Martin Bayton, creator of Jane and the Dragon, is spearheadng an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for Sandcastle building on Sunday, November 25 starting at 8am. This is not just a passing social event, funds are being raised for the Neonatal Trust of New Zealand. Wellingtonians, Kiwis, and everyone else visiting the city that weekend are invited to participate, and to encourage that, there are some benefits. WETA and Air New Zealand have come on board to offer some support and sponsorship, including a Pair of Tickets from any Air New Zealand gateway city to Wellington for the week in order to help build a Sandcastle and see all the Premiere activities. For New Zealanders, you simply need to join Adventure Wellington and then RSVP, everyone else would want to donate a minimum of $10NZD, which includes a ticket to the event and en entry to win the trip. You can find all the details at WETA supports world Record Attempt WETA is even making custom molds to help make sure the Sandcastles are built up to the required specs to meet the Guinness requirements.
Category: Contests
Our good friends at Badali Jewelry are hosting an online costume contest! There are some fabulous prizes to be won, and we know Tolkien fans are extraordinary costumers – so check out the details here and get those entries in! Good luck!
Warner Brother Canada has announced a contest where a lucky Canadian can win two tickets to an advanced screening of “The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey.” The contest started on September 21 and will run through 11:59 EST on October 7. The winner and one guest will attend an advanced screening prior to the December 14, 2012 release date (no exact date given yet), either in Vancouver or Toronto, whichever city is closest to where they live. All you have to do is fill out the online entry form and try to go about your daily tasks until October 7 with both fingers crossed! The contest is only open to legal residents of Canada. Good luck!
Welcome to our latest “Getting to know” questions that need answering. This month we’re talking to the one and only Balrog Showgirl, Nicole Roberts.
Hi Nicole and a very big thank you for taking part and for being so patient with me.
This first question is from Rosie-with-the-ribbons who’s latest costume for RingCon has been inspired by your Balrog Showgirl costume.
R-w-t-r: Do you make your costumes yourself?
Nicole: Rosie – that is awesome! Yes, for the most part the costumes I’ve been running around in for the past several years have all been of my own making. I only started sewing back in 2004, after I moved to Los Angeles and started hanging out with even more LOTR people. The first costume I made was to wear to Comic Con that year – I was the Mumak Mahud (the guy with the black and white painted face who steers the oliphaunt in ROTK), so you could definitely say I’ve always leaned towards costumes that were a little off the beaten path! I’ve done some costumes that were direct recreations (“Barf” from “Spaceballs”is the most well-known one), but as I’ve gotten more into the sewing, I really like doing things that are more of an original design, like the Balrog Showgirl. As someone who is not of supermodel proportions (and seriously, those chicks look like scary walking lollipops anyway), I like to have the opportunity to design something that I think is more flattering to me, and I always like to learn how to do something new, like dyeing feathers for the showgirl headdress.
The Official Facebook page for The Hobbit has recently put up a little Trivia Challenge that comes with some rather cool prizes. Here is what they say about the contest:
“Longing for a quest of your own? Test your knowledge of Middle-earth and its many inhabitants by taking The Hobbit Trivia Challenge! Score a perfect 10 out of 10 for a chance to win a special prize pack for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey from Comic-Con!http://bit.ly/HobbitTrivia
List of Prizes
SDCC Exclusive invisible Bilbo Baggins action figure from our Master Toy partner, The Bridge.
Limited Edition Thorin Oakenshield Bust from Gentle Giant
Limited Edition 1/6 scale Thorin Oakenshield statue from WETA
Limited Edition Art Print—An Unexpected Journey from WETA
First ever LEGO Hobbit minifigure – Bilbo Baggins from the upcoming LEGO The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey constructions sets releasing this December”
One word of caution, you do need to get all 10 questions correct, and this is a timed test, each question has its own timer. So, don’t dilly dally, take a deep breathe and go have some fun.
Weta Digital were among the winners at this years’ Australian Effects & Animation Festival. The AEAF Awards is an international competition and screening, now in its 16th year with entries from around the world. Awards are given for creative and technical excellence in the use of visual effects and animation in the creation of screened work. The winners where announced at the lively AEAF Awards event held at in Sydney at Event Cinemas George St on 24 July.
Weta Digital took home two awards for Feature Films VFX silver medal for The Avengers and best Feature Films – Animation for The Adventures of Tintin.
[More]