A tired but jubilant Weta crew unveiled their new Gollum statue at a press function at Wellington Airport this morning. Working almost around the clock for three days, Gollum was hoisted up overnight to hover over diners at the airport’s main lounge.
A tired but jubilant Weta crew unveiled their new Gollum statue at a press function at Wellington Airport this morning. Working almost around the clock for three days, Gollum was hoisted up overnight to hover over diners at the airport’s main lounge. The 13m sculpture was designed and produced by Richard Taylor and Weta Workshop supervisors
Rob Gillies and Sarah Morris. Richard made a short speech to thank the team that made the incredibly realistic sculpture – a testament not only to their talent and hard work, but also to the technology and skills Weta has developed. He also thanked the “excellent” team at Wellington Airport, who have been a pleasure to work with in creating something that would bring delight to Wellington’s visitors. Airport CEO Steve Sanderson said the airport was proud to work with Weta and have such a magnificent sculpture on display. “Everyone will be amazed when they enter the terminal.”
Thanks to the standee maker, we’ve just received an exclusive image of the official standee that may appear at your local theater for ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.’ The standee features a life-size Gandalf outside of Bag End and ample room for you and your friends to appear on the doorstep. Should make for a lot of great photos! Speaking of theaters, our Line Party system is currently in beta launch, but if you want to secure your local line party, click here to find out more!
Empire magazine has revealed their special Hobbit edition which features five different covers in glorious lenticular 3-D. Readers have a choice between the Bilbo cover, pictured, Gandalf, Gollum, Galadriel or Thorin (or all five – why not). In this edition, Peter Jackson confirms that the final running time (without credits), is 2 hours 40 minutess:
“It’s looking like it’s going to be about ten minutes shorter than Fellowship was,” explains Jackson. “So it’s going to be officially our shortest Middle-earth yet. I mean, Fellowship was just under three hours and this is about 2 hours 40 minutes at the moment.” The “at the moment” refers to the fact that the credits hadn’t yet been added and not all effects shots finalised when we spoke to Jackson, but it’s going to be close.
Look for the new Empire Hobbit edition to hit stores and newsstands today, October 24. Read More…
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) and Park Road Post Production today announced that director Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a production ofNew Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), will be mixed in Dolby® Atmos™ to deliver a more natural, realistic soundtrack that moves sound around and above audiences, helping to transport them into the world of Middle-earth.
“I strive to make movies that allow the audience to participate in the events onscreen, rather than just watch them unfold. Wonderful technology is now available to support this goal: high frame rates, 3D, and now the stunning Dolby Atmos system,” said Peter Jackson, co-writer, director, and producer of The Hobbit trilogy. “Dolby has always been at the cutting edge of providing cinema audiences with the ultimate sound experience, and they have now surpassed themselves. Dolby Atmos provides the completely immersive sound experience that filmmakers like myself have long dreamed about.”
Thanks to our friend Ringer Pousette, we have a very special visual treat to start your weekend. Pousette has had a chance to get their hands on an early release of The Hobbit Playing Card Deck and was kind enough to send TheOneRing.net the first exclusive photos of the new imagery contained within the deck. While all of the images are impressive, check out specifically the Joker, Three of Hearts and Six of Hearts. The photos are after the break and feature spoilerish content – so proceed at your own risk! And of course, we will alert you as soon as we can on where to order your own copy! And of course, let your voice be heard in our comments and forum on what you think of this playing card deck. SPOILERS!
The latest edition of The Hollywood Reporter contains an article all about the upcoming Hobbit movie. Interestingly, the headline calls the films a ‘$1 Billion Gamble’ – though the coming success of the movies doesn’t seem to be a question in the minds of most fans! This latest article doesn’t tell us anything new, but it’s a pretty good summary of the journey so far; and of course, it mentions TORn. There’s no Hobbit’s Tale without a touch of TORn…. 🙂
UPDATE – and there are some pretty amazing images along with the article, including a photograph of Peter Jackson with a caption where he comments of Del Toro’s work on the movies, ‘Some of the things he did I certainly liked and took bits and pieces from it.’ Is this what we’re seeing in the ‘Del Toro-esque’ Dol Guldur orcs, such as Bolg and Yazneg, with their victims’ faces sewn into their clothing?? In another image, there’s a wonderful sketch of a dwarf seated beneath a tree, with runes below which read, ‘Supplies of pipeweed are running desperately low. If we do not find some very soon one of our few remaining pleasures will be a thing of the past.’ Could this be a note made by Ori, in the book we see him carrying around?
