  Weta Cave big part of movie tourism in WellingtonOur story so far: Peter Jackson made three Middle-earth movies and people loved them. Now he is making two more and people already love them too. MrCere, Senior Staff, Writer and Photographer at TheOneRing.net (around since 1999) went to NZ to see what he could see. Landed in Queenstown, found lots of LOTR stuff, drove north to see the people of the ring, visited Hobbiton visited Wellington, center of NZ’s cinematic empire, and will soon leave NZ. However, much more content will follow.
My time in Wellington would need to include a visit of some kind with the very busy people who are working on The Hobbit, but as I have often joked (even though it is at least partially true) Weta’s second best talent is making special effects for movies. What they are really best at is keeping secrets from TheOneRing.net. I had no illusions that anybody was going to tour me around the workshop (I asked anyway, just in case) during the height of The Hobbit production, but they were kind enough to invite me along to a group they were hosting from a cruise ship that included one of our own message board members. (Her identity is her own to reveal.) Collecting The Precious – Orthanc Pre-Ruin by Weta
During, Comic-Con 2011 Weta released the next amazing environment from their The Lord of the Rings line. The item is noneother than Orthanc the home or Saruman during the battle for The One Ring. This version of Orthanc is before we see Saruman tear apart Isengard to use in his part of making war in Middle-Earth. The detailing in Orthanc is off the charts! It looks like the statue is made from real obsidian and pulled from what we saw on screen during the trilogy. The addition of the trees add a feel of peace that this location had before Saruman sold himself out to Sauron. For owners who have Orthanc after Saruman destroyed the beauty that you see here the comparisons will make for one of the cooler looks in any The Lord of the Rings collecton. Collecting the Precious: Interview with Weta’s own Daniel Falconer
For the folks at Weta to be successful they need super talented people to help bring the world of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to life. These folks are responsible for making the award-winning armor, weapons, costumes, and, of course, digital effects that have gained them so much acclaim. I thought for you all it would be great if we could sit down with one of these amazing individuals to find out what it’s like to help bring these worlds to life. Well, Daniel Falconer one of the key artists at Weta has been kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for everyone. As many of you may know Daniel been apart of amazing pieces like Bag End, Rivendell, Treebeard’s bust, and books like The Art of District 9. Having had a chance to own or see many of these pieces I was quite eager to sit down with Daniel and get his thoughts on being apart of helping Weta create these amazing things. After, reading this Q&A I would suggest to all the readers to get one of these great collectibles Daniel and Weta have created. Rare behind the scenes photos of LOTR. Nostalgia levels rising 3Foot6 (the spy, not the company) sends this in: The popular website thechive.com has a post today showing a bunch of old behind the scenes photos from the trilogy. I thought fellow fans would enjoy them. More.. Exclusive: TORn’s interview with Richard TaylorWith the release this week of the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time on Blu-ray, Warner Bros. offered TheOneRing.net the chance to speak to with Richard Taylor, head of Weta Workshops. (Be sure to check out our very own Xoanon’s interview with him as well) Taylor and partner Tania Rodger famously built the New Zealand special effects house first from their Wellington, New Zealand flat in in 1987 and expanded it dramatically in 1994 when bringing in Peter Jackson. Since then it has grown into one of the elite special effects houses in the world, producing the wonders seen in films like the LOTR trilogy, King Kong, and Avatar, just to name a very few, and all of this across the ocean from the U.S. Film Industry, building what director Guillermo del Toro called, “Hollywood the way God intended it.”  Discuss »More about Blu-Ray, Costume Design, Hobbit Movie, Locations Sets, Lord of the Rings, LotR Movies, LotR Production, Make Up, Models, New Zealand, WETA Workshop Comments Off Tolkien Flashback – August 3rd-9th
Discuss »More about Christopher Lee, Christopher Tolkien, Ian McKellen, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lawrence Makoare, Locations Sets, Lord of the Rings, LotR Books, LotR Movies, Models, Movie Fellowship of the Ring, Movie Return of the King, Movie The Two Towers, Peter Jackson, Rumours Spy News, Today in Middle-earth, Tolkien, Tolkien Family Comments Off Massive Helm’s Deep Miniature Exhibition in MaltaJames writes: The AME (Association of Model Engineers) is organizing its Annual Exhibition, held between 8th and 16th September, 2007 and this year it is showcasing a massive miniature of Helm’s Deep, the main fortress of Rohan. The exhibition will be held at the Scouts Headquarters in Floriana, Malta and shall display a wide range of models of all types of genres; including Military, Fantasy and Science Fiction. This year, the Association has been working hard to construct this highly detailed model has been carefully built to closely match the film version. The diorama is also filled with various models, including Elves, Uruk-Hai and the Men of Rohan, depicting the battle as portrayed in the film. Other models include, siege ladders, catapults and a group of Uruk-hai with a battering ram attacking the gates. Apart from this diorama, a collection of highly detailed figures of The Lord of the Rings are displayed separately during the exhibition. Last year’s main centre-piece was a diorama of a Rohan keep being attacked by orcs. This year, the AME has taken a step further into realizing this full 3 feet by 2 feet diorama of the Battle of Helm’s Deep. No photos of the model are available yet, since it is still under construction. For further information on the Exhibition and the Association itself, please click the following to the AME website: www.a-m-e.org Comments Off  |
 
|
