Society Insider: Taika Waititi and Brad Pitt’s Secret Queenstown Project, Paula and Simon Herbert’s Baby Shower, and the Kiwi Equestrian Couple Taking on Europe

Taika Waititi and Brad Pitt’s Secret Queenstown Collaboration

Brad Pitt’s first professional collaboration with Kiwi director Taika Waititi has finally been revealed: a coffee commercial filmed in Queenstown this year. The secret shoot in February was for Italian brand De’Longhi and took place at the spectacular Drift Bay Villa on the shores of Lake Whakatipu. The commercial, which features Pitt enjoying a coffee while practising his Italian, is infused with Waititi’s signature sense of humour.

Sources close to both productions tell Society Insider that some of the New Zealand crew worked on both the movie and the commercial. 'Kiwi crews are used to filming with A-list stars, and Brad Pitt was a delight,' says the source. 'For the South Island crew, having an A-list actor and an international brand filming a commercial down south was the icing on the cake.'

The commercial will debut globally at the Venice Film Festival, which starts tonight, before rolling out around the world. De’Longhi head barista Cheryl Giles was flown to New Zealand to make coffee for Pitt, Waititi and crew while filming. She says the commercial features the voice of iconic Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio, but during filming, Waititi took it upon himself to be the stand-in voiceover, to keep Pitt on track and cracking everyone up in the process.

Rich-Listers Paula and Simon Herbert Expect Baby Girl

Simon and Paula Herbert of Empire Capital had a party on the Mediterranean last week to announce they will soon be welcoming a baby girl to their family. The couple, who own Auckland’s marinas, New Zealand data centres, and substantial interests in publicly listed companies, had the celebrations off the coast of Monaco on their Azimut Grande luxury super yacht H.

The yacht was decked out in pink, with pink and cream striped cushions, bouquets of pink and white flowers, and even the Veuve Clicquot Champagne was pink. Another touch was the large tennis ball-sized ice cubes she made, with flowers inside. Pink and white balloons and baby onesies were hung from the deck, and pink fans, emblazoned with their daughter’s name, were supplied throughout the boat for the Herberts’ more than 20 guests.

Paula, 46, decorated the yacht and its chase boat with pink and cream striped cushions and a matching sun awning, bouquets of pink and white flowers, which she put together, and even the Veuve Clicquot Champagne was pink. The Herberts gave their guests luxurious party favours – Christian Dior bags containing pink Dior bracelets. To close the evening, cannons shot pink smoke off the stern of the superyacht into the air over Port Hercule in Monaco.

Glamour Equestrian Couple Take Europe by Storm

Kiwi equestrian glamour couple Luke Dee, 31, and Amelia Clark, 32, have been making their mark on the European show jumping season. The couple, who live in Hawke’s Bay, have been based in the small German town of Goch. After Dee and Gangster took out the Taupō Christmas Classic World Cup last November, plans for the couple’s European campaign were sped up by six months when Dee was invited to be the New Zealand representative at the FEI World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland, in April.

'That show really put our names on the map and set us up for things to be a bit easier going forward on our campaign,' says Dee. He has since competed and placed in a five-star show in St Gallen, Switzerland; finished fifth and third in three-star Grand Prix events in the Netherlands; claimed second at a four-star in Germany; and, more recently, taken fourth in a four-star Grand Prix in Belgium.

Over the next few days, the couple will be at the Brussels Stephex Masters competing for the Belgian Rolex Grand Prix, hosted on the prestigious Stephex grass arena. 'Stephex Masters is truly one of those bucket list five-star shows you always dream to be in attendance as a spectator, but to have the opportunity to compete there is something extra special,' says Dee.

Clark, meanwhile, will be putting on the Mana Stables Show Jumping Masters, an annual boutique ring one competition held over Waitangi weekend. 'At any event in Europe, there is a real emphasis on hospitality and creating not just a show jumping event but a real spectacle with other non-horse events and performances, with lavish events and black-tie galas,' she says.

There are hopes Dee will be invited on to the Global Champions Tour, which has been dubbed the Formula One of equestrian, in locations such as Monaco, St Tropez, London, Paris and New York. But before the glitz and glamour comes the sport, and the goal is to compete in the FEI World Equestrian Games in a year in Aachen, Germany, followed by the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.