Academy award winner and Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year Richard Taylor of Weta Workshop & Digital says The Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand is offering much needed debate and rationale for families and individuals that are experiencing the challenges of trying to make a difference in a world judged by academic achievement. “The kids that find success at Weta are the ones that day-dreamed in their Maths exam and drew monsters on the backs of their pencil cases,” he said. [More]
Category: Old Main News
Kirsten writes: I thought your readers might be interested in this art show I have coming up at ‘Roq la Rue Gallery’ (2312 2nd Ave Seattle WA 98121). It’s called “Amazing Visions” and features some of the best and brightest talent in Sci Fi/Fantasy. I’m thrilled to say LOTR and King Kong conceptual artist Jeremy Bennett (people who watched the KK special features will know him!) is in the show with three brand new paintings all based off his Mordor conceptual work. They, of course, are stunning. I will have the images posted online by the opening date, Friday April 13th…but interested parties can request a preview! And of course everyone is welcome to come to the opening, or check out the show during it’s month long run. [www.roqlarue.com]
King Lamoni writes: I saw the LOTR Chopper pic from the German LOTR Exhibit. I thought you might be interested in my latest LOTR project. Attached are a few of photos. I’ve been wanting to do this for at least 3 years. I spent two weeks getting it ready for the painting and many months planning and making sketches of it. The idea for the graphics on the car came from two of the banners I have (Arwen’s banner for the tree on the hood and elvish graphic on the roof and Gondor’s banner for the wing pattern on the sides.) I also have some more pictures on cardomain.com [More]
The folks from Billy’s Loons Charities write: We are excited to announce an Auction of a one-of-a-kind Collectible, a t-shirt signed by the great new Glasgow-based band, BEECAKE. You can read about BEECAKE and listen to snippets of some of their songs here. The band consists of Billy Boyd (Vocals, Guitar) John Crawford (Vocals, Drums) Billy Johnston (Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards) and Rick Martin (Vocals, Bass). All of the proceeds from the Auction will go The Scottish Youth Theatre, where Billy Boyd is a Patron of and Billy’s Loons Charities is a Sponsor. Many thanks to Billy, John, BJ and Rick for signing the shirt and to Flora for the donation of this signed t-shirt that she won in the Silent Auction at ORC 2007! [More]
The actor, known for his role as Frodo in Lord of the Rings, and avid gamer discusses the evolving relationship between the video game industry and Hollywood. The actor who has starred in a number of Electronic Arts’ The Lord of the Rings video games as Frodo spends a lot of his free time playing games. That was one reason why Microsoft selected Elijah Wood to host the MTV unveiling of Xbox 360 a few years ago. He’s also known as the voice of Mumble in Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Happy Feet movie, which is out now on DVD, Blu-Ray Disc and HD-DVD. Unsurprisingly, Midway Games adapted the tale of a tap dancing and tone deaf penguin for Wii, PlayStation 2 and GameCube. It marks the first time that Wood, whose brother Zach is a producer at Midway’s San Diego studio, has worked with the game maker. [More]
HOLLYWOOD – Ian McKellen has hit out at Hollywood movie producers for encouraging homosexual actors to remain ‘in the closet.’ The X-Men star, who revealed he was gay on British radio in 1988, has in the past criticized actors for not ‘coming out.’ But the 67-year-old now blames the forces behind the film industry for pressuring homosexual actors to keep their sexuality a secret. McKellen says, “With all that liberal attitude (in Hollywood), you have a local industry which is saying to local people who live in the area–‘When you come to work, you are not gay.’ [More]