100th Posting on NZ Noldor, and 500th comment as well...! Whoop!

Well, it's probably nothing much, compared to some of the major blogs out there, but I'm quite pleased with it - I've just discovered that this is the 100th blog entry on the NZ Noldor Blog, and earlier today I also left the 500th comment. I'm quite pleased with both of those! :)


Today also marked my official return to full-time LOTR guiding - I have spent the last few months in a temporary office job (*shudder!*), which helped me pay the rent while Wellington Rover Tours was setting up a new tour. The new Rover tour is pretty much ready to go, which means they needed more guides to cover the LOTR tours, so they called me. It's SO nice to be wanted, and even nicer to be out touring again!

We're gearing up for an extremely busy season - one of the points of order at this morning's team meeting was that we shouldn't bother applying for any holidays around January-March 2011, as it looks like all the guides will be needed to cover the amount of prebooked tours. Also there are a lot of cruise ships coming, some of them with prebooked tours, but often also last minute bookings.

The thing to take away from that - if you're planning on coming to Wellington for a LOTR tour, book us sooner rather than later this summer - we're very popular! And of course with the Hobbit now going ahead, it's only going to get more popular, so be quick!

Anyway, that was a quick plug for my (re)new(ed) employer - I hope it wasn't too obvious! :)

  - Jack M.

The Hobbit WILL be filmed in New Zealand, after all!

On my browser right now are about two dozen links to websites and facebook pages that are reporting that The Hobbit will go ahead in New Zealand. There are some HUGE celebrations around NZ tonight!

If you want to see our Prime Minister John Key's full press conference, take a look at this page on TV3. They have a 5 minute clip including questions time.

TVNZ also has a page for it here. Their video is about 10 minutes long.

And of course, our newspaper collective, stuff.co.nz had a few words to say on the matter as well.


I understand that the Matterhorn restaurant is the location of an inpromptu party right now. Can't make it myself, but that's mainly because I've been celebrating too much to legally drive there at this stage. :)


Personally, I've avoided talking about the actor's boycott that has taken over this country's news media in the last few weeks, mainly because it was too close to my heart. If the Hobbit hadn't had the go-ahead to be filmed here in New Zealand, I may as well pack up my bags and decide on a new career. Sure, LOTR tourism would still exist, but pretty soon it would stagnate. Pretty much everyone has always assumed (rightly, it turns out) that taking The Hobbit away from New Zealand would amount to lunacy. Frankly, I would have wound down the blog, and gone on with something else less work intensive.

Some of the specific reasons I didn't report on any of it on this blog - it was well reported elsewhere. I usually had no personal angle to add to it. When I did have my own story, I was bound by loyalty to keep things confidential (like the non-unionised actors meeting I attended). If we'd lost the Hobbit, I wanted it to end on a high note ("green light for Hobbit" and "pro-Hobbit rally" for instance), while if we didn't lose it (as it turns out), I don't want three weeks of hatred and spitefulness messing up my blog forever. And let's face it, some pretty awful things were said, and lots of untruths as well.


I'm sure everyone has been reading The One Ring, and perhaps Kristin Thompson's excellent blog The Frodo Franchise as well. Kristin's accurate analysis of everything LOTR/Hobbit related, especially the financial and political side, is always fascinating to read. If you haven't subscribed to her posts, I can highly recommend them.



From here on in, expect the casting rumours, the location rumours, and general film news to be foremost on my mind. The awful uncertainties have finally gone (I hope!), and I can relax a bit and get on with the job of reporting some FUN rumours for a change!

Hope you'll join me!

  - Jack M.

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

GREEN LIGHT ON THE HOBBIT!!!

It's finally official - The Hobbit is going ahead! I've just this minute received a press release from Peter Jackson's office, confirming the details. Rather than summarise like other blogs have done, I'll just post the whole press release here so you can read the whole lot at once...:

For immediate release

OSCAR WINNER PETER JACKSON TO DIRECT “THE HOBBIT” IN TWO INSTALLMENTS

Peter Jackson Set to Direct J.R.R Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” In a Two-Part 3D Production of Extraordinary Scope

 (Los Angeles, October 15, 2010) The two films based on “The Hobbit” are now greenlit and will begin principal photography in February 2011, under the direction of Peter Jackson, it was jointly announced today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema, Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. and Steve Cooper, co-Chief Executive Officer of  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

“Exploring Tolkien’s Middle-earth goes way beyond a normal film-making experience” Jackson says, "It’s an all-immersive journey into a very special place of imagination, beauty and drama. We’re looking forward to re-entering this wondrous world with Gandalf and Bilbo - and our friends at New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers and MGM”.

“Peter is a filmmaker of incomparable ability; having him return to Middle-earth to produce and direct is a dream come true. A true original, Peter is a gifted story-teller, visionary director and pioneer in film technology,” said Emmerich. “Reuniting with Peter, Fran and Philippa truly makes it feel like we are going ‘there and back again.’”

“There is no human being on the planet as qualified as Peter Jackson to direct these films,” said Horn. “Peter is incredibly talented and has the creative vision and experience to bring this beloved property to life in a way that no other filmmaker could.  And the team of Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens has proven through their work on the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy that no one is more skilled at transforming Tolkien's written words into a vibrant, living language that makes the audience believe they are not merely visiting Middle-earth, but actually living in it. We couldn’t be more thrilled and look forward to seeing ‘The Hobbit’ take shape under Peter’s stewardship and the team he is putting together.”

"MGM is excited to move forward and add to the successful 'Lord of the Rings' franchise," said Cooper.  "Under Peter's direction, the films will undoubtedly appeal to fans of the original 'LOTR' trilogy and also bring the stories to a new generation of fans."

Jackson, who directed all three “Lord of the Rings” films, will helm the two films back-to-back, telling the story of “The Hobbit” in two parts. Jackson will utilize groundbreaking visual effects and his incomparable story-telling to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel to the big screen. Both Hobbit movies will be filmed in Digital 3-D, using the latest camera and stereo technology to create a high quality, comfortable viewing experience. Jackson also co-wrote the screenplays with Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro.

“The Hobbit” is being co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production, Warner Bros Pictures handling domestic distribution and MGM distributing internationally. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham are producing the films, with Phillipa Boyens as co-producer and Ken Kamins as executive producer.

The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed LOTR trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, “Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.

-wbp-

That is the best news possible! The original dream-team is reassembling from the top down - apart  from Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens as script-writers and (co/exec) producers, Carolynne Cunningham and Ken Kamins are also back at the top.

At this stage I'm not going to quibble about the 3D thing - I'm just so happy it's actually going ahead!
I'm sure there will be a 2D version for those of us who prefer storytelling over gimmicks.

Now all we need is the actors unions to strike a deal, and we can begin! Let's hope it'll still be in NZ...

Tree down in Isengard - Sound familiar?

It looks like the hard winds have claimed a victim in Isengard this morning.





At least there were no orcs involved this time, eh?


- Posted from the field by Jack M.

Update on preliminary casting call - it's official!

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Further Update 24/9/2010, 7:00am: The prelim casting call has also now been listed on TradeMe's job section.
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Update 23/9/2010, 12:21pm : Also check today's article in the DomPost, also posted on stuff.co.nz.
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Moments ago I received this email from Matthew Dravitzki, who is Peter Jackson's spokesperson:

The advertisement is official and came from our production.  A preliminary casting call means:  We don't have a green light, but we do need to be prepared in the event that we get one!  That means having a little look around Wellington for scale doubles as advertised.  This is NOT an extras casting call and anyone who doesn't meet the advertised height requirements will be turned away.


When cast, actors playing Hobbits and Dwarves will be normal adult size.  The characters in the books are sized differently, as you know.  Scale doubles appear in some wide/reverse shots in place of our actors, and with other adult actors when we need people to look smaller - or taller.  A visit to the behind the scenes content on the LOTR movies might jog your memory.


I don't have any news for you on greenlight, director or cast.  There's no update from LA at this time.  


The NZ Dance and Drama Centre is simply being used as a venue for this casting call, and is not the home of our casting department.


I hope this answers your questions.

It certainly answered mine!

Almost green light?

Today the Wellington Dominion Post newspaper carried an advertisement in the back for Hobbit doubles...tall and short people only!

I have it on good authority that this comes directly from the studios, this time it's the real thing.

It's not quite a green light but we must be getting awfully close!

- Posted from the field by Jack M.

Stansborough Experience closes its doors...

Not good news today - Hutt Valley's local newspaper The Hutt News reports that LOTR's textiles creators Stansborough is closing its doors to tourists. Apparently the lack of visitors are forcing it to reconsider their priorities. It looks like the parent company Stansborough Fibres is staying but the huge and incredibly noise looms are looking for smaller, less expensive premises.

Stansborough were the people who created material for Ngila Dickson's fantastic elven cloaks that the fellowship receives from Galadriel when they depart Loth-lorien. I think they also provided the beautiful cloaks that Gandalf wears.

Apart from LOTR, Stansborough did work for the first two Narnia movies, the movie Waterhorse, the TV Series Kidnapped, the awesome vampire flick 30 Days Of Night, and Avatar, as well as a slew of others that they're not allowed to talk about yet.

They were also picked to be used for The Hobbit - let's hope that's still going ahead!


I have been to visit them several times, sometimes with paying guests, sometimes with family - it was always a great experience, and it was easy to see they truly loved what they were doing.

Barry Eldridge with one of the 100 year old looms, creating elven cloak. The looms were incredibly noisy. (click on photo for larger image)

A closeup of the Elven textile as it comes off the loom. Already you can see the incredible detail woven into the material. Although it looks quite coarse, it's actually very soft, but quite hardwearing. (click on photo for larger image)

The newspaper article also reports that the will be a "massive garage sale of fabrics", this Saturday the 11th of September, at 100 Hutt Park Rd (Seaview), from 8am till 3pm.

Incidentally, the movie's cloaks are still available from them, online.

Hobbit Announcement due on August 21st?

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Update, Aug 10th, 2010 - further information has come to hand earlier today but I couldn't get to a computer earlier. Essentially, it doesn't look like there will be any announcement on the 21 of August, and it really is just a private function happening at the Weta Cave, so if you were thinking of making a special trip out from elsewhere in the world just for the day, please don't bother. You'll be better off coming in on the 22nd, when the Cave is actually open to the public again. Also, they'll have the new displays up by then, so do come on the 22nd. It'll be worth your while, I promise, especially if you haven't been to the Weta Cave before.


I also want to make an observation that seems to have bypassed a few of you out there - I set this blog up so I can post all the juicy rumours I hear, and for no other reason. If sometimes I don't have the full information, then keep in mind that 99% of the time I'm simply not privvy to it. I just happen to be in a good position to hear ground-level stuff, which unfortunately sometimes turns out to be incorrect. If you've followed my blog over the last year and a bit, you'll know me well enough that I sometimes speculate wildly, have a tendency to run off at the mouth/keyboard, am not always diplomatic, and yes, occasionally just plain rant (get me started on 3D, go on... I dare ya).

If you can't handle any of that, hit Ctrl-F4 now please. If you want to stick around, I promise I'll let you know anything I hear that I can publish without damaging my sources. Usually I'll be the furst to publish, and sometimes it's even true.

If, on the other hand,  you want to hear extra stuff that isn't juicy enough to make it onto the blog, follow me on Twitter and Facebook (buttons on the right of this page).

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Update, Aug 9th, 2010 - Kristin Thompson has responded to my query on her blog.
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I got a message today from a friend of mine who had visited the Weta Cave a few days ago, and spoke to a few other visitors there about the Cave's annual refurbishment (which started today), and was told that they are also closed for a "private function" on the 21st of August, which is a Saturday.

The staff were quite annoyed about it, apparently, since it's not been announced to them what function it is for (ha! that's what secrecy feels like, guys!)


So I spoke to a few people on the phone tonight, and I've been able to piece a few things together. Now, by August the 22nd it may turn out that my 2+2 equalled 5, so let me just give you the information I have right now:

1. The Weta Cave is shutting for 5 days to refurbish - something that took only 2 days last year
2. About a week later, they're closing again, for a very secret private function
3. A different contact told me that apparently a lot of LOTR/Hobbit related sets and props are being taken out of storage at the moment. The contact was unclear about why it was happening, but there was a certain urgency about it, and apparently this is a very recent development as well, so nothing relating to the reports at Hobbiton being rebuild (which are all true, incidentally). The idea was that these props are being taken out of storage for some local (Wellington) purpose, in the next few weeks.

All the people I spoke to in the last few days seem to think an announcement is imminent, and morale is at a high here in Wellywood at the moment.

Couple that with the known stuff that's been going on earlier this year -

1. MGM Studios apparently need to have about 10% of the film in the can by the end of the year, or they'll lose the filming rights. (I don't know the full details about this - perhaps a better person to comment on this might be Kristin Thompson who seems to have her finger more on the pulse of the various studios' financial and legal details, and runs the excellent blog "The Frodo Franchise"?
2. The recent pressure on the studio to start the movie is mounting - Sir Ian McKellen wants to get started, Sir Peter Jackson is just seemingly going ahead as though there's actual money at stake, and Guillermo del Toro has already walked away - The Suits at MGM and Warners MUST surely see that they have to get started asap?
3. Brad Pitt was recently in town. Apparently. And eating curry, no less. That can only mean one thing. (he was hungry?)

Ok, except for the last item, I'm putting my money on the big announcement happening  on the 21st of August.

Speaking of spotting Famous People in Wellywood - did anyone else in Wellington hear about Steven Spielberg and Daniel Craig being here this week? The Dominion Post and Stuff didn't report those two, I think...

  - Jack M.

Weta Workshop in refurbishing mode

The Weta Cave is closed for the next week, to change all their displays, except one (the skeleton dog from The Frighteners is most likely staying since it's so fragile - nobody wants to move it!).

As is often the case at Weta, everything is completely shrouded in secrecy. The staff at the Cave themselves don't seem to have any clear idea about what they're going to see when they get back to work next week. Apparently they were asked for suggestions but nothing has come back to them as to what final decisions have been made in the meantime.

From what little I have heard and have tried to piece together, I am hoping there might be more Lord Of The Rings stuff, possibly some stuff from The Water Horse, maybe a few actual swords from The Last Samurai, and maybe even some preview stuff from the new Narnia movie Voyage Of The Dawn Treader. I'm expecting more horror stuff as well though - maybe even some gory details from Peter Jackson's early zombie movie Braindead (aka Dead Alive in the USA).

Specifically, I'd like to see a little less of Dr Grordbort's Raygun collection. I am a big fan of it, but it seems to be taking over the Cave a little too much for my liking. I think the staff are also a bit tired of having to explain to everyone what it's all about, and why there's no movies of it.


Actually, what I'd really like to see is Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger's first creations - maybe some political satire puppets, or a certain trumpet perhaps?


Once the renovations are complete, I'll do my best to get some shots of the displays, and will post them here as soon as possible. Expect to see an entry in a week or so.


Anyone else have a favourite item they'd like to see?

  - Jack M.