Interest is high for an upcoming Dunbar Sloane auction, with movie-maker Peter Jackson tipped to be interested in two rare biplanes going under the hammer. Also on offer is a piece of the infamous flagstaff Hone Heke repeatedly chopped down, kicking off the first of the land wars. The two biplanes on offer include a 1944 Tiger Moth and the last remaining 1929 Simmonds Spartan in the world. Peter Jackson is an avid World War I-era plane collector. Dunbar Sloane confirmed Jackson’s buyers had been alerted to the upcoming sale and had shown initial interest. “But we won’t know if he is going to put in a bid until the day. Buyers don’t usually let us know they are definitely bidding before the day.” Planes go to auction
Category: Production
Everyone knows Hollywood giants Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg are collaborating on three Tintin movies, but rarely has the public seen the two top film-makers in the same place. A new online video shows them not only together, but with the potential to be a snappy comic duo. The official website for Tintin unveiled this week a two-minute video recording of Jackson and Spielberg made for the the Angouleme International Comics Festival in France. In the video Jackson and Spielberg wear bowler hats and carry umbrellas as a homage to two of the Tintin series’ most popular characters, the bungling detectives Thomson and Thompson. They are seated between a cardboard cutout of Tintin, the plucky Belgian detective. “We’re here to celebrate Tintin’s 80th year in existence,” said Spielberg, who is directing the first Tintin film Secret of the Unicorn. Tintin video unveiled Video
From the folks at WETA: It’s official – Weta Fans are the most patient. Ever. We sincerely apologise for how long it’s been since the last episode. But we’re back! This time we “air” an interview we recorded late last year with Lord Of The Rings veterans Matt Appleton and Emily-Jane Sturrock who have been travelling. We also take a closer look at the new website and get Richard Taylor’s as well as Tim Launders views on what the new site is all about. Listen to Episode VI of the Weta Cast here!
Sean Astin told SCI FI Wire that he’d be thrilled to reprise his Lord of the Rings film trilogy role as Sam Gamgee in the upcoming big-screen adaptations of The Hobbit. However, because the Rings’ beloved quartet of Hobbits don’t actually appear in The Hobbit, Astin doubts that he’ll be asked to appear in the films. Astin’s comments run counter to those of his Rings co-star Dominic Monaghan, who told MTV News in January that he believes that he, Astin, Billy Boyd and Elijah Wood will play some role in the two Hobbit features. The films will be produced by Rings mastermind Peter Jackson and directed by Guillermo del Toro. SCI FI Wire spoke to Astin today, while he was promoting ION Television’s upcoming miniseries The Color of Magic. Following are edited excerpts from that exclusive interview, in which he also talked about the 10th anniversary of filming The Lord of the Rings and his other upcoming genre projects. Astin up for Hobbit if Hobbit up for him
By Garth Franklin at DarkHorizons (via Variety): While fans who are aware of “Tintin” have been enthusiastic about the project, the single most common complaint from fanboys unfamiliar with Herge’s brilliant stories of the roving reporter has been that their ‘god’ Steven Spielberg shouldn’t be wasting his time with such nonsense.
This is despite the fact almost all of them are completely unfamiliar with the material, even though the twenty-four graphic novels have been in publication for over eight decades. Decades before the likes of “Watchmen” hit the shelves it was weaving stories of Middle Eastern tension, South American and Eastern European coup d’etats, opium smuggling, human trafficking, arms dealing and espionage. More…