Noldor Coffee Meetup brings eyewitness reports

I just came back from the first "official" Noldor event - an informal get-together of Hobbit fans, at local cafe Floriditas, where the slices of cake were even better than I remembered them, although they'd run out of chocolate cake by the time I got to them. I had to settle for the Apple Crumble, which was great as well.

There were twelve of us, and I reckon I may have to make this a semi-regular event.

Clockwise around the table, starting at the far left: Laura; Ryan & Jenifer with Hawk; Emily; Erica; Annaëlle & Corrado; Brendan, me, Grant & Monica.


Laura is a huge fan of LOTR who has come to Wellington to try and get some work on The Hobbit, and might just get the chance soon. Ryan is a scriptwriter who came with Jenifer on my tour some years ago, and have since moved from the USA to Wellington. Emily is a LOTR fan and a fan-fiction author who is quite an authority on all things Middle-earth, while Erica is famous for being a founding member of www.theonering.net. About a month ago, I met Annaëlle and Corrado wandering around Mount Victoria looking for LOTR scenes one day while I was touring with a group there - Annaëlle is Belgium while Corrado is from Italy, and they both came to NZ on a working holiday, and will be in Wellington for another month or so before they move on again, probably to the South Island for a bit. Brendan worked in the film industry in Australia and moved to New Zealand about a year ago, he's also hoping to get a Hobbit related job at some stage. I met Grant through this blog a few years ago - he's a big LOTR fan - but I hadn't met his partner Monica yet.


We talked about assorted Hobbit related subjects. Ryan and Jennifer mentioned they ran into John Howe on their way into the cafe today, so Mr Howe is back from his holiday, and apparently production is now in full swing at the studios. Obviously he couldn't divulge any details but by all accounts he and Alan Lee will be working in the South Island with the location scouts first of all, finding and designing new sets and locations for The Hobbit. Very exciting, but also totally vague - New Zealand's South Island is so big that it's generally referred to as The Mainland by its occupant!


Another interesting item though - apparently Martin Freeman (the new Bilbo) and Stephen Hunter (the dwarf Bombur) were spotted in Wellington on Friday night! No photos yet - if anyone spots them again, or any of the others, drop me a line!


While I'm treading the rumour mill, let me dispell a few as well. I've heard from sources at the studio that there aren't quite 6000 people working at on The Hobbit, so I'll file that rumour where it belongs - under "H" for "Hyperbole". However, I suspect there are at least 6000 people who WANT to work on The Hobbit. Count me in on that number.


Another bit of wrong information I posted - the film set at Waikanae I previously reported turns out not to be Hobbit related. I'm still not sure what it is though, but it's definitely not Middle-earth. And I heard another rumour that there was a supposed location by Queenstown where previously the fields outside Isengard's were filmed (when Gandalf rides up to the gate in FOTR) - it doesn't sound like that one was Tolkien related either. So, a rumour killed before I even posted it. Saves time, I suppose.


Next, Hobbiton being turned into a permanent location is still speculation, and no announcements are expected before filming finished (which hasn't even started yet, so don't hold your breath on that one). I've not been able to get any information on the "complete rooms within some of the hobbit holes" Bed&Breakfast idea, so that one's on hold as well. Expect no answer either way until after filming is complete.


Finally, I was correct about Ian McKellen not holding out for more money. It sounds like it was more of a timing issue. So my last rumours post was at most 25% accurate. And that, boys and girls, is why I'm not a journalist. (With a side note to any actual journalists reading this - if you want more info on anything I post here - please contact me first before you run with a story. Chances are I've heard more information than I've had a chance to post, and they are usually corrections or withdrawals. My contact details are in my Google profile).


On a final note - I mentioned that I have some Hobbiton photos that I might post. I've been persuaded not to post them by various people, for very good reasons, not the least being that if we see too much of Middle-earth before the movie begins, it will take some of the shine of the movie itself - something I certainly don't want to be a part of. However, I did want to post one photo taken at Hobbiton - I feel confident that it won't spoil the movie for anyone, and I don't think the lawyers will call me about it. So, here goes:

Yes, even the toilet roll holders are in the shape of Hobbit Holes. Awesome! :)


  - Jack

Pro-Hobbit rally in Wellington

I just got back from the pro-Hobbit rally here in Wellington at Civic Square, which was attended by thousands of people. There was a nice positive feeling from the crowd, which was a great change from all the negativity from the last few weeks surrounding the Actors Equity boycott of the Hobbit movie.

There were many famous faces in the crowd - some took a turn at the microphone while others were there simply to support Sir Peter Jackson.

A good turnout from the crowd, too. I estimated around 3000-4000 people or so but I was in the middle of them so didn't get an accurate picture. Let's see what the newspapers and TV reports say about it tonight.

Here's a few photos I took (if you follow me on Twitter you may have already seen some of these - if you don't yet, you probably should consider it).

12:26pm - The first Hobbits have arrived

12:33pm - The crowd is building up. In the foreground are my friend Grant McKenna and my wife Aiko.

12:51pm - Festivities have started - the Maori song Pokarekare Ana is sung, and the first speech is from the newly elected mayor of Wellington, Celia Wade-Brown.

12:54pm - Sir Richard Taylor, head wizard at Weta Workshop, gives a rousing speech, and reads a prepared letter from Sir Peter Jackson.

12:56pm - a partial shot of the crowd

1:02pm - Liz Mullane speaks next. She's the casting director from LOTR, and also for The Hobbit.

1:06pm - A good friend of mine and fellow LOTR tourguide, Ted Guise from Wellington Movie Tours, talked about tourism, and The Hobbit's impact on it.


Unfortunately I missed photographing some of the speakers at this point - one of them was Chris Guide, Ted's brother. Also a number of others - crew members, designers, a producer, technicians, etc. (my apologies to those I missed!).I was a bit too busy spotting faces in the crowd. Although Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh weren't there, I did spot Katie Jackson with some friends. I didn't photograph her - I gather she doesn't like the limelight as much as she used to when she played "cute hobbit child" in Fellowship of the Ring. :)

1:20pm - Next up, a speech from Gino Acevedo, SFX wizard extraordinaire (and incidentally Liz Mullane's partner - they met on the set of LOTR, apparently)

1:22pm - Wait, is that Barry Osborne in the crowd (producer of LOTR, and Matrix as well)?

After Gino's speech, Sir Richard Taylor got up once more to address the crowd. Sir Richard is always a welcome sight - people here adore him. He's one of the most gentle people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, with the most contagious sense of enthusiasm. The crowd loved him today.

1:29pm - A few balloons of hope are released - maybe Hollywood will see them...

1:43pm - Peter Lyon (sword smith) and Alan Lee (artist/designer) continue to mingle while the crowd disperses.

After the speeches, the microphone was switched off, and people started to drift away, although slowly. There were a lot of groups of people who hadn't caught up with each other for a while, seemingly. Lots of anticipation from different groups eager to get started. TV crews will no doubt have lengthy reports tonight, but it was the individual stories they won't catch. Everywhere I looked I saw hopeful people wanting to get started on this film.

This gathering was truly a show of unity aimed at the Hollywood executives, who are expected in the next few days. Let's hope it was enough.

- Jack

Drought or flood - or, "many meetings"...

In the previous entry I was complaining about how nothing seems to be happening, then suddenly I am flooded with news, or potential news. Unfortunately, I'm so busy with tours that I haven't had a chance to do any digging but I thought I'd just report what I've heard from my spies and from what I've seen myself.

First, the biggest news item - Elijah Wood was spotted in the capital. Though heavily disguised with hats, sunglasses, and jackets, one of my most reliable spies spotted him. My spy unfortunately didn't get a chance to say "hi" to him, so I can't tell you why he was here. Could be he was on holiday, could be it wasn't him (I have no photographic proof) - but Elijah being in Wellington suggests to me that there are exciting things afoot - especially when I add his sighting to the others this week. There's no reason to assume he'd be in The Hobbit, but maybe there's another good reason why he'd be here, so close to the green light of the production?


For some reason or another I have been running in to some very cool people this week. Some of them weren't too surprising, others might have been coincidental as well. There's murmerings of lots of secret meetings taking place in the last two weeks, with big black cars parked outside, all over Miramar.

Apart from the unsubstantiated rumours from other sources, I can personally confirm that Shane Rangi is back in town, back from Australia where he's just finished filming a project. Unusually, he assured me he actually (gasp!) LIVED through an entire movie! Not like him at all, he usually dies at least once, and often more than once per movie.

I also ran into Gino Acevido. He's always pleasant and polite, and is a master at making people feel comfortable. He always appears to be very chatty, but afterwards I always realise he's not given anything away that he shouldn't have. Now, seeing him outside Weta Cave isn't that unexpected since he works in the same building a lot of the time, but I haven't met up with him for a while now. Could be just a coincidence.

I could at this point names-drop and mention that I've recently been speaking/emailing/facebooking/twittering with Richard Taylor, John Howe, Costa Botes, Ian Brodie (and sighted Jamie Selkirk), but it was all on unrelated matters, and unfortunately none of them mentioned anything related to The Hobbit.

John Howe did suggest that he may be releasing another artbook soon, and when that comes out he'll probably be autographing it down at the Weta Cave again (something the good folk at the Cave have also let slip) but I've heard nothing specific yet. John Howe has produced a number of very good books featuring his artwork in the past, and this one should be another excellent read.

While at the Weta Cave, I did notice that some of the illustrated LOTR and Hobbit books as well as a few Children of Hurin copies all had Alan Lee's autographs in them, so (a) he must be in town right now, and (b) if you want a rare Alan Lee autograph in a Tolkien book, now is the time to head to the Weta Cave.

Also, while on autographed books - the Cave still has Ian Brodie's LOTR Location Guidebook, and Paul Tobin seems to have been in recently, as the copies of his Crafting Of Narnia all had his signature on the front page. Furthermore, Scott Spencer's books on digital ZBrush techniques all had Scott's autographs in them as well! There can't be a lot of books there without autographs, surely!  ((ed: Sorry Scott, I don't have an IMDB link for you - mail me?))

I've been assured that there are a ton of new items coming from the good folks at Weta, including a number of LOTR related ones. One we're all waiting on of course is the new Hobbiton miniature collectible. I've got in on good authority that they are starting to look "very nice" (I was allowed to quote that much, and no more). But they haven't been revealed yet. I'm sure they'll be on the Weta site before they're on mine!


The final bit of news from Weta - the guns of District 9 were released, and almost sold out already. I did manage to get myself photographed with the last few samples though... enjoy!

The guns are quite heavy, and the detail on them is terrific! Little bits of alien gloop and elbow grease everywhere, scratches and dents everywhere. Very realistic. Let's hope they get the "Best picture" Oscar!

  - Jack M.

Three booksignings at the Weta Cave (possibly four)!

The Weta Cave is going book crazy in the next two months - three new books are being released, two of which will definitely have a proper release day (probably he third as well), and on top of that, a famous NZ author is coming to visit.

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First up is the awesome Ian Brodie, photographer and author of the immensely  popular Lord Of The Rings Location Guidebooks as well as a host of others (including Cameras in Narnia).

Ian once served time in the Rohirrim militia, before selling bread at the Minas Tirith marketplace. He has recently left his home in Wanaka and is currently residing in the Shire, possibly in a hole in the ground.

He is coming for a short visit to the Weta Cave on Friday October 2nd, and will sign books for all comers from 4:30pm onwards. Bring your own copy or purchase one at the Cave - or just come and meet the man!

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The very next day (October 3rd), Alan Lee will be introducing the world to his new book, Shapeshifters: Tales from Ovid's Metamorphoses to which he has added the illustration.

The book itself was written by Adrian Mitchell. Alan Lee was responsible for the design of all things green, curvy and curly in the LOTR movies, and is currently back in the country doing predesign work on The Hobbit movies. He will be signing the new book between 1pm and 3pm. A number of his other books will also be for sale at the Cave.

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One month later (Nov 1st), Richard Taylor himself will be introducing the new pre-schoolers book Champ The Chopper, part three in the series so far.

The series was written by Rebekah Palmer, and this installment illustrated by Weta Workshop artist Chris Guise. Chris worked on LOTR in the miniatures department before designing weapons and armour, went on to the sculpting department, and is now in the design shop. Multi-talented indeed!

I'm hoping either Rebekah, Chris or even Daniel Falconer (who worked on the first two books) will be present for the release day as well. In any case, the session will begin at 2:00pm.

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Finally, halfway through November (no firm date yet), Greg Broadmore will be releasing his new book Victory!, which is a followup to the earlier work, the somewhat lengthier titled Doctor Grordbort's Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory. Greg may or may not be there on the day, we haven't heard anything yet. I do know he'll be in Las Vegas at the end of October for a short stint at the Trinity Of Terrors Film festival, organised by Fangoria Magazine. He may be back in time - fingers crossed!

Greg Broadmore's recent work can be seen oozing off the screen in the impressive District 9 movie - he was the head designer. I mean, he was the boss of the designers (although I suspect he also designed the alien heads).

Keep an eye on the Weta page for more details as they come to hand on this one - his previous book was great, and this one should be very funny as well.

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In short :

Fri, Oct 2nd @ 4.30pm  - Ian Brodie signs books


Sat, Oct 3rd @1pm-3pm - Alan Lee introduces Shapesifters

Sun, Nov 1st @ 2:00pm - Richard Taylor introduces Champ The Chopper

Mid Nov (not confirmed) - Greg Broadmore's Victory!

 - Jack M.

Alan Lee Autograph Session at Weta Cave

Another great day! The third autograph session here in Wellington at the Weta Cave in about a month! First, the designer of all the bad guys in LOTR (generally speaking), John Howe. Next, Guillermo del Toro, who will lead us all back to Middle-earth one more time, and finally, Alan Lee, the designer of all things good under the Middle-earth sun. One of his favourite places in Lord Of The Rings was Rivendell, a place I now have the pleasure of visiting on a daily basis. I don't think I'm speaking out of place when I say that Alan Lee's designs hold a very special place in most LOTR fan's hearts, whether they know his name or not.

I was a bit rushed off my feet getting the day organised, what with picking up my good friend Mark Fry from the railway station, dropping my son off at soccer practice before the game, getting to Alan Lee's session in time before the crowds showed up, and getting back in time to watch the second half of the soccer game. Still, it all worked out in the end, quite nicely in fact. As a good parent, I'm supposed to say that the best part of the day was the soccer game, of course. Rain and (almost) sub-zero temperatures or not.

So call me a bad parent - the game was a close second, but it was great meeting Alan Lee (again). These meetings are always too short but he'll be here for another year or so, so I fully expect (read: hope) to meet with him again before he leaves. Just in case though, I'd brought along my first edition Children Of Hurin, as my LOTR and Hobbit books already had his signature in them.




Also, I brought along another special item - the original hand painted sign of Rivendell that was up at Kaitoke Regional Park, before they were replaced by the new boring ones, the official Department Of Conservation routed timber signs. If you have a copy of Ian Brodie's LOTR Location Guidebook (not the extended one), my sign is on page 50. Keep in mind it's about 2 metes long.



The sign came to me via a kind forest ranger who mentioned it was getting replaced, and the old one was probably going to make it onto the bonfire after the DOC barbecue later that weekend, some three years ago. I rescued it, with kind permission of the ranger. I like to think of the coffee and muffins I brought him as my appreciation, rather than a distraction ruse while I ran off. Either way, it's mine now :)

I had it signed by Richard Taylor the same year, at a Wellington book signing event at Dymocks Bookshop. Richard laughed out loud when he saw it, and asked me somewhat redundantly where I'd got it from ("Rivendell, fairly obviously"...).

Alan had the same question today, but was also more than happy to sign it.



There's a few other signatures that belong on it - I'd love to add Hugo Weaving to it, and perhaps a few other designers. Daniel Falconer springs to mind (Daniel, if you're reading this, I'd love an invite! The staff at the Cave know how to get a hold of me). Ideally Peter Jackson, of course, but he's not well known for attending public events, especially Wellington public events (Peter, a private event would work for me - name a time and place, and I'll be there with coffee and muffins!) :)

Eventually, I'd like to own a house so I can call it Rivendell, and stick the signs outside (the signed one inside, obviously!)

As an aside, leave me a comment if you've ever named a house, or a pet (or a child!) after something from Professor Tolkien's worlds... I know Carlos from the Weta Cave has two cats name Merry and Pippin, for instance... anyone else?

- Jack M.


PS - if you're wondering why the arrow in my sign points right, and the one in the park points left - there were multiple signs. Yes, I have the others too. Feel free to make me an offer for the other two :)

Sir Ian Holm as The Narrator?

Although this rumour has been around for a little while (since at least July 2nd, 2008, in fact), it seems that the idea is still alive and well - Sir Ian Holm, who by now is 77 years old (by my calculations), would be difficult to cast as the young Bilbo for The Hobbit. However, one idea was floated a year ago that he might narrate the story to some degree.

He's got a fantastic voice, and has certainly done his share of voice work - not least of which was the BBC dramatised audioplay version of Lord Of The Rings, where he voiced Frodo.


So, I was talking to someone today while while at the Weta Cave, for the Alan Lee autograph session (Alan Lee wins my personal "biggest smile on an artist" award, btw), when my unnamed contact (well, they had a name, but I won't mention it here for obvious reasons!) happened to drop Sir Ian Holm into the conversation as though it was all cut-and-dried, a matter-of-fact that Sir Ian Holm wouldn't need to return to NZ since he could do his voice recording anywhere on the planet

"Ah... and what voice work would that be?", I asked, to which they responded in a slightly puzzled tone "why, his Hobbit Narration voice work, of course? You did know, didn't you?"...

Erm, sure... well, I do now, I guess. My contact has been very often spot-on over the last five years, and I have no reason to doubt him this time.

So it sounds like Sir Ian Holm is at least as official as Hugo Weaving... ;)

Does it mean The Narrator is Bilbo? Yes. No. Who knows. Wait and see..!

- Jack M.

Headsup : Alan Lee Autograph Session Date official?

Just heard on the grapevine today that Lord Of The Rings artist and designer Alan Lee's promised booksigning session has been confirmed at the Weta Cave here in Wellington for Saturday the 20th of June.

That's less than a month away, so mark that one in your calendars!

John Howe Autograph session at the Weta Cave

John Howe is back in New Zealand, and is preparing to start seriously working on The Hobbit designs, notably on the dragon Smaug. He took time out to sign some books, or in my case, some maps.

Life long friends?

I met John briefly late last year when Weta staff had been denying that he was back in town. He walked past me minutes later, with Alan Lee, who was also not supposed to be back in the country yet. Apparently they were certainly not here to meet-and-greet Guillermo Del Toro, who was definitely not back in the country at the time either (impossibly, I met him later as well).

Alan Lee is rumoured to be having his own autograph session next month - expect another post then.

For those who don't know John Howe's name or Alan Lee's - they are the two main designers and artists who created the look and feel for Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings movies. Guillermo del Toro is the new director of the Hobbit movies coming soon.