From radionz.co.nz: Head of Weta Workshop Richard Taylor on his busy year. [More]
Category: Crew News
All news about the LOTR Crew.
Arwen Undomiel writes: On the 23th/24th of February 2008 there is the World Premiere of Howard Shore’s Original Soundtrack of ‘The Fellowship of the Rings’ – live in concert. It will take place in Luzern, Switzerland with the composer himself being present!! During the show, the film will be seen in its full length on a big screen. There will be 200 singers and musicians at the a three-hour performance. [More]
Or Empires Within, Empires Without
Yes, I realize the title sounds like the name of a lacrosse team (but it’s only to insure that my compatriots read this.) Nevertheless…
A summer ago, I spent a few days in Toronto giving a little talk at IdeaCity and shooting a television program. Being in Toronto was akin to going back to a place one has never been before, one of those reassuring and slightly troubling moments where you realize that (of course) the superficiality of familiarity is enough to enhance any strange city, as long as you have some tenuous link (in this case, the entire population fiddling with their BlackBerries while walking.) So, in a way, back in a Canada to which I’d never been. Which, as it turns out, was very a propos…
In Queen’s Park*, on the way from the hotel farther downtown towards the Royal Ontario Museum, stand the Ontario Parliament Buildings. My hurried strides, and the most promising-looking shortcut on my free city map, carried me past there. Something about them was so unsettling, otherworldly and fascinating that I returned and spent two afternoons in their company. John Howe’s Journal: CANADIAN CELTICS
Chad Grischow writes: January 3, 2008 – Poor Howard Shore. With most moviegoers busy ogling over the amazing visual work Weta created for Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy, it is easy to forget just how equally fantastic they each sound. Newly issued five-disc mega set, featuring nearly four hours worth of cd audio and another four hours of DVD audio in full surround sound, is here to refresh your memory. Having worked on scores for Martin Scorsese (The Departed) and David Fincher (Se7en and Panic Room), not to mention his long-standing working relationship with David Cronenberg, Shore knows drama and tension. This experience serves him well in the inevitable battle sequences, but he proves equally capable of pulling off delightfully wistful fare throughout. It is the well balanced, always compelling, sound that makes this rather lengthy collection worthy of your ears from start to finish. Despite just how long it will take you to hear all of Shore’s work, there is not much fat to be found. Like the film itself, there are a few lulls, like plodding “Marshalling At Dunharrow”, but thankfully no repeated false endings or moments where you wish the credits would start rolling already. Howard Shore – The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King – The Complete Recordings
Telperion writes: This year marks the 4th International Art Competition of ST Wieza City Culture and Art Centre of Bielawa in association with City Promotion and Strategy Department of Bielawa (Poland). The theme of this year’s competition is Battles and Combats of the First Age and there is much freedom allowed in the artistic style and technique chosen by competitors. The First Prize is €250 and there are two Second Prizes of €100 each. The panel of judges will be chosen from a wide range of sources and will include the world famous Tolkien artist, John Howe, whom it is an honour to have as a judge. The competition is now open and the closing date for submissions is March 31st, 2008. Tolkien Themed Art Competition in Poland
Weta Workshop’s involvement in another blockbuster movie has been unmasked – the physical effects studio has beaten Hollywood to design and make the costumes for superheroes including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and The Flash. The costumes will be donned by a yet-to-be-named cast for the big-budget Hollywood movie Justice League of America, to be filmed in Sydney this year and directed by Australian George Miller of Mad Max and Happy Feet fame. The film’s Wellington-based American producer, Barrie Osborne, who produced Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, confirmed Weta Workshop’s involvement. “They are doing all the costumes and they’re doing a brilliant job,” he told The Dominion Post from Sydney. “A lot of people thought it would be too hard, that you can only make those things in Hollywood.” Weta triumphs in clash of the superheroes