Hollywood technology used to bring Gollum to the screen in the Lord of the Rings blockbusters has been used by scientists to understand how kangaroos bounce. Experts have been puzzled as to how the animals – especially when they become larger – are able to attain high speeds without breaking their bones. But by using motion-capture technology, which records and analyses information from markers stuck on to the body, and infrared lights which illuminate the animals, they have been able to track their motion and force. More..
Category: Production
Irish actor James Nesbitt, cast in the role of the Dwarf Bofur, spoke with the Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio this morning about the time he’s spent so far in New Zealand, reports BeeHiveCity and ContactMusic.com.
From BeeHiveCity:
“We’ve been here for training, because I’m going to be here for a year so the amount of work and the work we’ll be getting up to means we all have to be fit, you know, and a few of us are getting on a bit, so we’ve been training and horse-riding and doing stunts and all that kind of thing, and then we start.”
From ContactMusic.com:
“We haven’t started filming, we got here mid-January and we were supposed to rehearse, doing lots of horse-riding and framing and stunts and all that, but then Peter got ill, he had a perforated ulcer, so filming was delayed for a few weeks. Filming starts in about three weeks and I start in a month, but it’s been great, so I’ve had lots of time off. A typical day will be little bit of training, doing a bit of that, trying to get strong, and then doing lots of stunt fights and movement, then going out and horse-riding. I mean, it’s basically playing is what we’re doing.”
From the folks at WETA: At Weta Collectibles, we of course follow the developments after the devastating earthquake in New Zealand’s second largest city Christchurch with a lump in our throats.
As a way to contribute and support where we can, we are auctioning three unique items on our eBay page and donating all proceeds to the New Zealand Red Cross Earthquake Appeal:
1. A Bag End Collector’s Edition miniature environment, signed by Peter Jackson
2. A Prancing Pony miniature environment, signed by Richard Taylor
3. A custom Dr Grordbort’s Raygun, signed by Greg Broadmore
Please join in the bidding in confidence that the proceeds will be well spent. Every last cent from these auctions will go straight to the New Zealand Red Cross Earthquake appeal. Find out about other ways to contribute to this appeal by going to their website: www.redcross.org.nz
3Foot6 (the spy, not the company) sends this in: The popular website thechive.com has a post today showing a bunch of old behind the scenes photos from the trilogy. I thought fellow fans would enjoy them. More..
linuxelf sends along the video featuring Ngila Dickson’s interview where she drops the bomb that she is not working on the Hobbit.
Since production of The Hobbit began ramping up we have been getting emails from curious fashionistas about costume designer Ngila Dickson, will she be continuing stunning her work on The Hobbit? Our answer has always been ‘we’ll let you know as soon as we know!’. Well the answer now comes in the form of a ‘Reel Late with Kate’ interview. Moa hunter brings us the news: “Reel Late with Kate [TV3-NZ] last night included an interview with Ngila Dickson. At the end of the programme the presenter (Kate Rodger) said that Ngila Dickson would not be working on The Hobbit because of existing contractual obligations.”
Sad news indeed! So, who do you think should get the gig? Post on our Message Boards!