A short-lived affair with Oscar.

A Red Carpet Weekend:
August 15 – Friday

I woke up bright and early Friday morning, and headed down to the Copthorne Hotel at Oriental Bay, where I was to join up with the group at the end of their session with calligrapher/cartographer Daniel Reeve. Daniel was responsible for a lot of artwork in Lord of the Rings and King Kong, and has also done work for the Narnia and Pirates films. He’s a really nice guy, and he even designed the tattoo that I have on my wrist.

I got to the hotel around 10 a.m., and made my way to the Pencarrow room, where Daniel was finishing up his session. The long conference table was covered with maps, sketches, and various pieces of calligraphy from various films, and everyone seated around the table had their names written out in elvish and a camera in their hands. When Daniel was finished with his presentation, the photos continued, and everyone began commissioning him for quotes, sketches, etc. I bought a Bilbo quote from him, simply because I think he’s a local NZ artist definitely worth supporting. I also got a picture with him, showing off my tattoo. He doesn’t mess around with photos – he’s a hugger, that one! We joked that it came out looking like a prom photo. You be the judge.

We left the hotel shortly after 11, and headed for Miramar and Weta Workshop. We stopped at the Weta Cave first to view their DVD. I’d already seen it once with the international students at the beginning of term, but it was worth seeing it again. After the video, the real Weta adventure began.

We were led as a group into the actual workshop, stopping at reception first to sign confidentiality agreements. I’m not really supposed to talk about anything I saw inside. But, seeing as they weren’t working on any new projects that I could give away, I think it’s safe for me to sum up the tour briefly. We were led to the basement, where we saw props, armor, and lots of conceptual artwork, including some neat King Kong stuff. The best part was the “Wall of Weapons,” which is a hallway lined on both sides with (I’ll bet you’ll never guess!) weapons. One side was Lord of the Rings weapons, and the other was covered with Narnia weapons. It was cool to see everything up close. I only wish we could have taken photos!

After our tour, we were led back upstairs into the board room, where they showed us Weta’s show reel. I’d seen it when Matt and Emily did their presentation at Massey, but, again, it was cool to see it for a second time. We didn’t have much time after the show reel, as a meeting was set to take place in the board room. But we did have enough time to hold some Oscars! The cabinet was unlocked (with help from Anthony and his height) and we passed around the golden statues. They’re quite heavy! I held four out of the five that Weta has won. It was pretty amazing. I still can’t really believe that it happened!

Just as Josephine and I were snapping a photo with one of the Oscars, the door to the board room opened and in walked none other than Richard Taylor! He didn’t have time for photos, as he was waiting on a conference call with someone in America. But he did take time to say hello, pose with Lurtz, and sign a book for Dulce and Anthony as a honeymoon gift. It was very cool, and he was so nice. Raewyn says he makes it a point to at least say hi to all the Red Carpet groups, because he recognizes how dedicated they are to go on (and pay for) such an extensive tour.

We left Weta slightly dumbfounded, stopped back in the Cave for some quick shopping, and then headed to the (new) Chocolate Fish Café for a quick lunch. They’ve moved from their original location, but the food and atmosphere was much the same.

After lunch, Echo and Mary had appointments to get tattoos at Roger’s Tattoo Parlor on Cuba Street. Both had tattoos designed by Daniel, and most of us decided to go with them for moral support. It ended up taking a lot longer than expected, however, since Echo’s tattoo was fairly intricate, and Lisa, Charlotte, Josephine and myself eventually decided to head out on our own.

I led them down Cuba Street, onto Willis and down to Lambton Quay and Queen’s Wharf. I took them to a few spots that I consider must-sees in Wellington: Cuba Street itself, Frank Kitt’s Park, the harbor, Oriental Bay, etc. On our way back to their hotel, we spotted an amusing sign outside a beauty parlor: it was advertising waxes, and said “We wax everything! Even hobbits.” We were amused.


After I dropped them off at their hotel, I headed up to campus for an informal movie night hosted by Jayne and Ash. What they had failed to mention was that it was supposed to be a horror film marathon… which meant that Jamie and Andrea both left 15 minutes into the first movie, and I was left sitting alone until I convinced Una to come and sit with me.

After “Diary of the Dead” finished, we convinced Ash that we needed something a little more light-hearted. After sifting through various bits and bobs, we settled on “Smoke Signals.” I couldn’t believe that Ash had it on his computer, or that Jen had seen it before. We began quoting it (“Hey, hey Victor!”) before it even started, and Una said we had to watch it. I don’t think she was disappointed.

I need to figure out how to contact Molnar and tell her. I think she’d be amused.