Weta Cave big part of movie tourism in Wellington

December 13th, 2011 by MrCere | 2 Comments »

Our 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.

I haven’t seen an insect weta before in my travels (until this trip, but not this story) but I have plenty of experience with the folks who run and work at the special effects shop who identify themselves as “wetas”. Several Comic-Cons, (including the 2011 edition in San Diego) lots of emails and various TORn functions have made the crew at Weta Workshop friendly acquaintances if not just plain old friends.

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.)

Weta’s ‘Art of District 9′ comes to market

September 13th, 2010 by MrCere | No Comments »

‘District 9,’ produced by Peter Jackson, directed by Neill Blomkamp (both rumored to be directing some ‘Hobbit’ movie) and conceptually designed by folks at Weta Workshop is now celebrated in a 160-page hardcover book, “The Art of District 9: Weta Workshop.”

While at the Weta booth at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego, we got our hands on a few pages of a prototype of this book and those few pages were pretty cool! Published by HarperCollins,
Richard Taylor, Weta’s Creative Director and five-time Academy Award winner, together with designers Greg Broadmore, David Meng, Leri Greer and Christian Pearce worked closely with Neill Blomkamp and have contributed many hundreds of pieces of conceptual art to this book. Authored by Daniel Falconer, you can order it directly from Weta or find it at bookstores.

Own a Hobbiton of your own

April 5th, 2010 by MrCere Comments Off

The folks at Weta have made it possible to own your own Hobbiton. There are two versions, the Open Edition and the Collector’s Editon with interiors. While your eyes soak that in, don’t miss the four-part series by site-friend Daniel Falconer about how this collectible came together.

Video: Daniel Falconer Interview

February 14th, 2010 by xoanon Comments Off

Linuxelf writes: I just posted another clip on YouTube this ones an interview with Daniel Falconer (WETA Workshop), talking about the level of detail that went into the making of the armour and weapons for the LOTR triology!

Weta waxes lyrical on Hobbiton

November 21st, 2009 by Tehanu Comments Off

The regular Weta newsletter talks about the restoration of Hobbiton as well. The team at Weta including Daniel Falconer are happily involved in modelling a collectible sculpture of Bag End at them moment, which should be ready for purchase in 2010. “>Read Weta’s “News from the Shire”.

TheOneRing and Weta launch ‘Hunt for dragon’s treasure’ after panel Thursday at Comic-Con

July 18th, 2009 by MrCere Comments Off

Thursday at Comic-Con, immediately following its about an unofficial and speculative (but informed) look at the forthcoming pair of films based on “The Hobbit,” TheOneRing.net, with a big assist from Weta, will launch a physical scavenger hunt for dragon’s gold at the San Diego Comic-Con. Prizes will be provided by Weta and include the book “The Art of the Fellowship of the Ring,” signed by Richard Taylor, Alan Lee, John Howe, Gino Acevedo and Daniel Falconer and 50 Weta Dollars. Read on for all the details!

Weta and GDT send Anniversary Wishes

April 25th, 2009 by Altaira | Discuss | Comments Off

TORn’s 10th Anniversary bash keeps getting better and better. Our good friend Magnus from Weta just posted a birthday card to TORn from Weta on in the VIP message thread on our Feedback board:

“Dear Tehanu, Xoanon, Corvar, Calisuri and thousands of other friends, No website has provided such a platform for fandom and creativity across literature and film as TheOneRing.net and for that we salute you! Past, current and future crew at Weta will be forever spiritually connected to TORn and we are absolutely relishing the opportunity to take on future journeys together – there… and back again… naturally.
We have recorded a short tribute at http://www.wetanz.com/torn10bday/  
Where you can also see your card in high resolution glory.”

Check out the high res version of the Weta birthday card (pictured) and the TORn tribute video at the link above. You won’t want to miss it.

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More about Books Publications, Collectibles, Daniel Falconer, Fran Walsh, Guillermo Del Toro, Merchandise, Other Crew, Other Merchandise, Richard Taylor, Sideshow Collectibles, WETA Digital, WETA Workshop

Weta News Mentions Cruise To Middle-Earth

March 22nd, 2009 by xoanon Comments Off

The March 20th edition of the WETA Newsletter mentions TORN and our ‘Cruise to Middle-earth’ vacation we posted about earlier in the year. Ringers on the cruise stopped by the WETA Cave for a very special treat. From the newsletter: “Our friends from T.O.R.N visit the Weta Cave – On a Cruise To Middle-Earth, a large group of Tolkien fans from TheOneRing.Net came to visit us. It was a real pleasure to have you here and to show you around. It takes a special kind of fan to travel all the way to little New Zealand. In the photo you also see Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger and Daniel Falconer who hosted the group on their visit.” >wetanz.com

Cruise to Middle-earth off to a rainy start

November 27th, 2008 by admin Comments Off

The Cruise to Middle-earth made its way to Hobbiton the other day, hampered by some rain and a terrible crash on the road, but we made it nonetheless. For the three Brandybuck sisters, this was like returning home for them. The location is still just as beautiful and Shire like as it was in the films, while also remaining a working sheep farm. We encountered a good many sheep and lambs, and the things they leave behind. But no one really cared, not once they saw the Party Tree and Bag End.

RingCon 2007 Report

October 27th, 2007 by Celeborn | Discuss | Comments Off

Ringer Elentariel sends along this report (complete with pictures!) from RingCon 2007:

I just returned from another wonderful trip to Germany, where I had a chance to attend RingCon 2007. Among thousands of LOTR fans in incredible costumes, there were numerous LOTR stars, and tons of entertainment.

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More about Andy Serkis, Conventions, Daniel Falconer, Events, Headlines, John Noble, LotR Movies