lcummins
Universal MODster
...now, the rest of day two!
We left the large "warehouse" room and entered a hallway with some of the costumes and props from the Lord of the Rings and Narnia on one side or the other. We actually got to touch the costumes and see that many of the metal pieces are in fact, plastic! Some of the costume pieces we touched were Sauron's Helm, Gondorian armor, Faramir's ranger outfit, etc. We turned ninety degrees left into another hallway, and entered Weta's display of just about every weapon type they've created! Both walls were covered in weapons! The Morgul Lord's Mace, Anduril, Sting, Orc scimitars, Elven blades, crossbows, Kong pistols and rifles, Naria swords and knifes... you name it, it was probably there! It was in this hallway that I looked up to see someone walk by (which was very common) and I said under my breath, "That's John Howe!". Sure enough, it was him and he stopped for a moment to talk to one of the Weta guys, but seemed to be in a bit of hurry so we didn't want to interrupt him. He went on his way and Darren and I discussed possibly getting his autograph later in the day when he had the time. At the end of the weapon display, another door lead deeper into the Weta Workshop, but alas, even with the NDA signed, we were not allowed to go any further in that direction. Because of confidentiality agreements with studios, clients, etc., a lot of what they were currently working on could not be seen.
But the tour wasn't over yet! We retraced our steps and went back to the hallway where the costumes and props had been, and continued on forward to another intersection where we turned left and entered another hallway-like area. Now this room was amazing! There were sculptures, artwork, props, maquettes... I can't even remember it all! There were many of the Sideshow/Weta Lord of the Rings statues done in "faux bronze" as reference and research when the pieces were first being designed. Trust me when I say that some of the pieces should have been released that way! They were simply breathtaking! There were reference maquettes of Kong's head with different facial expressions so that the animators could study them. Gus Hunter pre-production artwork from Kong adorned several areas of the room; they were prints, not the originals, but there were two or three that I would have much preferred to have been released by Weta over the one we eventually did get! There was just too much stuff for the eyes to take in!
And then it was over! All too soon it seemed and there was so much more to see if only for the confidentiality agreements! But the day was far from over! The Warthog awaited! We hopped in some cars and went over to the Weta studio lot, which looked a lot like a big driveway and parking area beside some warehouse type looking buildings, except for a very large white wall at one end! The wall was composed of cargo containers stacked atop of each other in a large curved wall, and then some type of material made up the outer white surface. This wall was in fact, the equivalent of a "green screen" and filming of both King Kong and the Narnia films had occurred here! We parked outside the lot and went through the gate toward where everyone was, and on our way in, we encountered Jamie Selkirk and talked to him for a bit. For those of you who don't know who Mr. Selkirk is, he is one of the co-founders of Weta and wears many "hats"! He was a producer on the LOTR and Kong films among others, the editor on Kong and The Return of the King, and has done many other things including acting! He welcomed us to Weta and was a great guy to talk to!
And there was the Warthog in all of its glory! Several Weta employees were there for the occasion, including the gentlemen who were mainly responsible for building it! We walked up to it and began our "ooo's and ahhh's" and the pictures started to fly! Weta had their official photographer out as well and he took a ton of pictures. But before anyone had a chance to hop in the Warthog or go for a spin, a gentleman with a shock of "salt n' pepper" hair, lean and wearing glasses, came walking over to us. To my surprise it was John Howe coming out to take a look at the Warthog himself! Darren introduced me to him and he was gracious enough to pose for a couple of pictures and we discussed his work for a couple of minutes. I didn't have anything with me for him to sign, as I wasn't expecting him (or anyone else) to show up while we were taking our rides. I was hoping to still get his autograph later in the day, but unfortunately, we all just forgot and it never came to be.
So finally, the picture taking began in earnest, and we took our turns going for a ride in the passenger seat of the Warthog! It is 4 wheel drive, and all four wheels turn as well! The sensation of going in a straight line and then suddenly slewing to the left or right while still pointing in the same direction you were going, is very weird and almost a little scary! The thing can turn on a dime, and was very responsive and yet, seemed very stable (unlike the video game version that I turn over almost every time I drive one!). The "cockpit" was filled with digital gauges, graphs, and readouts... all keeping with the futuristic sci-fi feel of the Halo games. Barry and Claire, the other winner and his "partner" (that's for you Barry if you stumble across this and read it!) were the first to take rides, and while one person was riding, they got the other two of us posing with some of the weapons for pictures. At some point during all of this, Darren (I think it was him, but it might have been Tim) leaned over to us and said, "There's Guillermo del Toro!". He was just walking into a building across the lot and had his back to us, but even from a distance, it was easy to tell it was him. Sadly, he entered the building before I could even get my camera up to my eye, and I thought I had missed a great picture opportunity! Well, to my surprise, the Weta photographer had accidently caught Mr. del Toro and another gentleman, standing and watching us ride the Warthog!
The time really seem to go by quickly and it was soon done and over, much too soon, just like the workshop tour. But now, it was time for lunch! We said our thanks and goodbyes to the Weta guys and Tim, Darren and us winners drove over to Park Road Post Production. This is a post production facility, owned and built by Peter Jackson, for directors to be able to do post production work on their films 24/7 if required to meet a deadline! Everything that might be needed is on site, including places for directors to live while they do their work so that they don't even have to leave! It has a large cafeteria to serve the dozens of people who work there daily, and that is where we went for lunch! And just like every other building we had been inside at Weta, Park Road Post had displays of Weta props and collectibles sprinkled about, including a beautiful display of the Ray guns! We ordered our lunch and sat down to a little conversation. Barry ordered the "roast beef" and when our food arrived, he soon discovered that the "hand written in chalk" menu board had actually said "roast beet"! Yes, BEET! It was a vegetarian dish! We all had a good laugh at his expense.
<!-- / message -->
We left the large "warehouse" room and entered a hallway with some of the costumes and props from the Lord of the Rings and Narnia on one side or the other. We actually got to touch the costumes and see that many of the metal pieces are in fact, plastic! Some of the costume pieces we touched were Sauron's Helm, Gondorian armor, Faramir's ranger outfit, etc. We turned ninety degrees left into another hallway, and entered Weta's display of just about every weapon type they've created! Both walls were covered in weapons! The Morgul Lord's Mace, Anduril, Sting, Orc scimitars, Elven blades, crossbows, Kong pistols and rifles, Naria swords and knifes... you name it, it was probably there! It was in this hallway that I looked up to see someone walk by (which was very common) and I said under my breath, "That's John Howe!". Sure enough, it was him and he stopped for a moment to talk to one of the Weta guys, but seemed to be in a bit of hurry so we didn't want to interrupt him. He went on his way and Darren and I discussed possibly getting his autograph later in the day when he had the time. At the end of the weapon display, another door lead deeper into the Weta Workshop, but alas, even with the NDA signed, we were not allowed to go any further in that direction. Because of confidentiality agreements with studios, clients, etc., a lot of what they were currently working on could not be seen.
But the tour wasn't over yet! We retraced our steps and went back to the hallway where the costumes and props had been, and continued on forward to another intersection where we turned left and entered another hallway-like area. Now this room was amazing! There were sculptures, artwork, props, maquettes... I can't even remember it all! There were many of the Sideshow/Weta Lord of the Rings statues done in "faux bronze" as reference and research when the pieces were first being designed. Trust me when I say that some of the pieces should have been released that way! They were simply breathtaking! There were reference maquettes of Kong's head with different facial expressions so that the animators could study them. Gus Hunter pre-production artwork from Kong adorned several areas of the room; they were prints, not the originals, but there were two or three that I would have much preferred to have been released by Weta over the one we eventually did get! There was just too much stuff for the eyes to take in!
And then it was over! All too soon it seemed and there was so much more to see if only for the confidentiality agreements! But the day was far from over! The Warthog awaited! We hopped in some cars and went over to the Weta studio lot, which looked a lot like a big driveway and parking area beside some warehouse type looking buildings, except for a very large white wall at one end! The wall was composed of cargo containers stacked atop of each other in a large curved wall, and then some type of material made up the outer white surface. This wall was in fact, the equivalent of a "green screen" and filming of both King Kong and the Narnia films had occurred here! We parked outside the lot and went through the gate toward where everyone was, and on our way in, we encountered Jamie Selkirk and talked to him for a bit. For those of you who don't know who Mr. Selkirk is, he is one of the co-founders of Weta and wears many "hats"! He was a producer on the LOTR and Kong films among others, the editor on Kong and The Return of the King, and has done many other things including acting! He welcomed us to Weta and was a great guy to talk to!
And there was the Warthog in all of its glory! Several Weta employees were there for the occasion, including the gentlemen who were mainly responsible for building it! We walked up to it and began our "ooo's and ahhh's" and the pictures started to fly! Weta had their official photographer out as well and he took a ton of pictures. But before anyone had a chance to hop in the Warthog or go for a spin, a gentleman with a shock of "salt n' pepper" hair, lean and wearing glasses, came walking over to us. To my surprise it was John Howe coming out to take a look at the Warthog himself! Darren introduced me to him and he was gracious enough to pose for a couple of pictures and we discussed his work for a couple of minutes. I didn't have anything with me for him to sign, as I wasn't expecting him (or anyone else) to show up while we were taking our rides. I was hoping to still get his autograph later in the day, but unfortunately, we all just forgot and it never came to be.
So finally, the picture taking began in earnest, and we took our turns going for a ride in the passenger seat of the Warthog! It is 4 wheel drive, and all four wheels turn as well! The sensation of going in a straight line and then suddenly slewing to the left or right while still pointing in the same direction you were going, is very weird and almost a little scary! The thing can turn on a dime, and was very responsive and yet, seemed very stable (unlike the video game version that I turn over almost every time I drive one!). The "cockpit" was filled with digital gauges, graphs, and readouts... all keeping with the futuristic sci-fi feel of the Halo games. Barry and Claire, the other winner and his "partner" (that's for you Barry if you stumble across this and read it!) were the first to take rides, and while one person was riding, they got the other two of us posing with some of the weapons for pictures. At some point during all of this, Darren (I think it was him, but it might have been Tim) leaned over to us and said, "There's Guillermo del Toro!". He was just walking into a building across the lot and had his back to us, but even from a distance, it was easy to tell it was him. Sadly, he entered the building before I could even get my camera up to my eye, and I thought I had missed a great picture opportunity! Well, to my surprise, the Weta photographer had accidently caught Mr. del Toro and another gentleman, standing and watching us ride the Warthog!
The time really seem to go by quickly and it was soon done and over, much too soon, just like the workshop tour. But now, it was time for lunch! We said our thanks and goodbyes to the Weta guys and Tim, Darren and us winners drove over to Park Road Post Production. This is a post production facility, owned and built by Peter Jackson, for directors to be able to do post production work on their films 24/7 if required to meet a deadline! Everything that might be needed is on site, including places for directors to live while they do their work so that they don't even have to leave! It has a large cafeteria to serve the dozens of people who work there daily, and that is where we went for lunch! And just like every other building we had been inside at Weta, Park Road Post had displays of Weta props and collectibles sprinkled about, including a beautiful display of the Ray guns! We ordered our lunch and sat down to a little conversation. Barry ordered the "roast beef" and when our food arrived, he soon discovered that the "hand written in chalk" menu board had actually said "roast beet"! Yes, BEET! It was a vegetarian dish! We all had a good laugh at his expense.
<!-- / message -->
