Shane Rangi could be the only actor to appear in all seven Narnia films, if they keep making them, aside from Liam Neeson.  If nothing else, he’ll be the actor with the most different roles in one film series, having played 2 roles in the first film, and seven in the second.

He’s announced, via Weta Cast, that he’ll return to the Narnia series with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Congrats, Shane!  Hopefully I’ll get to meet you in person this year, finally!

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Weta Cast is a brilliant podcast created by the folks at Weta.  This episode features a pair of interviews with a couple of guys you may have heard of: Richard Taylor and Shane Rangi.

Richard Taylor is behind the weapons and armor you see in both The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Shane Rangi is a great friend to NarniaFans.com, and he played at least seven roles in Prince Caspian as well as a couple in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe including both major Minotaurs: Asterius and Otmin.

Download and listen to Weta Cast here

Thanks to Magnus for writing us about it!

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The Crafting Of Narnia won Kids Choice at The NZ Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults! Weta has a limited supply of books signed by Paul Tobin and Daniel Falconer!

Written and designed by the artists of Weta and published by HarperCollins, this book chronicles the stunning concept drawings, designs and props that helped shape the world of Narnia in cinematic glory.

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WETA has been nominated for the 2009 Children’s and Young Adults Book Awards, for their book ‘The Crafting of Narnia.’

Congratulations WETA!  You deserve it!

Before you can film a fantasy movie, you must create an authentic world. What kind of weather is found within, what would the buildings be made of, what creatures populate its land, and what is the history behind its people? For every stunning frame of film, there have been countless hours of work to create such majesty. And what a task to bring to the screen one of the world’s most beloved children’s series, C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia.

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When they talk about “living the dream”, they are talking about people like Weta guru Richard Taylor. He loves movies, he loves making things for movies, and he’s just completed work on the latest Narnia, Prince Caspian.

All the visual effects magicians at Weta have been toiling away to bring Prince Caspian and all the other inhabitants of Narnia to life.

They have also been in the weapons business, creating swords and armour for the Nanian and Telmarine armies.

Kate Rodger had a secret tour of Weta’s off-limits weapons store, and talked all things Narnia with Richard Taylor.

Watch the full, uncut interview.

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Weta recently opened its “Weta Cave” to give visitors something cool to see when they make the journey to the gentle neighborhood in Wellington where one of the world’s most important film special effects houses sits. This Sunday the already must-visit destination is the site of a pretty incredible afternoon celebrating the New Zealand release of “Prince Caspian.”

“To celebrate the New Zealand release of Disney’s and Walden Media’s “The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian”, Weta has pulled together an exciting afternoon for curious visitors and Narnia fans at the Weta Cave. The programme is FREE and Weta invites everybody to come along and have a great time with Weta artists and craftsmen.

This is a unique opportunity to see what goes into the crafting of the art of Weta and we encourage everyone to drop by and take part in what is set to be an incredible afternoon!

The event is also hot on the heels of the release of “The Crafting Of Narnia” (book) in New Zealand and there will be an opportunity to get purchased copies signed on the day.

Programme:

1pm – 2pm

Book Signing of The Crafting Of Narnia with Richard Taylor and Weta Designers and Technicians

1pm – 4pm

Sculpting demonstration by Weta sculptor Eden Small

2.15pm – 2.45pm &

3.15pm – 3.45pm

Conceptual Design demonstration by Weta Designer Paul Tobin

3pm – 3.30 pm

Meet the swordsmith – Weta swordsmith Peter Lyons shows the swords of Narnia and talks about the art of sword making

- On this day ONLY: Narnia weapons and props on display in the Weta Cave

- An exclusive Weta Cave “behind-the-scenes” video takes you inside Weta

- Art, collectibles and apparel in the Weta Cave

Come and meet the artists and craftspeople who helped bring Narnia to life!

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WETA wrote us today, telling us about the latest issue of Toy Collector Magazine, that is currently available for download.

There’s a terrific article about WETA’s Prince Caspian line of toys, followed by a small one about the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe line from a couple of years ago.

Here’s an excerpt:

CS. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia has been a classic in the realm of fantasy since The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first hit bookshelves in 1949. The storyline follows the adventures of four London children who are sent to a professor’s country home to put them out of harm’s way during World War II. There they discover a magic wardrobe that leads to a mystical land – Narnia – whose ruler is a malevolent witch.

In late 2005, the movie version of Lewis’ fantasy tale joined the ranks of highest-earning films of all time with a worldwide box office take of almost $745 million. Along with the amazing film, titled The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, came more Narnia merchandise than even the literary genius C.S. Lewis ever could have imagined. Toy stores were filled with action figures and role-play toys, and the shelves of collectors were adorned with some of the finest statues and replica weapons ever made.

A couple of years may have passed, but with last month’s release of the new Narnia film, Prince Caspian, the hunger for collectibles based on Lewis’ characters is as strong as ever. Whether you are looking for toys for the kids, or a high-end collectible that you’d never let your kids near, there’s something for everyone coming to market in the next couple months.

Download the full article here. It starts on page 61.

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Prince Caspian, the rightful heir to the throne of Narnia, commits himself to battle, leading his fellow Narnians into combat. Astride his bay steed he charges, sword in hand, determined to depose the treacherous King Miraz and the oppressive Telmarines and at long last bring peace and prosperity to all Narnians.

Today, on the day of the World Premiere, Weta launches the third piece from Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Weta Concept Designer Paul Tobin designed this feature piece, with inspiration drawn from the works of Western artist Frederic Remington. It was then sculpted by Eden Small and Daniel Cockersell.

This sculpture joins a long Weta tradition of much admired equestrian statues, and in an edition limited to ONLY 500 WORLDWIDE, Prince Caspian In Battle is set to become immensely collectible. It’s available for pre-order and will be delivered in July/August.

Background:

Weta is a multi Academy Award-winning company based in Wellington, New Zealand, that rose to international fame with the creation of Middle-Earth for The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Since then, the art of Weta has been seen in a number of films such as King Kong, The Last Samurai and The Chronicles of Narnia. The artists who create our collectibles are the same artists who work on these movies.

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The first piece in the range of collectibles for Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian that Weta announced earlier this month is now available to pre-order from Weta’s website.

The Warrior Satyr is based on a concept drawing by Weta designer Stephen Crowe: “I wanted quite an action-filled piece, and the real challenge was conveying that sense of movement and force in a static collectible. I wanted the Satyr to look defiant, as though he were in mid charge, about to attack.”

The statue is available in a strictly limited edition of only 300, so Weta recommend getting in early!

Further preview and pre-order announcements will be sent to Weta’s mailing list. Sign up at www.wetanz.com/mailinglist

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WETA NZ is now taking pre-orders for book copies signed by Weta Creative Director Richard Taylor of Crafting Of Narnia: The Art, Creatures And Weapons From Weta Workshop on the Weta website.

This book is already available from retailers in the US, but they wanted to let the fans get a chance to order a signed copy if they prefer.

Also, they will shortly be running a series of preview articles by Weta Designer Daniel Falconer from the book – first view of these articles will go to the fans on their Narnia mailing list with publication of each article on their Wetaholics site a day or two later. http://www.wetanz.com/holics/mailing_lists.php is the address for anyone who would like to get in early and subscribe to the list.

Please note – the signed copies of the book will only be available from their New Zealand warehouse, but individual copies can be shipped to any destination via normal post, just means international customers may have to wait a little longer than normal.

Please also note the price for the book on their website is in New Zealand dollars (NZD) and this is what customers’ credit cards will be charged. By today’s exchange rates, one NZD translates to roughly 79 US cents or 40 pence in the UK. But the final conversion rate will be calculated by the customer’s card issuer.

Order Crafting of Narnia Today

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