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TANIA ZAETTA HAS THE MOVES!
After her recent embroilment in a major controversy that placed her at the centre of...
After her recent embroilment in a major controversy that placed her at the centre of accusations of sexual impropriety during a tour of Australia’s military bases in The Middle East, Australian TV presenter and actress Tania Zaetta has bounced back by nabbing a leading role in the new action thriller The Ninja.
“I’m such a huge action film fan, and this is a dream role for me,” says Zaetta, who gained fame locally by performing an array of stunts on the popular TV series Who Dares Wins. “Having spent years performing stunts and dares for my TV shows, I can’t wait to be part of a big feature film like this, and the action side is extremely appealing to me.”
The Ninja will be shot at various locations around Victoria, and tells the story of two operatives doing battle with a corrupt company CEO and a group of deadly ninja assassins. Zaetta – who has had great success lately as an actress in Bollywood films (her film Salaam Namaste topped the box office chart in India and was the top grossing film of 2005 in the territory) – will be teamed with producer/director Rob Baard, a kind of Antipodean Steven Seagal.
While he might not sport the big guy’s ponytail, nor his trademark “funny punch”, Baard is a fair dinkum qualified (we’re not sure if the courses are run out of TAFE or through universities) “ninja warrior”! Look out! A gifted and highly physical athlete (and something of a renaissance man), he is also a first degree black belt, and directed the online fan cult film Star Wars: The Untold Tale, in between his various television production jobs.
Obviously passionate about the project, Baard has big plans for The Ninja. “The film has been set up with a view to franchise and spin off into other mediums such as comic books and graphic novels. We’ve assembled a great team of industry professionals to deliver high production values for the film and we’re excited about Tania’s involvement. We’re used to managing with little to no budget so it’s exciting to see what we can accomplish when working with one.
“Response to the screenplay and production video blogs has been really exciting. We’ve developed an original story that addresses relevant issues that people can relate to such as petrol prices, the use of media and the general direction the world is heading in, as well as some exciting new characters.”