. It's beautiful.". Kat Graham, better known as witch Bonnie Bennett to "The Vampire Diaries" fans, is currently dating American director and cinematographer Darren Genet. Three members of the Indigenous all-female group the Sapphires, who were immortalised in the Australian movie of the same name, are appealing for help to find photos or old recordings of their songs. A very conventional story of a '60s Australian girl group gains extra power from its context and setting in this fact-based story set to the beat of Motown soul. They secretly dated for four years and even spoke of marriage, but their love didn't last. "So it just went ahead and of course, it was very successful although it's not completely accurate.". The Sapphires started as a trio with Beverley Briggs, Laurel Robinson and Naomi Mayers in the Shepparton Cummeragunja area of Victoria in the 1950s. In 2016, he started dating the Peruvian-born actor who joined the cast as antagonist Sybil in Season 7. Shari Sebbens is an Australian Aboriginal actress and stage director, known for her debut film role in The Sapphires (2012), as well as many stage and television performances. "We weren't looking for fame and fortune, we just loved singing and then we suddenly realised that people were starting to like us, we must sound good, Laurel Robinson said. The couple seem to have put their troubles behind them and are now focused on raising daughter Bodhi Soleil who was born in 2017, E! Off-screen, the actor dated co-star Nina Dobrev for three years. News. Out in select theaters today, the story is set against the backdrop of a rural village in Australia and the war fields in Vietnam, touching upon deep-rooted Australian racial divides and the politics of war. What is the main message of The Sapphires? All four women from the Sapphires went on to have successful careers in Indigenous health and education. Beverly: There werent pop stars as there are now in those days. Laurel: Scary. Video unavailable This video is unavailable Watch on Advertisement At the time, aboriginal people were just gaining basic civil rights, like voting and being counted as Australian citizens. The part where they sing Ngarra Burra Ferra, which our grandmother taught us, was true. "I hope that telling my story might prevent more stories like mine from happening," Benoist said as she concluded the video. The Weinstein Company There are singers like Jessica Mauboy, Casey Donovan and Emma Donovan. In real life, Robinson says, their musical education came from even more surprising sources. However, she then married her new beau Jordan Burrows in 2018, so perhaps the timing just wasn't right for Roerig and Kelley. "They taught us how to sing and the breathing and they loved our harmonies. The three-part series, which was directed by Genet, also stars Graham. Dr. Claire Brown ( Antonia Thomas) treats a woman whose inability to feel pain is threatening her life and marriage, and Dr. Murphy has a romantic crisis of his own. "I tried to cover it up a little bit and it's just kind of a hard thing to explain," the actor added, revealing that he made Somerhalder record a video for Lewington to explain away the hickey. In the film, as in real life, The Sapphires travel from Australia to Vietnam to entertain American troops. How old was Jessica Mauboy in the sapphires? In reality, it was only Laurel, then 21, and her sister Lois who went to Vietnam. (Blair also has a brief cameo in his film.) "It's not his birthday or our anniversary, it's just a random Wednesday, but I've been thinking a lot about what a damn good man my husband is and I think it deserves to be shared," Holt wrote in anotherIG caption. They began dating in Ginny's fifth year and in Harry's sixth year. In 2018, Davis, of "Legally Blonde" fame, and his girlfriend, "Ozark" actor Kiley Casciano Davis, ran an errand they won't soon forget. Zach Roerig, aka Matt Donovan on "The Vampire Diaries," is busy being a full-time dad to daughter Fiona. What color sapphire is the most expensive? I couldnt work anywhere else but here. Though the show ended in 2017, viewers still can't get enough of the teen drama about vampires in small-town Mystic Falls. Less valuable blue sapphires might also be grayish, too light, or too dark. By subscribing you become an AG Society member, helping us to raise funds for conservation and adventure projects. A feel-good film based on the true story of an Aboriginal girl group battling prejudice in 1960s Australia wowed Cannes and is now a hit Down Under. "Her surgeon later told us that she was very lucky to survive at all," her brother Matt Casciano told WSB-TV Atlanta. crash and honours its heroes. Embossed with Australian Animals, these premium notebooks are perfect for Back To School. I said Whats that? And they said: Here comes your audience! They came out of the jungle and were cheering and screaming. We were only just counted as human beings, literally. Mauboy, a chart-topping singer Down Under and a former Australian Idol contestant, says she felt a lot of pressure to represent the actual Sapphires properly. After a brief fling with Klaus, Hayley had a complicated on-off relationship with his brother Elijah, but ultimately ditched him for werewolf Jackson Kenner. Newsconfirmed. American actor Kayla Ewell is best known for playing Vicki Donovan on "The Vampire Diaries." Joseph Morgan joined "The Vampire Diaries" as the centuries-old vampire-werewolf hybrid Niklaus "Klaus" Mikaelson in Season 2. We were going past a nightclub when these young Maori gentlemen out the front said: Hello girls, come in, come in, come in to see the show! They said they were looking for a girl to do the hula in their show, which had a South Pacific flavour. Thats why we left. "The new @phantomplanet shirt comes with the girl. Since the film opened a lot of people from the community keep saying We didnt know you used to sing! Now the film is out and doing so well, I cant quite believe its all happening. ", TIFF '12: Stomp Your Feet For 'The Sapphires'. It all started one night when we were coming home from a late shift at the Postmaster General. The screenplay is by Tony Briggs, son of one of the original Sapphires, Beverly Briggs, in collaboration with Goalpost Pictures' Keith Thompson ( Clubland ). It means that we get to enjoy quite a show as well. Beverly: As the original Sapphires we sang at hotels, pubs, cabarets, clubs, parties, the big army barracks in Melbourne and a lot of universities. Christina Ashten Gourkani was a popular model who often went by the name Ashten G online. I had to extract little bits and pieces from her adventures in most of those places.". "When we got off the plane in Saigon, moments later there was some bombing at the airport.". Thousands of Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and sent to live at state institutions or with white families. You made it possible for me to live, build my dreams, and to start my life over," added the actor. We could just make out all these tanks. Please, please buy a shirt, it's been 21 days. The Sapphires is based on the true story of an Aboriginal girl group from the same family who left Australia to sing soul music for US troops during the Vietnam war. Soon they have reconnected with their cousin Kay (Shari Sebbens), switched from country to Motown, and passed the audition under their new name, the Sapphires. They ask him to come with them to try out for a chance to perform for American GIs in Vietnam for $30 a week. Naomi: Wed been demonstrating, so I couldnt do that and then go. Close to the end of the 1996-1997 school year, Harry . A new film, The Sapphires, is loosely based on their story. That success has stoked interest in the real-life Sapphires, only two of whom did what their on-screen counterparts are shown doing in the film. They were still out in the country due to the White Australia policy. So we did." "I'd prefer a house with no den." 20. Q: Laurel how did it feel to travel around Vietnam? Three dominant paradigms of Black femininity that originated in the South during the period of slavery have persisted into present-day culture, which "paint Black females as hypersexual, boisterous, aggressive, and unscrupulous": Sapphire (e.g., emasculating, loud, aggressive, angry, stubborn, and . 1. ", Alongside acting, Morgan made his directing debut with an episode of "The Originals," tellingPeople he "couldn't have done it" without his wife's support. There wasnt anything like that here in Australia. Beverly: Im just proud our kids are so proud of us. Advertisement. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. I think it was one of the best shows we ever did. Since announcing their relationship, the pair have kept their romance relatively under the radar. Laurel: I lived in England for three years and America for two years. When "The Vampire Diaries" hit screens in 2009, "Degrassi" alumNina Dobrev captured fans' hearts as Elena Gilbert (and her doppelgngers Katherine Pierce and Tatia). "I told the captain over the phone, "We have to do it right away because the nerves are going!' In 2012, she won Best Lead Actress for her role in The Sapphires (2011) at the AACTA Awards. "I thought, there's nobody here, there's no audience, no chairs or anything; it was a makeshift stage," she says. Beverly: People ask us for pictures now, but we didnt even have a camera! You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website. After splitting "amicably" from "Pretty Little Liars" actor Torrey DeVitto in 2013 (via People), Wesley started dating his "TVD" co-star Phoebe Tonkin. Though Alaric's relationship history was turbulent (three of his partners died), Davis has a very romantic love story in real-life. The 2012 film The Sapphires was the most successful Australian film of that year. In The Sapphires, Kay is a victim of the stolen generation and her identity is strongly influenced by Western culture. I hope they get a sense of joy and understanding of who Aboriginal people are, he says, and walk away from it with a smile on their faces.. The Grammy winner, 52, plays pop star Kat . The movie marks the impressive debut of aborigine Wayne Blair, a gifted actor-turned-director who does a remarkable job of subtly recreating the political climate of . Lois Peeler and her sister Laurel Robinson went to Vietnam, but their two cousins, Beverley Briggs and Naomi Mayers, remained in Australia. Yet the Irish star of Bridesmaids and TV's The IT Crowd had every reason to celebrate. The character of Dave, meanwhile, was wholly created for the stage and film. In Melbourne before then, there were hardly any black people except us. Shari Sebbens is an Australian Aboriginal actress and stage director, known for her debut film role in The Sapphires (2012), as well as many stage and television performances. As of 2021 she is a resident director of the Sydney Theatre Company. However, the Phantom Planet frontman hinted at their relationship two months earlier when he posted a photo of the actor lying on his bed wearing his band shirt. It's not clear how the couple got together, but Genet did work on four episodes of "TVD" between Season 5 and Season 8, along with an episode of "The Originals," so it's possible Graham and Genet's romance sparked up on set. Original Sapphires search for recordings of musical past. "I may be driving the boat, but I'm definitely not the captain," Roerig joked on Instagram alongside a picture of the pair out on a boat trip. In fact, the original Sapphires were just the three of us [Beverly, Naomi and Laurel]. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Four dead after suspected pigeon racer dispute, US principal visits David sculpture after nudity row, UK chip giant Arm files for blockbuster share sale, Adidas sued by investors over Kanye West deal, Cuba cancels May Day parade because of fuel crisis. Eventually I moved to Melbourne. In the film, the trip to Vietnam helps the girls learn about themselves and each other, and they get a breather from the prejudice in their own country by performing for enthusiastic U.S. troops eager to ease their minds from the harsh realities of war with fleeting moments of entertainment. Mike Coppola/Getty Images We killed ourselves laughing when we downloaded it! A lot of the black visitors were scared to come. So black performers would come to Uncle Dougs church: Winifred Atwell, Paul Robeson, Harry Belafonte. When they were taken away, it nearly killed her. "It hits those hard-hitting subjects in a really joyous and celebratory way and it doesn't make anyone feel targeted or guilty," Sebbens concludes. The protests down in Melbourne were quite big. After all, the charming period piece received a 10-minute standing ovation at its debut screening at Cannes last year. In September 2017, the "Dynasty" actor gushed about her beau to Us Weekly, explaining how "helpful and supportive" Roerig was with her career. Their epic romance ended in Season 4, but the brooding vampire wasn't single for long as he soon fell for fellow Mystic Falls vampire Caroline Forbes another relationship that was anything but straightforward. The story of The Sapphires was inspired by real-life events surrounding co-screenwriter Tony Briggs' mother, Laurel Robinsonwhom he tenderly calls "mum"and his aunt Lois Peeler, who were. The Sapphires could be Australias version of Dreamgirls, a sentimental coming-of-age flick about a group of young black girls on the rise to fame singing Motown hits in the 60s, but its notits that and much more. The stories that Mom had told me, they were so rich in adventure, he says. "When you ask your lover if they want to get married while shopping in the produce section of Erewhon, and three hours later you're married on Christmas Eve Eve," the "TVD" actor posted on Instagram alongside pictures of the newlyweds showing off their wedding bands (viaDaily Mail). The on-screen quartet believed it was important that the film involved an Aboriginal cast and crew. The audiences were huge. The government had the authority to remove light-skinned native children from their families as part of a program (depicted in "Rabbit-Proof Fence") to make them part of the white community. It was Fred who got me involved because I had the nursing experience. They are every bit as entertaining as they were nearly half a century ago. News that the pair officially called it quits in 2017. The couple love sharing snaps of all their fun outings and adventures, which range from skateboarding to curling. As amateurish as they are, Dave sees what the sisters can become. "It's about never saying no and not allowing people to administer your life to you.". It was mainly country and western. What language does Kay speak in the sapphires? "The perfect mix of fitness and extreme curves," her OnlyFans biography reads. "When I peeked out to have a look, I could see all these tanks rolling in with soldiers all over them, you know coming to see the show. A decade later, as young women, the sisters still sing together. But Robinson's real trip to Vietnam didn't go as smoothly as it does in the film. Set in 1968, The Sapphires tells the story of four young Aboriginal women ( Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell) who dream of performing for the masses. A girl group with four members under high-stress touring conditions means many opportunities for romance, adventure and power struggles, plus the inevitable rehearsal montages. "I didn't think it was something that was going to try and take on the world.". What if the Supremes had been born Down Under? We loved The Shirelles. "It was impossible for me to tell a story from this period without talking about these issues," he says. Although this spirited film tackles sensitive issues, The Sapphires somehow manages to stay lighthearted and inspirational throughoutand does so effectively. The girls stepped into the back to get changed for their show. We did concerts from a very young age and our parents were supportive and encouraging.