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 Before starting on the Collectibles, what was your role in the creation of "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy? My role in "The Lord of the Rings" was mainly working for Weta Workshop as a concept creature, armour and weapon designer, but as is the rule at Weta, I was involved with many other tasks around the workshop when needed. How did you come to work on "The Lord of the Rings?" I grew up with one of the other Weta designers in a tiny town in the North Island of New Zealand and the two of us spent lots of time drawing and building fantastic stuff. He managed to gain employment at Weta about a year before "The Lord of the Rings" and when the idea of the films surfaced, he convinced me to send a recent folio down to Wellington and the rest is history. What was the highlight of the project for you? Over a four period there were so many high points! Probably seeing a design start from an early, embryonic concept all the way through to a three-dimensional, living, breathing, tangible creature would have to be up there. How did you come to choose the pieces you sculpted for the collectibles? I spent a lot of time conceptualising the bad guys, Orcs especially, so I guess I gravitate towards those types of characters. How did you choose the pose of your pieces? Finding a pose that suited this scale of sculpting wasn’t too difficult. They are large enough to handle dynamic action as well as static, more sober poses, so it was merely a case of finding screen reference of the character that showed a distinctive trait and copy it, to a degree. If you lived in Middle-earth, what race would you be and why? An Orc. The bad guys always look the coolest, and I reckon sooner or later the bad guys will win- they’re about due for it. They say sculptors and artists unconsciously put a part of themselves in their work. Is there anything of you in your sculptures? I think each sculpt does have fragments of ourselves in them. I hope that physically I don’t come close to looking like mine, but maybe a part of the intent behind the character at the moment of it being captured comes from me. What was the most challenging aspect of creating your collectible pieces? Not having an anxiety attack every time finished pieces were waiting to be okayed by New Line. Any suggestions for the ideal holiday spot in Middle-earth? A weekend on the Sea of Núrnen (Mordor)- the setting sun over the mountains of shadow is to die for (when you actually see the sun, that is) but remember to take lots of insect repellent. If you mean Middle-earth as New Zealand, the Bay of Plenty (North Island)- sun, sea, surf and deep, dark forests. What do you want to do in the future? Continue to be involved in creating magic. |
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 Orc Overseer Figure |
 Orc Overseer Bust |
 Sam Gamgee and Bill the Pony (additional sculpting credit for Shaun Bolton) |
