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Sam Neill and Julian Dennison interview: Hunt for the Wilderpeople's stars take a haiku challenge

Taika Waititi's smash-hit NZ comedy finally comes to the UK's shores - and we celebrated in pure Ricky Baker-style

Clarisse Loughrey
Monday 19 September 2016 15:08 BST
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Hunt for the Wilderpeople Junket

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Audiences worldwide are falling in love with Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Taika Waititi's smash-hit comedy has finally arrived to the UK's shores, after proving a favourite with Sundance audiences earlier this year and a New Zealand record breaker; becoming the country's highest-grossing local film, alongside a stateside run that saw it grow into something of an underground hit.

The film perfectly displays Waititi's own unique flair for absurdist comedy, gently intermixed with a heartfelt sense of humanity; easily making him one of the most exciting voices working today and an inspired choice to join the Marvel universe with Thor: Ragnarok, which is currently filming in Australia. You can read our review for the film here.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople pairs newcomer Julian Dennison with Sam Neill, playing rebellious foster kid Ricky Baker - pursuing the gangsta life wherever he goes - and his adoptive Uncle Hec; as they set off on a wild adventure in the New Zealand bush, their clashing personalities learning to survive together both in the most literal and metaphorical sense of the word.

We got the chance to challenge its two leads to a haiku challenge; all in honour of Ricky Baker himself, the "bad egg" who's a dab hand at writing haikus, and a pretty "skux" guy allround - we'll let Dennison himself explain the meaning behind that.

Clip of The Wilderpeople

Hunt For the Wilderpeople is currently out in UK cinemas.

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