The finalists have been announced for the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards 2012. Now into its third year, the awards recognise individuals, organisations and community groups for their outstanding contributions to the nation.
The shortlist for the main award, New Zealander of the Year, includes Dame Suzie Moncrieff, Sir Richard Taylor and Dr Sharad Paul.
Nominations were whittled down by panels of judges made up of such figures as Jim Bolger, Sir Ray Avery, Michael Basset, Teresa Gattung and Peri Drysdale. More..
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From onpoint.wbur.org: We talk with Viggo Mortensen – Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings – about his new role as Sigmund Freud. Actor Viggo Mortensen makes a singular impression on screen. As sword-wielding Strider –Aragorn – in Lord of the Rings. As bewitching lover in A Walk on the Moon. As Russian gangster in Eastern Promises. As horseman in Hidalgo. As Sigmund Freud in the new A Dangerous Method.
He’s tough but tender. Dangerous, and something indefinable. Maybe it’s the Danish daddy. The school years in Argentina. The sidelines in poetry and painting. The outsider sensibility. The politics of Kucinich and Cindy Sheehan. More..
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Hobbit workers tried to gag Labour Department inspectors looking into a fire that engulfed a crew member’s head. The department has given a copy of its report into the fire at Miramar’s Stone Street Studios to The Dominion Post under the Official Information Act.
The fire, which left two crew members with minor burns, started when flammable fumes ignited inside a hollow statue prop, the report revealed. A veil of secrecy descended after the May fire. An investigator who attended it reported: “I’ve been asked to fill out a confidentiality agreement. I advised I will take this away for advice.” More..
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Wired’s Erik Wecks makes a compelling case for Tolkien fans to not get too excited about the Hobbit.
What’s he on about? Well, he noticed something in the teaser (one that many other people did as well), but he’s gone a step further and drawn some interesting parallels to one of the most controversial and bizarre changes that Walsh and Boyens made for The Return of The King. Of course, this being the internet, your mileage may vary. Naturally, there are movie spoilers.
Read the full article on Wired.
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Those of us who are anxiously awaiting the upcoming The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit LEGO sets get an additional tease today! Hot off the presses, here is LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Aragorn Poster. I think it is safe to say that Viggo never looked so good as a LEGO! If you were not aware, LEGO has announced recently they will be producing items for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the upcoming The Hobbit films. Collectibles are set to be released this coming Summer. Jump on over to LEGO’s official site for The Lord of the Rings and keep watching TheOneRing.net for more updates! [Official Site] [Download the Poster PDF] [Read the Announcement]
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Our buddy Bruce Hopkins writes: I have a couple of audio clips on my RadioLIVE page that may be of interest to some of the Torn-ers. I chat with Nicole Roberts who lives in LA and won a costume competition judged by Richard Taylor and Daniel Falconer. Her prize is a trip to NZ. We also talk about the birthday celebrations for JRR Tolkien. I also have a chat which I had with Professor Alexander Gaeta who was one of the inventors of the ‘time cloak’, based on a study carried out at Cornell University. Alexander is a Tolkien fan, and so I asked him if the Elven cloaks could have been created using their amazing discovery. More..
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