entering the book of New ZealandTourism New Zealand, 3 foot 7 productions, Warner Bros., and others bring you ‘The Book of New Zealand’ exhibit. This is an invitation only event being hosted out at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA. It combines set locations, images of real world New Zealand, and a little movie magic to bring to life much of what makes New Zealand the perfect location for all things ‘Middle-earth’. Here are a few images from the event and a video of the opening greeting, please enjoy.

 

Continue reading “Tourism New Zealand’s ‘The Book of New Zealand’ event in LA”

Jude Fisher HeadshotFor those of us who have made a habit out of collecting the various tie-in books that have been released alongside Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations – Jude Fisher is a name that springs instantly to mind. She is the author of the Visual Companion books that have come out with each Continue reading “Creating a Visual Companion: Jude Fisher talks about her life in Middle-earth”

Grant Major on LotR SetThe Shire. Rivendell. Lothlórien. Helm’s Deep. Minas Tirith. If ever you found yourself admiring the design and scope of these remarkable sets and locations – among so many others from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – then you have been well aware of the amazing work of Grant Major. Serving as Production Designer on all three films, he was responsible for the look of everything you saw on-screen. Continue reading “Designing Middle-earth: The Media Chronicles interviews Grant Major”

Sam and Frodo Original costumes and props from director Sir Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy will go under the hammer at an auction in California on December 5.

The Trilogy Collection: Props & Costumes from Middle-earth will include memorabilia which has been assembled over the past decade by a passionate collector. The size of the collection is said to be second to only that of Peter Jackson himself. Continue reading “World’s second-largest Lord of the Rings props collection to go under the hammer”

Film Unit sound stages Oct 2003

Welcome back to another in my occasional series about how I did the research for my book, The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood. (Click here to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.)

By the time I got to Wellington for my first research trip, in late September of 2003, principal photography was over. I didn’t expect that I would get to to on set and see Peter at work. In fact, Peter was in London supervising the editing and musical scoring for the first week and a half of my four-week visit. As I described in the second part of this series, I did get a delightful tour of the Stone Street Studios on my first day of active research. At that point, pickups of some orcs, destined to be inserted via CGI into battle scenes, were being shot against a big green-screen as they fired bows (the arrows to be added via computer). One of the cinematography crew members was directing this action. I was briefly in the studio again later and saw a little more filming of orc pickups. Those were my only on-set experiences.

Continue reading “Researching THE FRODO FRANCHISE: Part 5, Watching Peter Jackson Direct”

Hugh Jackman as AragornWelcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week.  If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch up on the highlights.  Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions.  Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards.  Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join the fun!

Continue reading “TORn Message Board Weekly Roundup – September 15, 2013”