How cool would this be to watch?

from scoop.co.nz: A one point five metre high ‘Showgirl on A Dragon’ will begin to appear in the SKYCITY Atrium tomorrow as Weta Workshop sculptor Craig Campbell gets to work on the masterpiece which will take him ten days to complete.

From 12-16 October and 19-23 October NZ, the American artist with fifteen years practice in his craft will create the sculpture as the public look on. Based in the heart of SKYCITY, at the top of the stairs the lead to the Sky Tower lifts, the live demonstration will give locals and the many tourists in town the chance to chat to Craig about his creation and the work of Weta Workshop.

Tim Launder from Weta Workshop says: “This is the thrilling sequel to the opening of the Weta Cave at the end of August. We’ve had such a great response from the Auckland public to the shop; it’s special to be able to add that little bit more magic.”

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TheOneRing.net proudly presents an exclusive special LIVE interview with Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of “The Last Unicorn,” Peter S. Beagle, tomorrow Oct. 11th, on our weekly show TORn Tuesdays! Hosted by long-time staffer Clifford Broadway, aka Quickbeam, we bring Peter directly to the fans in a most innovative way! Expect BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS and intimate conversation with this beloved author and friend to Ringers around the world, ahead of his appearance at New York Comic-Con. Fans may participate and interact live,  posing questions in our Barliman’s chatroom. Check out the broadcast in our LIVE event section at 5:00PM Pacific Time! [LIVE Event Area] (TORn Tuesday will take place from approx 5-7pm PT – See All Times)

If you go to the movies, even casually, you have been moved by his work. Assisting directors, he makes audiences laugh and cry and with over 80 scores, three Oscars and more than 50 other awards to his name, Howard Shore is a master movie composer. He has collaborated with David Cronenberg, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme and David Fincher to name just a few. But it is his work with Peter Jackson on the Lord of the Rings film trilogy that has won him his widest commercial acclaim.

With a nine-city tour of The Lord of the Rings in concert: The Fellowship of the Ring to kick off Wednesday in Glendale Arizona, TheOneRing.net spoke with Shore (in London) by phone about the unique event that combines a film screening with a live performance of his score.

TORn: Is there an excitement about these live performances?

Howard Shore: It is very exciting, I am very much looking forward to it. Continue reading “Howard Shore talks FOTR concert tour with TORn”

Middle Earth Has Never Sounded So Good.
  
The Lord of the Rings In Concert: The Fellowship of the Ring is the groundbreaking first installment of Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning film trilogy.  Featuring, Howard Shore’s complete Academy Award® and Grammy®–winning score performed live on-stage by more than 250 musicians with the film projected on an immense 60-foot screen.  Entertainment Weekly calls it “High Class Geekery” and The San Francisco Examiner exclaims “It’s The Concert of the Decade.”

The Lord of the Rings in Concert will be hitting San Diego, California on October 13. In addition to the orchestra performance of the soundtrack live to the screening of the film, they will also have 22 original movie props and costumes on display. Since they will also have the San Diego Civic Youth Orchestra performing before the big concert, this is definitely going to be a Family Friendly event. See the link below for tickets and further details. http://valleyviewcasinocenter.com/Lord-of-the-Rings-In-Concert-October-13-7-30-pm

But the invasion begins earlier, this Saturday, to be exact. There will be a flashmob of Hobbits and other Middle-earth denizens near the Old Globe Theater tomorrow, October 8 at 12:30pm. See the Valley View Casino Center’s facebook page linked below for more details and a Youtube video showing the flashmob dance steps. More..

Parting is such sweet sorrow (there will be spoilers for the last few Harry Potter films)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a wonderfully creative film with a more unique look due to a new director. But the film franchise always had the same set of Producers, and thank goodness for that. They were the real shepherds to make sure Rowling’s story stayed the course. After all, this series of stories was turning into an epic tale of good versus evil, and there were character arcs to maintain, bits that had to be dropped in to earlier films so that they could pay off in later films. When Dobby first showed up, didn’t you wonder if he was just going to be another Jar Jar Binks? Who knew that he’d be so important to the story later on, or that you’d cry at the end of Deathly Hallows part 1 when he dies? But we also had to have knowledge of the basis of the Horcruxes and the qualities of the Sword of Gryffindor and learn about Polyjuice potion and dueling and the Room of Requirement too. So Prisoner of Azkaban was followed by the Goblet of Fire, and we get our first death and our first indication of the seriousness of this epic battle in the making. We were now getting the type of high drama we’d gotten in the Lord of the Rings. This was followed by Order of the Phoenix, and another high profile death, coupled with a really spectacular duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort.

Continue reading “When Harry Met Frodo, a Final Farewell (part 3 – the finale)”