Natalie Imbruglia – Michmutters
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Kylie Minogue’s Neighbors finale appearance explained

It was one of the biggest fan questions during Neighbours’ nostalgia-filled 90-minute finale special: why were celebrity guest stars Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan practically mute?

Fans were left baffled by the pair’s brief appearance and their lack of mingling with fellow co-stars in the final episode of the long-running soap last week.

They also had just a handful of lines, with Minogue – arguably Ramsay Street’s most successful export – uttering just five words: “Home, sweet home”, “Jane!” and “Harold!”

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Their brief return as beloved on-screen couple Charlene and Scott seemed even more flimsy when compared with Guy Pearce’s return to the soap, which became a major finale storyline.

neighbours’ executive producer Jason Herbison has finally responded to fans’ confusion, telling tv tonight that it all boiled down to timing – and that the pair’s top-secret filming was completed before the rest of the episode.

“Our discussions with Jason (Donovan) and Kylie were always about making a small appearance,” he told the website.

“They didn’t want to overshadow the current cast or make the finale about them. We also filmed their scenes before I’d written the episode, so whatever we filmed had to fit in with that. I hate to see Kylie coping with any criticism – she was nothing short of amazing on the day.”

Last week’s finale saw the original stars Minogue, Donovan and Pearce return alongside a host of other fan favourites, including Margot Robbie, Holly Valance and Natalie Imbruglia.

neighbors actress Christie Whelan revealed that while Robbie’s scenes had to be filmed in Los Angeles, she made a very sweet gesture to her fellow castmates to honor the occasion.

The actress sent 37 bottles of champagne to the Melbourne set so the entire cast and crew could toast the show when filming wrapped.

Almost 900,0000 Aussies tuned in to the tear-jerking final episode of Neighbors last week.

After 37 years on our screens, the soap came to a close as 873,000 watched on across the five metro capital cities, according to ratings published on tv tonight.

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Alan Fletcher reveals major career change after Neighbors finale

Neighbors veteran Alan Fletcher is the third longest serving actor in Australian soap opera history, having starred on the iconic soap for almost three decades.

And after the long-running show’s emotional finale last week, which saw viewers say farewell to the residents of Ramsay Street after 37 years on-air, the 65-year-old actor is considering a major career change.

Fletcher, who had played Dr Karl Kennedy since 1994, told Magic Radio’s breakfast-show: “Now that I’ve finished neighborsI’m thinking about actually going into medicine.”

The Perth-born TV star added he had always tried to keep his personal life separate from his on-screen persona, but was now having a change of heart.

“While I’ve been on neighborsI religiously don’t give medical advice, because I’m really worried about the authorities tracking me down,” he joked.

It comes after Fletcher’s co-star Ryan Moloney, who had played Jarrod “Toadie” Rebecchi on the show since 1995, revealed his own big career move away from the small screen.

The 42-year-old actor said he was planning to settle into post-neighbors life as a humble tradition.

“I’m not ruling anything out,” Moloney told The Daily Telegraph. “I’m doing civil construction course which is about driving excavators and building roads.”

Moloney added: “I like playing with those kinds of machines. I like doing earthworks, all that kind of manual labor stuff.

“That’s where I’m at, but who knows where it’s all going to end up?”

After 37 years and 8903 episodes, neighbors finally drew to a close in a tear-jerking finale last week.

The nostalgia-filled episode saw the return of Australia’s brightest names who got their big break on the soap opera, including Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Holly Valance, Natalie Imbruglia, Delta Goodrem, and the show’s most famous alumna, Margot Robbie.

Up to 3 million people tuned into the finale in the UK, while almost 900,000 viewers watched in Australia.

It was announced in March that neighbors was being axed after Australian production company Fremantle media failed to find a new broadcast partner, following UK network Channel 5’s decision to withdraw its partnership.

Channel 5 had been covering the majority of the production bill.

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Margot Robbie sent Neighbors cast champagne for finale

Hollywood star Margot Robbie has told how she will be “eternally grateful” to soap Neighbors after it launched her acting career.

Margot, 32, who began her TV career as Ramsay Street’s Donna Freedman from 2008 to 2011, appeared in the show’s finale, which aired last Thursday.

While the A-lister filmed her scenes for the final show in Los Angeles, she made a sweet gesture to her fellow castmates, sending 37 bottles of champagne to the Melbourne set, as revealed by Neighbors actress Christie Whelan on social media last week, The Sun reports.

Robbie said that the final episode marks “the end of an era”.

Now Hollywood’s highest-paid actress, she said: “I owe so much to neighbors.

“There are so many of us that owe [the show] for giving us a big break.

“It wasn’t just about giving me a break either – it gave me a real chance to work on my craft. It was the perfect training for Hollywood and I will always be eternally grateful.”

thursday’s neighbors finale saw Robbie return alongside a host of other fan favourites, including Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Holly Valance and Natalie Imbruglia.

Anne Charleston, who played Ramsay Street legend Madge Bishop, also returned – with her late character appearing as a ghost.

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Remembering her time on the soap, Robbie said it was only when she moved to London that she realized how widespread neighbors‘popularity was.

“It really is an end of an era for fans. When I lived in London, I understood at its peak how big it was. People would come up to me and tell me how they watched it every day after school.”

From fruit farm to Hollywood Hills

The actress, who grew up on a fruit farm on the Gold Coast, moved to LA after leaving neighbors in 2011 and landed a role in US TV show Pan Am.

But it was her part opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf Of Wall Street that caught the eye of movie bosses in 2013.

Soon after, she moved to South London where she shared a four-bedroom pad in Clapham with six other friends that they dubbed “The Manor”.

Her housemates were friends she had met filming wartime flick French Suite – including the assistant director and her now-husband Tom Ackerley.

Robbie went on to star in 2015’s focus opposite Will Smith and played The Joker’s girlfriend Harley Quinn in 2016 hitSuicide Squad.

In 2016, she and Ackerley also married, and the following year they swapped their Clapham flat for a $3.6 million villa in Hollywood.

But she said leaving London had not been an easy move for the couple.

She said: “It was such a hard decision to leave, but I just couldn’t keep living out of a suitcase.”

Back in LA, the actress went on to star as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya – which she also produced – and alongside Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron in Bombshell.

Both roles won her Oscar nominations.

She also starred as rising movie star Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywoodappearing with former co-star DiCaprio as well as Brad Pitt.

Next year will see her hit the big screen in neon pink and sky-high heels after she was cast as Barbie in a romantic comedy about the iconic doll.

Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film also stars Ryan Gosling as Barbie‘s love interest Ken.

Robbie said: “When I read the script, I genuinely thought, ‘This is one of the best scripts I have ever read.’ I needed to be part of this story.

“I remember speaking with Ryan before we started shooting and we were just so excited to be part of this incredible script.

“Whatever people expect the Barbie movie to be like, they need to totally rethink it because Greta has done something special here.

“And Barbie is such a role model. She was a surgeon back in the early ’70s when a tiny percentage of females were applying for medical school.”

It is expected that in the hands of director Greta – whose last films were Lady Bird and Little Women – Barbie will get a thoroughly modern makeover.

‘Things have changed a lot’

It comes after Hollywood’s own makeover in recent years following the #MeToo scandals.

That movement was the focus of 2019 movie Bombshell, which was based on the sexual harassment of women working at Fox News.

Robbie, who starred as Kayla Pospisil, told at the time that it was only while working on the film that she realized what sexual harassment was.

She told Net-A-Porter: “I’m in my late twenties, I’m educated, I’m worldly, I’ve travelled, I have my own business – and I didn’t know. That’s insane.

“I didn’t know that you could say, ‘I have been sexually harassed,’ without someone physically touching you.

“That you could say, ‘That’s not OK.’ I had no idea.”

The actress also said that she has experienced harassment, but “not in Hollywood”, adding: “I struggle to find many women who haven’t experienced sexual harassment on some level.

“So yes, lots of times. And to varying degrees of severity throughout my life.”

Speaking last week, Robbie said: “I think things have changed in Hollywood over the past few years.

“There have been some difficult conversations and very brave people.

“We live in hope that all this courage that has been shown means nothing like this ever happens again.”

This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission

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Categories
Entertainment

Margot Robbie sent Neighbors cast champagne for finale

Hollywood star Margot Robbie has told how she will be “eternally grateful” to soap Neighbors after it launched her acting career.

Margot, 32, who began her TV career as Ramsay Street’s Donna Freedman from 2008 to 2011, appeared in the show’s finale, which aired last Thursday.

While the A-lister filmed her scenes for the final show in Los Angeles, she made a sweet gesture to her fellow castmates, sending 37 bottles of champagne to the Melbourne set, as revealed by Neighbors actress Christie Whelan on social media last week, The Sun reports.

Robbie said that the final episode marks “the end of an era”.

Now Hollywood’s highest-paid actress, she said: “I owe so much to neighbors.

“There are so many of us that owe [the show] for giving us a big break.

“It wasn’t just about giving me a break either – it gave me a real chance to work on my craft. It was the perfect training for Hollywood and I will always be eternally grateful.”

thursday’s neighbors finale saw Robbie return alongside a host of other fan favourites, including Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Holly Valance and Natalie Imbruglia.

Anne Charleston, who played Ramsay Street legend Madge Bishop, also returned – with her late character appearing as a ghost.

Remembering her time on the soap, Robbie said it was only when she moved to London that she realized how widespread neighbors‘popularity was.

“It really is an end of an era for fans. When I lived in London, I understood at its peak how big it was. People would come up to me and tell me how they watched it every day after school.”

From fruit farm to Hollywood Hills

The actress, who grew up on a fruit farm on the Gold Coast, moved to LA after leaving neighbors in 2011 and landed a role in US TV show Pan Am.

But it was her part opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf Of Wall Street that caught the eye of movie bosses in 2013.

Soon after, she moved to South London where she shared a four-bedroom pad in Clapham with six other friends that they dubbed “The Manor”.

Her housemates were friends she had met filming wartime flick French Suite – including the assistant director and her now-husband Tom Ackerley.

Robbie went on to star in 2015’s focus opposite Will Smith and played The Joker’s girlfriend Harley Quinn in 2016 hitSuicide Squad.

In 2016, she and Ackerley also married, and the following year they swapped their Clapham flat for a $3.6 million villa in Hollywood.

But she said leaving London had not been an easy move for the couple.

She said: “It was such a hard decision to leave, but I just couldn’t keep living out of a suitcase.”

Back in LA, the actress went on to star as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya – which she also produced – and alongside Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron in Bombshell.

Both roles won her Oscar nominations.

She also starred as rising movie star Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywoodappearing with former co-star DiCaprio as well as Brad Pitt.

Next year will see her hit the big screen in neon pink and sky-high heels after she was cast as Barbie in a romantic comedy about the iconic doll.

Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film also stars Ryan Gosling as Barbie‘s love interest Ken.

Robbie said: “When I read the script, I genuinely thought, ‘This is one of the best scripts I have ever read.’ I needed to be part of this story.

“I remember speaking with Ryan before we started shooting and we were just so excited to be part of this incredible script.

“Whatever people expect the Barbie movie to be like, they need to totally rethink it because Greta has done something special here.

“And Barbie is such a role model. She was a surgeon back in the early ’70s when a tiny percentage of females were applying for medical school.”

It is expected that in the hands of director Greta – whose last films were Lady Bird and Little Women – Barbie will get a thoroughly modern makeover.

‘Things have changed a lot’

It comes after Hollywood’s own makeover in recent years following the #MeToo scandals.

That movement was the focus of 2019 movie Bombshell, which was based on the sexual harassment of women working at Fox News.

Robbie, who starred as Kayla Pospisil, told at the time that it was only while working on the film that she realized what sexual harassment was.

She told Net-A-Porter: “I’m in my late twenties, I’m educated, I’m worldly, I’ve travelled, I have my own business – and I didn’t know. That’s insane.

“I didn’t know that you could say, ‘I have been sexually harassed,’ without someone physically touching you.

“That you could say, ‘That’s not OK.’ I had no idea.”

The actress also said that she has experienced harassment, but “not in Hollywood”, adding: “I struggle to find many women who haven’t experienced sexual harassment on some level.

“So yes, lots of times. And to varying degrees of severity throughout my life.”

Speaking last week, Robbie said: “I think things have changed in Hollywood over the past few years.

“There have been some difficult conversations and very brave people.

“We live in hope that all this courage that has been shown means nothing like this ever happens again.”

This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission

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