Debo writes: I was at the Weta Cave in Wellington yesterday and there is going to be a book signing by John Howe this Saturday 5 Dec. from 1 to 3pm. The guide also said that John Howe and Alan Lee are in Wellington at the moment working on designs for The Hobbit. Weta Cave

The folks from WIFI, a network of independent film artists based in Wellington New Zealand, send this in: We recently did an interview with Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger from WETA and we thought you may or may not be interested in sharing it with the TORN community. Read the rest of this entry »

From the folks at Weta: 10 years since filming began on The Lord Of The Rings! How do we celebrate that? Listen to the Anniversary Podcast! – Daniel Falconer has recorded a very special podcast episode, walking around the workshop, asking the crew who were here back then to share some of their stories and memories. It’s a truly fantastic walk through the workshop, where you meet Richard Taylor, Gino Acevedo, Gareth McGhie, Matt Appleton, Emily-Jane Sturrock and MANY others! Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a fair bit of news over at the Noldor Blog, including booksignings at the Weta Cave by Alan Lee and Ian Brodie as well as a new kids’ book with Richard Taylor and possibly Dr Grordbort himself, Greg Broadmore. There’s news about the Capitol Court Cinema co-owned by PJ, Richard Taylor and PJ’s editor Jamie Selkirk. Apparently it’s being fixed up -hope their sense of fantasy runs wild with it! (Read More) The Chocolate Fish cafe beloved by LOTR cast and crew is opening in a new beachside location not far from the original. And finally Jack asks who’ll join him in celebrating the 10th anniversary of first day of LOTR filming?

LOTR artist Alan Lee will be appearing at the Weta Cave in Wellington to sign advance copies of his new book, a re-telling of tales from Ovid’s Metamorphoses by brilliant British poet Adrian Mitchell. Read More. His appearance on Sat October 3, like John Howe’s recent booksigning there, is reassuring in terms of Hobbit news as it confirms that both LOTR film artists are spending time in Wellington as production ramps up for the films.

Jack over at the Noldor Blog has pictures of the latest displays at the Weta Cave. Check them out here and vote on what you’d like to see next.

Slave Boy Films was at Comic-Con last week and crept into TheOneRing.net’s presentation on an unofficial look at the pair of Hobbit movies. The TORn presentation was Thursday, only hours before Peter Jackson arrived at city of geeks (120,000 strong) who had assembled at San Diego to drink deeply of all the flavors of popular culture. TheOneRing filled every one of the 400 seats in its assigned room with plenty left standing outside in a line but thanks to Slave Boy, the presentation is now available for anybody and everybody. (Click inside to see the videos!) Read the rest of this entry »

From the folks at WETA: We are delighted to announce our new license with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to create a new range of the most authentic, fine art collectibles and memorabilia based on The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. This range is designed and created by the same Academy Award-winning artists who worked on the movie trilogy.

We have patiently waited for the opportunity to offer the most authentic replicas you could ever hope to find. The wait is over; it has been four long years since Weta last released any new collectibles from The Lord of the Rings. Read the rest of this entry »

In a interview at WETA Cave Guillermo del Toro gives an insight to the ’slightly different feel’ of the landscapes that will be seen in The Hobbit Movie. GdT said that they will evolve ‘little by little’ and by the second Hobbit Film hopefully they will be very different. They are currently also working on new technologies for the filming. Read the rest of this entry »

Ataahua sends this along: AranNZ has a report on the discussion boards about his meeting with GDT at the Weta Cave. Take a look at the report on our LOTR Message Boards!

The Noldor Blog also has a few reports: Guillermo del Toro signing, Exclusive! Name of The Hobbit production company revealed! (3Foot7!), and Pre-Production On Hobbit To Start August