Congratulations to Howard Shore for taking out the number one spot on ClassicFM’s Movie Music Chart with his Lord of the Rings Soundtrack . Howard has also taken ninth spot with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journeys’ Soundtrack.
Category: Crew News
All news about the LOTR Crew.
Johnny has a standing invite to appear on TORn Tuesdays to further chat with fans, when he’s able to break free from his many obligations!
Here, mainstream magazine Stuff now profiles Frazer-Allen’s rising career.
There is a fairytale-like feeling to the story of 28-year-old Johnny Fraser-Allen. A chance encounter with Weta Workshop’s Sir Richard Taylor at the airport, and the pivotal decision to miss a flight home so he could talk to him, landed Fraser-Allen his dream job at Weta at the age of 19. Nearly a decade on, he has put working for the creative company on hold to focus on his latest adventure – writing and illustrating children’s books, and gearing up for his second exhibition.
Landing his dream job at Weta took a touch of fate for Fraser-Allen. He had flown from Christchurch to Wellington, hoping to show Taylor his final high school design portfolio at a photography exhibition by Lord of The Rings star Viggo Mortensen, but Taylor was a no-show.
Despondently waiting for his flight home, he spotted Taylor at the airport. “I had the choice of missing my flight or talking to him, so I missed my flight.”
The meeting was a turning point.
“Richard took a lot of time with me, gave me a lot of advice, then he gave me his card and told me to bring my portfolio up in person.”
When Fraser-Allen got home, he scrapped his portfolio and started again, based on the Oscar winner’s advice.
When Taylor eventually looked at his portfolio, he said Fraser-Allen’s skills weren’t good enough for the design room, but he employed him based on his enthusiasm.
Last weekend, The Hall of Fire examined what’s undoubtedly the movie topic of the moment — the character and appearance of Beorn. Lots of thoughtful opinions from all sides, and some interesting analysis of the mythic roots of Tolkien’s shapeshifter as well as of Alan Lee, John Howe and Ted Nasmith’s classic illustrations. Plenty of spoilers, too! For those who couldn’t attend, here’s a log.
Also, this weekend (Saturday August 24 at 6pm EDT (New York time)) we’ll be returning to our Lord of the Rings book chats. This week we begin the first chapter of book four — The Taming of Smeagol — so be sure to join us for this exciting topic! Continue reading “Hall of Fire chat log: Can we bear Beorn”
Happy birthday this week to John Howe and Richard Armitage! Continue reading “Birthdays of the week: John Howe, Alan Lee and Richard Armitage!”
The World Soundtrack Academy has nominated Howard Shore’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” soundtrack in the category “Best Original Film Score of the Year.” The Academy is dedicated to the art of film scoring and the preservation of its history. Shore’s work is one of five in the category.
The rest are:
Anna Karenina by Dario Marianelli
Life of Pi by Mychael Danna
The Master by Jonny Greenwood
Skyfall by Thomas Newman
With an awards show in Belgium, there are also categories for “Film Composer of the Year,” and “Best Original Song Written Directly For a Film.” You can see the full list of nominees and learn more about the organization right here. Tickets are available on the site as well.
TORn staffer Justin caught up with Weta conceptual designer Paul Tobin at the San Diego Comic-Con last month and scored this long, informative chat about the intense effort that went into the design of the dwarves of the Company, and about John Howe’s immense artistic talent.
As well as working on Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy, Tobin has worked on James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) and Andrew Adamson’s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008). Continue reading “Weta’s Paul Tobin on dwarf design and the sublime skill of John Howe”