As you may know, our recent review of the Gandalf the Grey statue from Weta had a pretty awesome contest attached to it. Well, 
after an boat-load of entries we’re excited to announce the winner to this amazing contest. The winner will receive their very own Gandalf the Grey statue from Weta. The winner is Katrina P. of Raleigh, North Carolina! We thank everyone who entered the contest and we hope to have something equally as awesome to give away soon. [Purchase Gandalf]
Category: WETA Cave
“A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.”
-Gandalf to Frodo while entering into Hobbiton for Bilbo’s 111th Birthday
During Comic-Con 2011 fans of The Lord of the Rings got a chance to see the second statue from Weta’s character statue line. The character fans can now get their hands on is none other than Gandalf the Grey. This version of Gandalf captures the Wizard while thinking which route is the right route to take during their trip through Moria.
The importance that Gandalf plays to the events that happen in Middle-Earth from the time of The Hobbit through the events of The Lord of the Rings is huge. Without the leadership that Mithrandir Sauron may just come to power and events in Middle-Earth play out much differently. Leadership is what comes through loud and clear when you look at this statue.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Gandalf the Grey Statue and Giveaway!”
What a great year! And things are about to get even more exciting! As we begin 2012 with anticipation that will continue to grow and grow, TORn staffer Justin takes us on a tour of all the events and activities TORn fans participated in during 2011. Read on!
Sohaib Awan from the radio show Fictional Frontiers also does a segment on SUVUDU that focuses on fantasy and science fiction books, movies and comics. He spoke with our own MrCere this week about his trip to New Zealand including Weta Workshop and Richard Taylor. They talk Hobbit of course, Hobbit trailer insights and a lot about travel possibilities for anybody. Listen to the segment right here.
“Strangers from distant lands. Friends of old. You’ve been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the Ring, Frodo.“
-Elrond at the start of the Council of Elrond October 25th, 3018 TA
Rivendell was one of the most demanded places in Middle-Earth to be made into polystone and now the long wait for this to happen as finally come to an end. Now, that it has ended and collectors are starting to receive this item, we are finally seeing why this might be one of the most difficult items ever made representing The Lord of the Rings. The folks at Weta, specifically Daniel Falconer and David Tremont, did an amazing job of capturing all that is special about Rivendell allowing collectors to own a piece of that.
Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Rivendell Review”
Our story so far: Peter Jackson made three Middle-earth movies and people loved them. Now he is making two more and people already love them too. MrCere, Senior Staff, Writer and Photographer at TheOneRing.net (around since 1999) went to NZ to see what he could see. Landed in Queenstown, found lots of LOTR stuff, drove north to see the people of the ring, visited Hobbiton visited Wellington, center of NZ’s cinematic empire, and will soon leave NZ. However, much more content will follow.
I haven’t seen an insect weta before in my travels (until this trip, but not this story) but I have plenty of experience with the folks who run and work at the special effects shop who identify themselves as “wetas”. Several Comic-Cons, (including the 2011 edition in San Diego) lots of emails and various TORn functions have made the crew at Weta Workshop friendly acquaintances if not just plain old friends.
My time in Wellington would need to include a visit of some kind with the very busy people who are working on The Hobbit, but as I have often joked (even though it is at least partially true) Weta’s second best talent is making special effects for movies. What they are really best at is keeping secrets from TheOneRing.net. I had no illusions that anybody was going to tour me around the workshop (I asked anyway, just in case) during the height of The Hobbit production, but they were kind enough to invite me along to a group they were hosting from a cruise ship that included one of our own message board members. (Her identity is her own to reveal.) Continue reading “Weta Cave big part of movie tourism in Wellington”