Kim’s mother and father, Eddie and Elaine Hegan ran Hegan’s Entertainment Agency in New Zealand for decades.
Was it your Mum and Dad where you got your interest in entertainment from?Well we had no alternative, as it was the family business. Our house was always full of entertainers like Billy T James, Ray Woolf, Howard Morrison. We even had Vera Lynn around for dinner at our house. During summer holidays there were beach shows with Dad as MC/Producer. We all helped out, and when Dad became unwell in the mid 1980s, I stuck my hand up to help Mum with the business.
Tell us about the movie you have produced with your daughter.
We met a very high Tibetan Lama, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, while he was visiting New Zealand at Orewa beach in 2010. Both my daughters, Yeshe and Hanna, are Tibetan Buddhists, so when I told him the story of how I met and studied with Kangyur Rinpoche, the Tibetan Lama who had carried the Buddha’s 84,000 teachings from Tibet, escaping over the Himalayas to India in the 1950s, in Darjeeling in the 1970s, he suggested I go back to Darjeeling and film it. It took us seven years; ‘Return To Gandhi Road’ won a couple of awards and was released in New Zealand and Australia.
What is the best thing about living in Grey Lynn?
I have lived in Grey Lynn for 16 years and love the community. My favourite cafe, The Richmond Road Cafe, is just around the corner and my entertainment and filmo mates are all nearby.
What was your childhood like?
It was pretty active. The house was always full of entertainers and I was a competitive gymnast before I discovered surfing. So I was Crunchy the Clown’s (Peter Newberry’s) balancing act partner until we came a cropper off a pile of chairs at the Dinah Lee Show at Western Springs. Peter got hurt and retired from the high balancing.
I will die happy if…
I get there in one piece.
Where would your dream holiday be?
Dad always said to make your job your hobby and you’ll never have to work a day. So we spent a lot of time in the Dordogne in France working on the last doco. It was beautiful. The next one would be about a Kiwi Flamenco Maestro, Paul Bosauder and his world of Flamenco, directed by Ian Mune, and I love Spain so once Covid-19 is clear, we’re off.
Most kiwi thing about you?
I have a natural love of the ocean
See yourself in ten years where?
By the ocean still surfing.
What job would you do other than your own?
I wouldn’t change a thing. I have finally landed the dream job telling true stories that interest me.
Who would play you in the movie of your life?
Billy Bob Thornton, as Bad Santa.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My Hegan pointy nose.
Like to be remembered - how?
Mindful of others.
Best thing about your age?
You can stay seated in a packed train.
Something that you really disapprove of?
Loud and noisy people.
Your biggest disappointments?
A Maori Trust Board and Hegans were jointly developing a Maori Cultural Centre on a special site that never made it off the drawing board. That was disappointing.
If you won a million dollars what would you would do?
Buy a wee beach bach.
What motivates you?
Making a difference.
What do you think happens when we die?
We reap what we have sown.
Favorite movie?
Secrets and Lies, Mike Leigh’s masterpiece, The Godfather. It was the first movie where real Italian’s were cast, and I love anything Francis Ford Coppola makes.”Flamenco Flamenco” Mike Figgis at his best.
What favourite bit of clothing can’t you live without?
Comfortable Shoes and Nike hoodies.
Favourite time of the day?
Sunset.
Dream home?
Overlooks the beach, big deck.
Most treasured possession?
My pair of sitars from the 1970s.
Something very few people know about you?
I’m allergic to cold water.
Favourite hero of fiction?
The Dalai Lama Mr. Happiness.
What cliché do you hate?
(Preface to racist statement) “Even though some of my best friends are M-aori/Indian/Islamic etc.”
Comfort food?
Chocolate.
Dream guest list for a dinner party?
HH Dalai Lama, Russell Brand, Archimedes, Kangyur Rinpoche.
Change one law or policy in New Zealand, what would it be?
I am a major supporter of this government... Best Government in my lifetime. THEY ARE GIVING PEACE A CHANCE! It’s about time.
(DAVID HARTNELL MNZM)