Weta’s Richard Taylor represents New Zealand at Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year
Richard Taylor, co-founder of Weta Workshop and Digital and representing New Zealand, was one of 47 business leaders from 39 companies competing for the title of Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year over the weekend. All have won national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year titles and were in Monte Carlo representing their countries in the world’s only global business award.
Guy Laliberté, the founder and CEO of Cirque du Soleil was named Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year for 2007. Guy Laliberté represented Canada at the Awards.
Richard said he was thrilled to have been part of the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. “I am extremely honoured to have been among the astounding talent which is here in Monte Carlo. It has been an immensely enriching and rewarding experience to meet and socialise with people from around the world who are at the top of their game,” he said.
Richard says he dedicated his Monte Carlo experience to the team that supported his and partner Tania Roger’s creative vision. “My involvement in this competition recognizes the successes Weta has achieved with the combined support of a team that embody four key traits: passion, enthusiasm, tenacity and talent. Tania and I could not have achieved our creative goals without this crew, and for that, I dedicate this experience to them.”
Richard has been in Monte Carlo for the past week, meeting the international independent panel of eight judges that included former Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year winners and judges.
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards director Roger Hatrick-Smith, who was with Richard in Monte Carlo, said Richard’s participation in Monte Carlo represents New Zealand’s ability to successfully participate in the global business environment.
“It’s a great barometer of New Zealand business, to have Richard Taylor representing us on the world stage. The opportunity to showcase Richard, his business and New Zealand business within this forum is invaluable,” he said.
Richard commented that all of the 46 other finalists were making impressive and significant contributions to global business and to be part of this group was an honour.
“There were contestants such as Canada’s Guy Laliberté who took Cirque du Soleil to the world and India’s Tulsi Tanti who started Suzlon, which is now the fifth largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world. All of these people had highly inspirational business stories to tell. Meeting them and many others in this environment has been inspiring,” he said.
Richard began what would grow to become Weta as a small effects business, with his partner Tania Rodger, in the back of their Wellington flat in 1987.
Richard Taylor, with his co-directors Peter Jackson and Jamie Selkirk, have made Weta into a multi-million dollar business, which operates out of a 65,000 square foot facility in Wellington and provides physical and digital effects for films, advertisements and television shows, as well as now diversifying into high end collectibles, publishing, commercial chainmaille manufacturing and television production.
Along the way, Richard has personally won five Oscars and been involved with the highly acclaimed The Lord of the Rings trilogy and most recently King Kong.
Entries are now open for New Zealand’s 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, which will be announced at an award banquet on 14 November, 2007.
Special effects king Richard Taylor will fly the Kiwi flag in Monaco this week amid the world’s leading entrepreneurs, a prospect he finds daunting. Attending the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year awards, after winning the New Zealand title last October, Mr Taylor will compete against 46 others from around the world in the luxury Mediterranean port. But it was the prestigious company, rather than the swanky location, that was the biggest treat. “We have always thought of ourselves as creative people, not business people. It’s a bit daunting actually,” he said. [More]
Thanks to TORnado Grammaboodawg for sending this great article about Richard Taylor. Seems our favorite Weta chief will be in Monaco this week meeting with the 46 candidates for the world title. The winner will be announced Sunday but the full story can be read right here.
Weta Workshop ‘s new animated series Jane and the Dragon brings out the playful side of director Richard Taylor. He talks to Grant Smithies. Richard Taylor grins a goofy grin. His eyes shine brightly behind his wire-framed specs. This being New Zealand Music Month, the special-effects whiz and director of Weta Workshop in Wellington is remembering the Kiwi bands that blew his mind as a teenager. The Gordons. Mangaweka Viaduct. The Screaming Meemees. “My favourite Meemees’ song had a line that went something like, ‘My girl’s got pointy ears, oh yeah, shake shake!’,” he says, beaming. [More]
Earlier this morning I was allowed access to the coolest place on earth, WETA Workshop. Located in a non-descript area of Wellington near the airport, this small groupings of offices and warehouses has produced some of the best practical and special effects seen in this century (and the last one too). Not only that, but it is also a digial studio, miniatures unit, production facility and more. If you’ve seen, held, or heard anything from Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Narnia and a few other films in the last few years, chances are it was made here.
My tour began with a meet and greet with Richard Taylor. Richard gave us a detailed background of WETA. From its humble beginnings to the huge powerhouse operation it is today, Richard outlined it all for us. The conference room at WETA HQ is most likely the most ‘polished’ place on the complex. It is filled wall to wall with photos, plaques and awards on one side, and the other side is full of WETA Collectible statues, busts and figures. One shelf in particular holds 5 golden Oscars that Richard proudly displays for all guests. He promptly took them out for us and passed them around. Richard was kind to take time out of his busy schedule (two cell phones that kept ringing) and was not short on words detailing their work on King Kong as well as LOTR and Narnia, easiest the three biggest projects they have taken on so far.
The details that went into the Skull Island people was so complexe that I felt I was listening to an anthropolgy course about real natives than a film production house. Richard and his team really work on these characters from the ground up to make sure they seem believeable to the movie going public.
We were next shown the WETA showreel. This, I assume, is shown to producers or toymakers or any sort of suit who need a quick demo of what WETA can do. All the ‘money’ shots from the LOTR Trilogy, King Kong and Narnia was seen on this video. We were given a great DVD copy to take home and enjoy as well.
Next we were introduced to an old friend of any TORN regular, Daniel Falconer. Daniel took us on the rest of the WETA tours. After saying goodbye to Richard we headed down into the main complex of the building that housed the metalworkers, leather area, paint, sculpt, models and more. The folks at WETA seem to pride themselves that they are still very down to earth, which in itself is kiwi philosophy. You can tell by walking around the complex that they don’t like to pamper themselves with things that will only get in the way of their work. However you can also see how proud they are of some of the major work they’ve accomplished. All along the buildings there are props, art and photos from earlier work. Swords and other weapons, maquettes, paintings, models, clothing, along every hallway and around every corner. I got the feeling they use it to inspire themselves to achieve even better and higher quality of work.
These days the team seems to be in between major projects. The buildings were not that busy today. Daniel assured us that during LOTR production people were working 24/7 on models, props and other things. Today we saw some great Narnia bookends they plan to have out by Christmas. We also saw one of the Venture ‘bigatures’ alongside a corsair ship being repaired for the grand opening at the Te Papa museum (It seemed very surreal to see those two together). There were also a few smaller jobs being worked on like a plane wing model and some sculpt work for a children’s feature.
WETA‘s latest pride and joy is a new computer animated feature called ‘Jane and the Dragon’. Canadian fans can currently see season one on YTV. We were given a tour of the digital studio they use to create the show, as well as the ‘mo-cap’ stage where they shoot the main characters. (Think of an entire show being made the same way they made Gollum and King Kong with Andy Serkis). We were then privy to a special few minutes of an as-yet unfinished episode of the show. I have seen the show on YTV before back home and think it’s a great show for kids. You can tell the folks at WETA are very proud of it.
That led us back to the main offices where we started. It really went WAY too fast and I know the folks with me and my wife wanted to hang out a bit more just to smell that air of creativity around the place.
I know a TON of fans have made the trek to Camerdown Street to see the studio and only managed to get a shot of the front door, so I feel extreemly lucky to be able to get down here and see a place I have only read about for years. Thanks to Richard Taylor and Daniel Falconer for the tour and special thanks to UBISOFT for the trip!
LOS ANGELES, March 8 /PRNewswire/ — Weta Digital’s Joe Letteri, who was a member of the Academy Award©-wining Weta Digital teams that created the visual effects for “King Kong,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” will serve as the visual effects supervisor on the upcoming Walden Media, Beacon Pictures and Revolution Studios co-production “The Water Horse.” Most recently Letteri, along with Weta Digital colleagues Brian Van’t Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor, won the Oscar© for Achievement in Visual Effects for the groundbreaking work on “King Kong” at the 78th Annual Academy Awards on March 5th. [More]
