Andrew Rutherford writes: Here’s some photos that you might not have seen before, and recently uploaded to our website. They show the construction of the Edoras set. They were not taken by us. From the site: When Peter Jackson’s Three Foot Six company first arrived in Queenstown in November 1999, I decided to visit their production office which was operating out of the old Remarkables Hotel. There I had the good luck to meet unit production manager Nick Korda. I told him that with the type of aeroplanes we operated I thought we could be of service. My reasons for approaching the company were, firstly, I was a fan of J. R. R.Tolkien and loved the book, so I wanted to be involved. I believed that with all the locations around the country there would be a place for small aeroplanes in ferrying people, equipment, film and so on around them. Nick seemed a little doubtful at first until I mentioned that we could fly point to point at half the price of a helicopter, and do it faster. As we were flying small aircraft, we were not restricted to airports and could land anywhere – it could even be on the side of a hill, provided the area chosen was reasonably smooth and at least 400 metres long. More…
Category: LotR Production
So much of what Weta does is terribly secret until it’s finished (who knows what they’re up to in preparing for The Hobbit? But next month they’re inviting people in Wellington to visit the Weta Cave to enjoy their work on their own series, Jane and the Dragon. It’s a free day of medieval fun and a chance to meet both the author of the book, Martin Baynton, and master swordsmith Peter Lyon, who did so much work on The Lord of the Rings. Read More
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.
Continue reading “Cruise to Middle-earth off to a rainy start”
Inkibus writes: Juts thought you might be interested in the upcoming New Zealand/Auckland filmed fantasy series premiering next Saturday; ‘Legend of the Seeker’ based around Terry Goodkind’s novels. Aside from the NZ locations. it employs some familiar LOTR faces; Bruce Spence, Jay Lagalia, and Craig Parker among them. It’s reportedly being helmed by Sam Raimi, who collaborated famously with the ‘Xenia’ series, which employed much of the pre-LOTR production team. www.legendoftheseeker.com
Kirsten sends this along: We thought you and other ringers might want to know about an art exhibit we have coming up with Jeremy Bennett (Visual Director on LOTR and King Kong). It opens on Friday October 10th 6-9pm (Jeremy will be at the opening!) here in Seattle. He will be exhibiting seven new paintings based off the work he did on Mordor. The exhibit will be at the Roq La Rue Gallery (2312 2nd Ave Seattle WA 98121), visit www.roqlarue.com for more info or call (206)374-8977. Here is his art statement:
“For me conceptualizing shots in Mordor was a double edged sword, it was at an intense time in the production schedule and there was no room for error. It was fairly stressful to say the least but It seemed that for every problem that needed solving, wonderfully creative solutions were being offered up by all involved…” Continue reading “LOTR/Kong Visual Director Art Show in Seattle”