In this article, The New Zealand Herald’s Helen Frances speaks to Weta concept designers and illustrators Ben Wootten and Paul Tobin about how they got their starts in the industry.
Wootten joined Weta in 1996, and has worked on King Kong, The Lord of the Rings and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. His knowledge of animal anatomy and behavior (he studied zoology at university) was key to creating the dinosaurs for King Kong.
Paul Tobin began his career at Weta Workshop in 2003 when the first Narnia film and King Kong were underway. Tobin says he was “lousy at drawing dinosaurs” so he stayed with Narnian fantasy. His background in ancient history and archaeology proved the inspiration for concept designs for Peter and Edmund’s armour and weapons and Susan’s horn.
Read more here. Photo by Steve Unwin.
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Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!
This week on the Hobbit Movie Board Radagast – Aiwendil proposed a different approach to the fall of the Necromancer, asking “wouldn’t a battle of wills between the White Council and the Necromancer be better than an all out magical showdown?” What do you think? Could this work cinematically for you or are you looking forward to seeing some wizardly/elven butt-kicking?
Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – July 8, 2012”
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In an recent interview with InStyle magazine, Benedict Cumberbatch said he visited
the London Zoo to study the reptiles in preparation for his role as Smaug the dragon.
“It’s an extrapolation of a performance into something other than an actor. But essentially, you’re still doing a scene.”
Cumberbatch who also stars in the up-coming Star Trek 2 and plays Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock says that his acting parents helped him learn the importance of professionalism.
In other Cumberbatch news, apparently he’s also landed a small guest spot on the Simpsons. Its been recorded, but no word yet on when it might air, or what the part involved.
[The zoo visit] | [The Simpson’s spot]
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Thanks to message board member, irisgirl, for alerting us to a nod to Tolkien in, of all places, tattoos sported by this years’ olympians. Karine Sergerie, a member of the Canadian taekwondo team heading to the 2012 London Olympics, has a tattoo on her forearm which reads, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us.” Seems even olympians can be Tolkien geeks like us. We’ll be cheering for you, Karine! …Read More
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Welcome to our collection
of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards, Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!
This week saw the return of the one and only Nomad with “a limerick I just wrote while sitting in a MSSQL 2012 class“, which spawned a limerick challenge here on Main, some hilarious, some groan-worthy, but all worth a look 😀
Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – June 25, 2012”
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Welcome to this months 
“Getting to know…” questions that need answering. It’s based on the old Getting to know you threads that I used to post on the message boards here on TORn, so those familiar with them will know that the questions can be a little crazy and the answers even crazier.
This month, in the lead up to ComicCon, we’re asking questions of the other stripey TORn Kitty and intrepid traveller, Garfeimao.
Thanks for joining us this month Garf.
Me: What, in your opinion, are the best places to visit in California?
Garfeimao: Hah, that’s funny, since I’m at just about the most touristy spot in all of California, Disneyland, right now. In fact, if you put these answers up pretty quickly, you may well get a bit of a scoop, since I’m at the Press Preview of the new Cars Land at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim, California. The’ve added Radiator Springs, a 12 acre park with 3 full rides and loads of shops and restaurants and new entertainment options, and it’s just adorable. They built up the background to look like the desert mesas and mountains you see if the film, including the waterfall and bridge sequence from the film. It’s really cool and very immersive, and the opening night party tonight was awesome. I ran into Andy Garcia, twice, Larry the Cable Guy (who voices Mater in the Cars movies) and I ran into Scott Hamilton, the Olympic Figure skater, among several other celebrities that were here.
Continue reading “Getting to know Garfeimao”
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