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Two days in and I'm already having trouble packing everything back into my cases. Fortunately The Duxton come to my aid by agreeing to store two cases while I'm away in Auckland for a couple of days. This morning I have a tour of Weta Workshop, and with Weta being close to the airport it makes sense to check out the hotel before calling a taxi at around 8.45am.
I get time to check the day's papers before I leave. The hype around the movie's is mounting. A front-page story reprises the Newsweek story that the cast demanded (and got) more money after threatening to boycott the premiere. Over the page is a half-page story promoting Viggo's exhibition opening later this week which has added another 200 tickets at NZ $100 apiece because of the high demand. Souvenir pullouts announce the details for the premiere which will apparently include an Air New Zealand plane decorated with movie imagery swooping low over the expected crowds of 100,000 people! The hype is growing hour by hour, and it's a strange transition travelling from the radio and press blitz that is everywhere you look and walk in the central city to the place where it all actually gets created just outside Wellington in Miramar.
		The trip to Miramar, the area of Wellington where Weta are based, is very different from central Wellington and when we arrive it seems odd to find business offices in the middle of suburban homes. With no visible identification you'd have no idea that the innocuous looking building the taxi pulls up outside is actually anything other than maybe a school building (although this will apparently change very soon as I saw a large external sign for the building being prepared inside the workshops). For some reason the building looks far more modern than I was expecting and, indeed, the whole place is far cleaner than the 'old converted factory' I'd envisaged in my mind. I sign the standard non-disclosure/confidentiality agreement, which makes my reporting on this morning's visit very difficult. Any attempts to discuss what I may or not report on here, whether I can conduct any taped interviews or take pre-agreed photo's are met with a friendly 'It should be OK. Ask Richard (Taylor) at the end'. The trouble is there's a Singapore prime minister expected for a visit this afternoon and so I don't get the chance to actually clear anything with Richard who's got far more important things to worry about. As a result please excuse the lack of any real detail in this report! What I can say, without fear of violating the agreement I've signed, is that a quick glance around the entrance shows some very cool sculptures, including a very early King Kong diorama and life-size Lurtz statue, and a room with some fantastic display cases full of current and possible future Sideshow Weta collectible items. Included amongst these mostly 'Lord of the Rings' items are the Muppet sculptures Weta have produced for Sideshow Weta, and they look much better 'in the flesh' than they do in any catalogue pages. In the small reception area I notice copies of fan club magazine back issues on the table - clearly, these Weta folks have taste! ;-) I'm extremely lucky to have Daniel Falconer act as my tour guide for an hour and a half. His enthusiasm is well known to those who've met him at ComicCon or GenCon or seen him talk on the extended DVD sets, and I feel rather bad about taking up so much of his time when there's just me and not a tour group of VIPs. Suffice to say the next 90 minutes exceed even my wildest expectations and I'm like a kid in a candy store during Daniel's tour. I come from a generation that tends to cringe at the way the word 'cool' is used at every mindless opportunity until the word itself becomes totally meaningless, but I find myself thinking 'That's cool'. 'Wow! That's REALLY cool!', 'Oh man, that's REALLY REALLY cool!' as we go from one area of Weta to the next. There is some AMAZING stuff to be seen here. Daniel has apparently given this tour many times in the past but you'd think this was his first time as his enthusiasm is so obviously genuine. What comes across most is that this is a fun (oops, nearly used that word 'cool' again) place to work: the atmosphere is very laid back but industrious, and the people I meet all demonstrate that famous Kiwi trait of just being ultra-friendly and eager to discuss their passion with anybody who shares it. Despite my best efforts, tired old cynic that I am, I see and hear nothing to contradict the fan gossip that 'Weta is the coolest..' (dang! that word again!) '..place to work on the planet'. There is just one hint of sadness to the whole morning - that more fans won't get to see some of the great photo's and archive stuff Weta have on display here because of the perennial 'the film company owns the rights' problem. I'd love to see, for instance, Brian Sibley write a book on Weta and the various projects they've worked on (a lot more than you'd think) with free access to use some of the material on display here, but alas, tying up the different rights would apparently be as convoluted as trying to work out who has the rights to film 'The Hobbit'. Anyway during my tour I get to see many 'names' from the DVD at work, modelling, sculpting, cutting 'pungent' styrofoam, working on computer designs and making chain mail. All in a quiet, modern, clean relaxed atmosphere. One thing that does come out of my conversation with Daniel is that the Legolas arrow that's embedded in the wall in Courtenay Place is NOT the work of Weta (although he agrees that the way it's been sculpted into the wall is really .... must not use the word 'cool', must not use the word 'cool'.... done to a very high standard). 90 minutes pass in what seems like 5 and after a slab of chocolate cake and a fruit juice from an excellent little coffee bar down the road, where most of the Weta crew seem to be ensconced for 'elevenses' I leave, with an even stronger admiration for the work Weta have done and continue to do within the film industry. For an old cynic like me that's quite an accomplishment! Admittedly I've been privileged (I think it's called 'abuse of power' ;-)) in having this little tour (thanks mainly to the efforts of Greg at Sideshow Weta and my friend Brian Sibley together with the generosity of Richard Taylor) but it's absolutely convinced me that visiting New Zealand at this time, rather than waiting until the fuss around the premiere has died down, was an opportunity I couldn't miss. I arrive at the airport about five hours before my flight to Auckland but, alas, changing the flight to an earlier one is nowhere near as easy as it had been when I arrived here a few days ago. The flights are all full for the next three hours, and I can gain a couple of hours head start on my scheduled flight, but only if I buy a new ticket. The price seems exhorbitant for just a two hour improvement and I decline the sales assistant's offer. There's not much to do, except take a few pictures of the armour and costumes astride the stores in the main departure lounge, which I'd missed when I arrived, and process the Day 2 photo's and write the log report. In the meantime the weather takes a turn for the worse and suddenly it's as bad as it was when I left London - non-stop, heavy rain. The adrenaline high of the last few days starts to wear off as the flight is delayed in take-off, delayed in landing, delayed in unloading, and terrible traffic jams in Auckland (where the weather is thankfully better) make it clear I'm not going to have time to make it to the hotel to check in without missing my planned trip to see 'Ladies Night' at The Sky City Theatre. Providence means that the 'super shuttle' I'm using for transportation deposits another traveller by the theatre venue just in time for me to dismount with luggage and catch the play in time. Initial impressions of Auckland are that it is much more of a 'real city' than Wellington. If Wellington reminds me of San Francisco, Auckland reminds me of Los Angeles - all bustle, congestion and people in a hurry. It's too easy to stereo-type people according to their nationality, but so far I've seen nothing to contradict the 'friendly Kiwi' stereotype that New Zealand has. This evening is a prime example of that national trait. I'd seen, but not really met, Cameron Rhodes at last year's Ring*Con in Germany where he was appearing based on his appearance in the first 'Lord of the Rings' movie as Farmer Maggot. He'd spotted I was visiting New Zealand from this year's RingCon press conference transcript and emailed me, inviting me for a beer which we arranged for straight after a performance of a play called 'Ladies Night'. This play has an interesting history - it was written 18 years ago, but if you didn't know that you'd swear it was a complete rip-off of 'The Full Monty'. The play was co-written by Stephen Sinclair, a writer whose name, it appears to me, has been strategically 'lost' in the writing credits for the middle movie, 'The Two Towers', but not the first or last. There is a story to be told there, I'm sure! There are rumours that Stephen sued the makers of 'The Full Monty' for stealing his play and the whole thing was settled out of court, but nobody seems to quite know for sure. All that aside, the play is magnificent - far better than the 'Full Monty' movie, in my view, with a strong cast, great laughs, and a very Kiwi sense of humour. The finale, which is bigger and brassier than that of the film with smoke and fireworks and some great 80's rock music, brings the house down and is fantastic. Each of the 'stripper's turn is sequed by a number from Cameron's character, a drag queen MC, which gets more raucous and outrageous as the finale winds to its conclusion. I shall never be able to take Farmer Maggot seriously again! If you're in Auckland and want a really fun night out check this one out, with tickets available from Ticketek who can be phoned on (09) 307-5000. Highly recommended!
After the show we go for a beer with the rest of the cast at a venue that Cameron describes as an "actor's bar" - it's loud, fun and reminiscent of Soho or Islington in London. Cameron spots John Leigh (Hama), fresh from last weekend's RingCon, and forces the poor man to come over and have a quick chat. I end up having a really fun evening discussing the movie, fandom, New Zealand and Russell Crowe before wimping out to check into my hotel just after midnight. It's been another great day! Stay tuned for future reports (indicated by a photo appearing in the main Itinerary calendar) Back to Day 2 report Forward to Day 4 report
Don't forget you can check out reports of lots of other Lord of the Rings -themed events in the Web Logs section

Email: ian@iansmith.co.uk