For those not signed up to receive Weta News regularly, the new issue has arrived. You can see it online here. There’s an item about a new edition of Ian Brodie’s invaluable guide to locations and a link to a photo of Steven Fry posing in the Weta Cave. And speaking of the Weta Cave, the branch in Auckland is opening in a week. Mary Pike, newly appointed head of Weta Workshop’s 3D modelling department, is interviewed. There’s no mention of The Hobbit, but Mary says “I pretty much work on all projects that come through the workshop.” The interview also provides interesting insight into how those lucky few manage to get jobs at Weta.

I just got the new Weta newsletter, which is online here. (If you don’t get it regularly via email, you can sign up.) It features a new environment, the tower of Orthanc. Tolkien described Orthanc vividly in the book–more so than most of the other places where major events occurred. Alan Lee caught the description perfectly in his original book-jacket painting and the design he later did for the film based on that painting. Pre-orders start on July 31.

The newsletter also contains a link to the first part of an article by David Tremont, the designer of the Orthanc environment. He’s a senior model maker at Weta.

This would be a good opportunity to mention the new Gandalf statue recently announced. It’s not in the newsletter, but check it out on the Weta site. And for me, the most interesting new offer, a collector’s guide listing all the collectibles created by Weta Workshop over the past decade (including those done in co-partnership with Sideshow Collectibles). This includes items made for other films, of course, and the Dr. Grordbort’s weapons series. So now there is a book that is, in a way, about the franchise and yet part of the ongoing franchise itself.

Weta Workshop has announced that it has entered into a publishing agreement with HarperCollins Publishers. The latter is the latest version of a British publishing company going back for many decades. It published the first editions of The Hobbit, LOTR, and Tolkien’s other works of fiction. It also published the licensed tie-in books for the film trilogy. (Houghton Mifflin published both the original Tolkien books and the film tie-ins in the U.S.)

The announcement says:

There are major opportunities for both companies in this agreement. The most significant is the global publication of beautifully produced movie tie-in volumes written and designed by Weta’s own creative people, illustrating the amazing skills and talents of the Weta team. Traditionally, the authors of movie tie-in books are several steps removed from the making of the movie, and the books are last minute additions to the movie merchandising plans. However, these books, which will be published under the management of HarperCollins New Zealand’s experienced publishing and production teams, will give a real insight to the creative genius that Weta brings to the projects it is involved with.

This apparently means that the comparable tie-in books published for The Hobbit will be created in-house at Weta rather than being done by people commissioned for that purpose. The announcement concludes

‘We have been developing book ideas for many years and now with our relationship and friendship with the team at HarperCollins we can see these books reach an even wider market through their global network’, says Richard Taylor, Creative Director and Co-founder of Weta Workshop.

The relationship between HarperCollins and Weta Workshop goes back many years. As the publisher of the works of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, HarperCollins and Weta have developed an appreciation and understanding of each other’s capabilities whilst working together on The Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia movies. Recent projects include The Art of District 9 and the award-winning The Crafting of Narnia.