Ataahua writes: I went to a news conference yesterday in New Plymouth, New Zealand, to hear that Weta Workshop has signed on to do the props on two films to be shot in Taranaki: One film about New Zealand Victoria Cross and Bar recipient Charles Upham, and a second movie about stolen gold in the Taranaki hill country. One of the actors being chased for the Charles Upham film is Karl Urban (LOTR's Eomer). The promotional art work on the front of the script and on the poster behind was designed by Weta, and Charles Upham's family were deeply moved by how much the artwork had captured the young Upham. [More]

From comingsoon.net: Shane Rangi will be back in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian as Asterius, the Minotaur who aides Caspian and the Pevensies in their attempt to overthrow King Miraz. He previously played General Otmin in "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," the fierce Minotaur who leads the White Witch's army.

Rangi joins a cast that includes Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, William Moseley, Liam Neeson, Ben Barnes, Alicia Borrachero, Peter Dinklage, Vincent Grass and Warwick Davis.

Disney and Walden Media are planning a May 16 release.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - New Zealand is home to a thriving film industry, one that has produced movies like the internationally acclaimed "Whale Rider." It was an early adopter of incentives that attract outside productions. It's also the home of Peter Jackson's effects companies, Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, and their impact on New Zealand's film industry cannot be underestimated.

Weta has grown from a boutique effects house serving only Jackson's projects to one that services production the world over. And that has provided New Zealand with an edge that is as sharp as Aragorn's sword. [More]

From movieweb.com: From the imaginations of AnnaSophia Robb and Josh Hutcherson, comes the new film, Bridge to Terabithia. But, those creatures didn't just come out of no where - the good people at WETA worked tirelessly to get them looking spectacular. The film is an adaptation of the children's novel by Katherine Patterson; it's directed by Gabor Csupo, of Nickelodeon cartoon fame.

I had the chance to speak with Matt Aitken, one of the animators at the New Zealand workshop about creating the world of Terabithia. He told me making this land was a little different than working on King Kong and The Lord Of The Rings. [More]

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Some very cool TV on DVD like 'All in the Family - S6', 'Beauty and the Beast - S1', 'Conan O'Brien 10th Anniv Special' & the entire series of the great American sitcom 'Men Behaving Badly'. The big releases of the week are 'The Departed' & 'School for Scoundrels'. Personally I'm interested in 'Hercules and the Captive Women/Hercules, Prisoner of Evil' & 'Marie Antoinette'! Check out the whole list here! [More]

James McAvoy was a guest on 'Tavis Smiley' last week on PBS. They spoke a bit about 'The Last King of Scotland' and his latest film 'Starter for 10'. Take a look at the interview by clicking here.

Walden Media, the company that brought The Chronicles of Narnia to the silver screen, has recently announced its intention of adapting yet another C.S. Lewis work. The Screwtape Letters, one of Lewis’ more adult-themed pieces of fiction, is now set for a release in May 2008, with Ralph Winter Productions set to produce it. The movie attempts to tap into the crossover popularity of the author whose first adaptation, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, pulled in $744 million worldwide, according to Variety. The sequel to this, Prince Caspian, is expected to release next year. The Screwtape Letters is a book that takes on the form of a series of letters written from a senior devil, Screwtape, to a subordinate, Wormtongue. In the letters, the elder gives advice on how to secure the damnation of an earthly man who the letters refer to as “the Patient.” [More]

Howard Webster - editor of Factory magazine writes: We will shortly be posting a free downloadable version of the Ian McKellen shoot we did for one of our recent editions on line at factory-publishing.com.

Howard's photography site, howardwebsterphotography.com, features some preview images of McKellen. You will also see images of William Moseley - who plays Peter King of Narnia shot last year and Ken Kamins - Peter Jackson's manager.

The prize for Best Special Effects at this year's Imagina Awards, held in Monte Carlo on February 1, 2007, was jointly awarded to Framestore CFC and Weta Digital for the VFX work on X-Men: The Last Stand. The award - one of Imagina's famous glass teapots - was accepted on behalf of the company by joint CEO William Sargent. X-Men: The Last Stand opened in May 2006 around the world, breaking many box-office records. Directed by Brett Ratner and starring Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry and Patrick Stewart, the film is a 20th Century Fox production. The film's VFX Supervisor was John Bruno. [More]

From Coming Soon: In addition to Ben Barnes playing the title role and Alicia Borrachero having been cast as Prunaprismia, the wife of General Miraz, Walt Disney Pictures has announced two more members of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian cast.

Peter Dinklage will play Trumpkin the Dwarf and Vincent Grass has been cast as Doctor Cornelius, Prince Casplan's mentor. They join the returning Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell and William Moseley, as well as Liam Neeson as the voice of Aslan.

The sequel will start principal photography next week in New Zealand.

Variety reports that Alicia Borrachero has been cast as Prunaprismia, the wife of General Miraz, Narnia's evil king in Andrew Adamson's The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Spain's Borrachero previously played Escolastica, a devout aunt, in Mike Newell's Love in the Time of Cholera. Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media start principal photography on the sequel next week in New Zealand.

A bit of Hollywood once again comes to New Zealand shores as filming gets underway on the sequel movie in the Chronicles of Narnia series - Prince Caspian. Filming in the North and South Island begins next Tuesday for six weeks. New Zealand director Andrew Adamson says it is sad they are in New Zealand for such a short time. He says the lack of infrastructure and staging for film crews caused huge headaches while filming the first movie in the series, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Adamson says a lot of the film had to be shot in equestrian centres and tin sheds because of the lack of sound stages, and as a result a lot of time had to be spent "looping" - or re-recording - the actors' dialogue, which slows everything down. [More]

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Some very cool aimation out like 'Amazing Screw-On Head', 'Hellboy: Sword of Storms', 'Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo' & 'Last Unicorn'. The big releases of the week are 'Hollywoodland' & 'Flags of Our Fathers'. Be sure to check out the new Bond re releases 'For Your Eyes Only', 'Goldeneye', 'Goldfinger', 'Licence to Kill', 'Spy Who Loved Me' & 'Thunderball'. Personally I'm interested in 'Amazing Screw-On Head' & 'Hellboy'! Check out the whole list here! [More]