Wellington may soon announce the often speculated-about film museum that has been in the media rumor mill for well more than a decade. Stuff.co.nz is reporting that construction will start next year on a combination museum and convention center space.
A three-story building is expected, with top floor dedicated to a meeting space for 1100 with the bottom two floors to house the museum with 10,000 square meters of space. Approval of a land purchase is expected as soon as Tuesday for the space to build the museum. It is expected to house permanent collections as well as temporary ones.
The article says the museum will be run by The Movie Museum Limited, a company formed by Sirs Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor. The two men are cinema fans and each owns a considerable film collection that will be featured in the museum.
The story also detailed that it would be across from Te Papa, Wellington’s world-class museum and sit between Wakefield and Cable Streets, the site it was rumored to be a possibility at before, at the end of Tory Street in Wellington. Construction is expected to see completion in 2018.
The article also said, “Mayor Celia Wade-Brown said it would be “extremely unlikely” for council to not to go ahead with the complex.”
Fans of Jackson and Taylor know the duo has a knack for presentation on screen and off with previous film exhibitions at Te Papa and even at media events for films. Taylor’s Weta Workshop has the Weta Cave in Wellington to showcase props and collectibles out of his Weta Workshop.
TORn will have the latest details as this story develops.
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There’s been a storm raging today over comments director Peter Jackson made about the process of filming The Hobbit trilogy. Staffer greendragon reflects on the debate which has been unleashed…
With the release this week of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Extended Edition on Blu-ray and DVD, folks have been sitting down to watch the many hours of extras provided in the included ‘Appendices’ footage. Starting with an article on The Guardian newspaper’s website, one particular part of Peter Jackson’s comments (in ‘The Appendices Part 11: The Gathering Storm’) on the making of The Hobbit trilogy has gone viral online, unleashing much debate among fans who love or hate the movies.
Continue reading “Peter Jackson’s comments provoke a ‘Gathering Storm’ in a teacup…”
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For fans who have been waiting to get their hands on actual disks before watching The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Extended Edition, today is the day when releases begin! The Blu-ray and DVD sets are available today in America, Nov 18th in New Zealand (so almost today already in NZ!), and across Europe and the rest of the world in the coming days. (Read our International Shopping Guide for further details.)
This is the Home Entertainment release which completes the set for all fans of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth movies. Many have written how the extra footage in the extended cut makes this the version of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies that they wanted to see. (You can read some staffers’ thoughts here.) Others have commented that they had hoped for the full extra 30 minutes Peter Jackson had said would be in this cut, not just the 20 minutes we got. There are certainly more scenes I had hoped to see – but that is where the Appendices come in…
At last we have parts Eleven and Twelve of The Appendices; parts One and Two came out with the Extended Edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, so this has been a long time coming! It’s great – if sad – to see the end of this journey. The tales from the set, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and memories from cast and crew are wonderful, and give us some insight into moments we perhaps wish had made it into a cut of the movie. Have tissues ready for the filmmakers’ ’emotional farewell to Middle-earth’!
There are over NINE hours of bonus features included in this Home Entertainment release, so it really is an essential part of your The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie collection. In the 2D version, the disc with the film also includes Part 3 of ‘New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth’; Disc 2 contains The Appendices Part 11: The Gathering Storm, The Chronicles of The Hobbit – Part 3; and Disc 3 is The Appendices Part 12: Here at Journey’s End. There is also audio commentary on the film, with Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens; I haven’t had a chance to watch with the commentary yet, but I’m sure it’s fascinating. I’d still like, at some point, to have some commentary from the cast – maybe that will come with the ‘super mega all-six-films’ box set….? (For the completists amongst us, you can already purchase the Extended Edition Box Set, also available today.)
Whether you prefer the Theatrical or Extended cuts of these films (and I think most of us come down on the side of the Extended Editions), it is really the bonus features which make this Home Entertainment release a ‘must have’. If you are patient enough to wait, maybe it’s one for your Holiday Gift wish list? (Look out for TORn’s Holiday Gift Guide, coming soon!)
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to watching those nine hours of extras….
Click here to purchase The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Extended Edition (BD) [Blu-ray]
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It is always a good day when Warner Bros. wants to share a little extra content with fans and of course we at TheOneRing are happy to pass it along.
This exclusive clip features a little bonus dialog from Dain Ironfoot and about 90 seconds of enhanced content on the Blu-ray disc of “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.” It features cinema but behind the scenes content as well. Consider it a fun tease.
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For those of you who have been lucky enough to visit the Hobbiton set (like me!), you know how magical it is to wander among the well-tended gardens and Hobbit-home facades, to rest in the shade of the magnificent party tree, and to enjoy a pint at the Green Dragon Inn. However, as most of us are aware, the Hobbiton set is surrounded by a 560 hectare (approximately 1,400 acre) working sheep and cattle farm owned and operated by the Alexander family.
Stuff.co.nz recently recounted a bit of the history of the Hobbiton and how Hobbit holes and sheep continue to coexist nicely in a quiet corner of the New Zealand countryside:
“Right alongside the tourism business is their sheep and beef operation, on probably the country’s most-visited farm. While not many of the tourists see the whole farm, the stock is still very much in the public eye, meaning Craig [Alexander] has to be strategic in where he farms stock because of the occasional gate left open by an unsuspecting tourist. Hobbiton is also ring-fenced with paddocks for stock on either side. “If we’re driving a mob of 1500-2000 ewes down the main track and there is a [tourist] bus going through that can be pretty frustrating.”
While the farm is family-owned and operated, Hobbiton is a 50/50 partnership between the family and Peter Jackson. “Today, the tourism venture has about 70 permanent staff and twice that number over the busy summer season. It’s given the Matamata district a huge boost in earnings and the region is now thriving.”
Read the full article here.
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Today, Sir Peter Jackson turned 54 years old! We here at TORN hope he had a most wonderful day and wish him many happy returns. (May the hair on his toes never fall out!)
Thank you, Peter, for all you’ve gifted us with – from the very first online preview for The Lord of the Rings to the Extended Cut of The Battle of the Five Armies. May the coming year, and those after, be most prosperous for you. Continue reading “Happy Birthday Peter Jackson!”
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