Phillipa Boyens gave an interview to New Zealand’s National Radio’s Nine to Noon show today. In it, she said other countries, including Canada, Scotland, Ireland and Australia are throwing in their hats to be considered as the filming location for “The Hobbit,” some offering big government rebates. According to Phillipa, the employment of thousands of New Zealanders has been put in jeopardy. “Actors should have begun work a fortnight ago,” she said.

You can listen to the entire interview here, and read about it in a stuff.co.nz article here. Thanks to message board member cameragod for posting this on our message boards. Join in the discussion using the “Discuss” link below.

‘District 9,’ produced by Peter Jackson, directed by Neill Blomkamp (both rumored to be directing some ‘Hobbit’ movie) and conceptually designed by folks at Weta Workshop is now celebrated in a 160-page hardcover book, “The Art of District 9: Weta Workshop.”

While at the Weta booth at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego, we got our hands on a few pages of a prototype of this book and those few pages were pretty cool! Published by HarperCollins,
Richard Taylor, Weta’s Creative Director and five-time Academy Award winner, together with designers Greg Broadmore, David Meng, Leri Greer and Christian Pearce worked closely with Neill Blomkamp and have contributed many hundreds of pieces of conceptual art to this book. Authored by Daniel Falconer, you can order it directly from Weta or find it at bookstores.

mara69 writes: Last night I attended the world premiere of the Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King at Wolf Trap. It was superb. This year I was able to obtain tickets further down front than the last two years and it really made a difference. The music was clearer and the solo and choral singing much more understandable. The evening started with a 45 minute discussion with Deb Lamberton from WETA Classical Radio. Her talk on leitmotivs and interesting facts was captivating. The movie in HD on such a large screen really drew you in and you truly felt you were part of the story. The orchestra and choirs did a truly magnificent job. Kaitlyn Lusk has performed at all three of the Wolf Trap showing and is stupendous. Her voice has matured wonderfully since I first heard her perform. Nolan Peters, the boy soloist, also did a great job. I’m truly sorry that this is the last of the live music film performances. Maybe, if we’re lucky they will do the extended versions next. If not, there’s always The Hobbit to look forward too.

Richard Taylor, co-founder and director of Weta Workshops, was knighted in a ceremony at Premier House in Wellington today. He was presented the honour by Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand at his investiture at Premier House, after being made a Knights Companion of the NZ Order of Merit in the Queen’s birthday honours list. More..

Writer and director Peter Briggs spent a little time at the Weta booth during Comic-Con and just as in previous interactions with the TORn staff, he was friendly and funny. Now rumors are circulating that he may be involved in a film with Weta called “Panzer 88.” The premise of the film, talked about by Briggs at a panel during the convention, sounds perfect for Richard Taylor and his team. It reportedly depicts “a German tank crew on the run from a malevolent supernatural entity in the snowy Russian wastes.” Bloody-disgusting.com has a well-written speculative piece on what could be keeping the Peter Jackson / Richard Taylor effects company busy. See the story here.