Isengard in Paradise
Morning of March 1, 2023. Paradise Valley. Otago Region. South Island, New Zealand. East side of the Dart River. Where Peter Jackson filmed scenes depicting the Lothlorian Forest … and Isengard. The Pure Glenorchy Scenic Lord of the Rings Tour took us to Acadia Station, the site of Isengard and Saruman’s castle, placed there by […]
Pete’s Puppy
On February 15, 2016, Disney released their teaser trailer for their new version of Pete’s Dragon: And on April 15, 2016, Entertainment Weekly published an image of what Elliot the Dragon looked like: This is a dragon? My curiosity brought me over to Amazon.com to see what books would be published as a tie-in. One […]
Elliott is Coming
He’s big. He’s green. He protects a little boy named Pete. And he’s coming to a theater near you: The lowdown from Disney: A reimagining of Disney’s cherished family film, “Pete’s Dragon” is the adventure of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, who just so happens to be a dragon. “Pete’s […]
Slay the Dragon! Slay the Dragon!
Say good-bye to Smaug, most loathsome lizard in all of Hobbitland. Farewell to the eloquence of speech, the expressions of arrogance, the massiveness of dragon destruction. The curtain closes on a fine vocal performance by Benedict Cumberbatch. From The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies: https://youtu.be/F_QD2Uy_H_w
Never Laugh at a Live Dragon
On December 11, 2014, Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central interviewed none other than Smaug the Tremendous. This is a brilliant piece, with the fire drake showing more emotion than he ever did in The Desolation of Smaug–eye-blinking, tongue-licking, hackle-raising and the like. Considering the enormity of resources involved in bringing the dragon to Hollywood, could […]
Missed! Ha-ha!
A clip from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: http://youtu.be/1UeqXEKrT10 Poor Bard. He missed the one vulnerable spot in Smaug’s hide. One appetizer for the dragon, coming up.
Smaug the Digital
From Weta Digital, a video on the creation of Smaug: http://youtu.be/8XLLtAYEjpg
Smaug Alert
Dragons are born in New Zealand. It’s true! Thanks to the talented artisans at Weta Workshop, these amazing creatures come to digital life with astonishing detail. Now, Weta has published a book that celebrates the creation of Smaug the Terrible, from Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Here’s a page in which Weta Digital […]
Smaug Revealed!
It’s a secret no longer. Today, December 1, 2013, Air New Zealand unveiled the likeness of the vile dragon adorning its Boeing 777-300. Yes, now you can fly the friendly skies with Smaug! For details, click here. To view a video of the plane-decoration–and listen to Sylvester McCoy’s narration–click here. Note that the newly-decorated plane […]
