This weekend Sunday Night has a world exclusive about a book, an interview with Redfoo and surrogacy in Thailand
World Exclusive: The Most Exquisite Book of All Time
According to the world’s greatest scholars it is the most exquisite book of all time, perhaps the most beautiful of all. It is also one of the most mysterious books ever created. Handmade by the finest craftsmen and painters of the Renaissance period it has been surrounded by secrecy and intrigue for more than half a millennium. Hidden away for most of those 500 years, the legendary Rothschild Prayer Book has passed through the hands – and been coveted and desired – by the most powerful men and women in history. From Royal courts to the world’s wealthiest banking family it was looted by Adolf Hitler’s marauding troops, and stored deep below ground in Austrian salt mines, during the Second World War. Very few have ever laid eyes on it. Each and every page is inlaid with gold. But it is the paintings, and the scenes they portray, that are considered masterpieces in miniature. The manuscript is unique, not one other copy was made, and who it was made for is perhaps the biggest mystery of all. It was the very start of the 16th century and mankind was about to undergo the greatest period of discovery and change. It was a time when many scholars still thought the earth was flat, but Christopher Columbus was setting sail and Leonardo da Vinci was beginning to make incredible advances. The prayer book has borne witness to all this and more, including the discovery of Australia. Eight months ago another great secrecy emerged – who was the mystery buyer who paid a record $15 million to become the book’s new protector and guardian. Following that purchase the book vanished yet again. In the art world this is the most baffling secret of all. Sunday Night’s world-wide report will make headlines. It ends with reporter Steve Pennell’s holding this priceless treasure in one of the modern world’s most dynamic cities. But who is the mysterious owner?
Redfoo
He’s the most eccentric, catchy, big-haired, budgie-smuggling all round nice bloke in world music right now – and he’s fallen in love with Australia and our ‘scene’. But how much do you really know about Redfoo? Stefan Gordy exploded onto the music charts with LMFAO and dance moves that took the world by storm — but before that, this son of Motown music royalty was also a top student, a pro tennis player and comedian. The apologetic party-rocker might have a devoted following for his unusual style, but was also a misfit kid who faced bullying and near-crippling anxiety. Reporter Rahni Sadler joined the Redfoo revolution express on a whistle-stop tour from LA to Barcelona and the party island of Mykonos and back to Australia for The X Factor. It’s breathless, funny, revealing and captivating. Redfoo opens up about the glass attack at a bar last week that almost cost him an eye, to the day he became a man protecting his mum from an abusive partner as a young teenager. Be prepared to be surprised.
The Rescue
It’s a new parent’s worst nightmare — the threat of being separated from your child — but it is a reality for at least a dozen Australian couples and their infants, who have been stranded in Thailand following the military crackdown on commercial surrogacy. In this powerful and nail-biting undercover investigation, Sunday Night reporter Denham Hitchcock follows two Aussie families desperately trying to get home with their babies. Operation Rescue builds to the dramatic moment Adam and Kate, who had spent more than $200,000 on failed IVF treatment to become parents, running the gauntlet at Bangkok airport to board the plane with their precious twin cargo. We’re also with Melbourne couple Steven and James as they try to bring their baby boy back to Australia. These are families who have become victims of a flawed system, families who are prepared to do anything to bring their babies home.
Sunday, September 7 on Channel 7 at 8.20pm.
