Richard Taylor
Richard Taylor and his partner Tania Rodger began what would become Weta Workshop Ltd 20 years ago. Taylor and Rodger dreamed of creating a special effects facility to support the New Zealand film and television industry.
Their first job was providing caricatured puppets for Gibson Group's Public Eye satire show. In the years that followed, a close working relationship developed between Taylor, Rodger and New Zealand director Peter Jackson, working on Jackson's Meet the Feebles, Braindead, Forgotten Silver, Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners. The culmination of this relationship would see the formation of Weta with Taylor, Rodger, Jackson and producer Jamie Selkirk going into business together. Over the past fifteen years the company has provided physical and digital effects for many films, advertisements and television shows including the popular Hercules and Xena series, The Lord of the Rings (trilogy), Perfect Strangers, Master and Commander, I Robot, Van Helsing, The Last Samurai, Hellboy, Kingdom of Heaven, The Chronciles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, The Legend of Zorro, King Kong, Black Sheep, The Waterhorse, Halo (promotional shorts), Daybreakers and 30 Days of Night.
The crowning achievement for Weta has been the globally acclaimed The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong for which Weta provided the design, fabrication and on-set operation of the creatures, special make-up effects and prosthetics, miniatures, armour and weaponry. Weta also provided the full range of digital services from simple compositing through to animation of fully computer generated creatures. For these unprecedented undertakings Weta has garnered worldwide praise including six BAFTAs and seven Academy Awards to date.
Richard and Tania have continued to develop their company by diversifying into a variety of new and intriguing creative ventures. These include a high-end collectibles company, a chainmaille manufacturing company, a publishing arm, and most recently a children's television production company with its first television series, Jane and The Dragon.
Richard and Tania are focussed on the development of highly creative projects, and embracing the enthusiasm and passion that young New Zealanders can bring to the creative arts.
