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LEGO film to be made in Australia by Animal Logic
TRANSFORMERS transformed the Hasbro toy line into a blockbuster cinema
franchise, now LEGO is hoping to do something similar with their iconic building
blocks - and the film is to be made in Sydney.
The Fox Studios-based digital effects company Animal Logic (Happy Feet, Legend
of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole) is producing the LEGO family comedy for
Warner Bros.
Announcing the project today, acting NSW Premier and Minister for Trade and
Investment Andrew Stoner said the state government had helped secure the LEGO
film against strong competition from the US and Canada.
“LEGO will be an innovative film incorporating the latest animation and
photo-real techniques which will demonstrate the strength of NSW creative
technology skills and enhance the international reputation of Sydney as a film
location,‘’ he said.
It is estimated that the production will contribute $48 million to the local
economy and employ more than 200 people at its peak.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the team behind the 3D animated comedy Cloudy with a
Chance of Meatballs (2009), will direct the film.
HeraldSun.com
-end of report-
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In lugnet.loc.au, Wayne Jackson wrote:
> Can Lego Australia help with an order or do I have to contact the US?
>
> I just got an email saying that my card was declined even though
> according to my records the funds have been successfully obtained.
Unfortunately LEGO Australia cannot help with Shop@Home issues, you will need to
contact the US, but there's a local 1800 number you can call to avoid
international call rates - its on the Shop@Home:
http://shop.lego.com/en-AU/Contact-Us
(Note the hours)
ROSCO
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Can Lego Australia help with an order or do I have to contact the US?
I just got an email saying that my card was declined even though
according to my records the funds have been successfully obtained.
Wayne.
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Brisbanetimes.com.au
Jan. 8, 2011
The older kids on the block
After more than 50 years, LEGO is still building interest, writes Tim Richards.
‘I STARTED with Lego when I was a small child. It lets you be as imaginative as
you want to be. You can change your mind if you’re not happy with it, then be
totally imaginative with it in a different way. For me, it’s the ultimate
creative outlet.”
IT manager Ryan McNaught has a novel way of filling his out-of-office hours: he
builds models out of LEGO, the popular interlocking building bricks patented by
Danish toy company owner Godtfred Christiansen in 1958. They’re not, however,
comparable to the simple misshapen houses you constructed as a kid with whatever
stray blocks were at hand.
McNaught’s creations are sizeable constructions, meticulously planned and
involving hundreds of bricks.
“My Airbus A380(1) model, which I made last year, was 2.2 metres long and 1.8
metres wide,” says McNaught. “The year before I made a three-metre-high Eiffel
Tower that had working lifts going up and down the sides, and up the middle.
Right next to it, for an Australian version of an international attraction, I
made the Big Pineapple.
“I once made a two-metre-long replica of Flinders Street Station, down to the
little hat store at the front, and everybody meeting on the steps. There were
even the coppers turning up to arrest someone who hadn’t bought a ticket.
Everything you expect to see, a busker for example.”
It’s long been known that creative expression is good for you. As VicHealth’s
Building Health Through Arts and New Media action plan for 2010-13 declares:
“Arts participation improves mental health by decreasing stress, anxiety and
depression … and also improves self-esteem.”
However, most people’s creative impulses are satisfied through everyday pastimes
such as painting or knitting rather than constructing huge plastic models. But
McNaught is not alone, being one of a band of aficionados known as AFoLs (Adult
Fans of LEGO).
Sue Ann Barber, a teacher librarian who coordinates Brickvention, the annual
LEGO convention, says LEGO fandom was created almost entirely through the agency
of the Internet - a potent instance of how the web can enable the formation of
creative communities around any interest.
“Before the Internet was really big, I think I met one or two other LEGO fans
just by chance,” she says.
“Sure, I might have met some others along the way, but we wouldn’t have had the
growth in the fandom that we’ve had.”
Though there’s a strong representation of collectors among LEGO fans, there’s
also a significant number of creators.
“It started when Generation X developed a disposable income,” explains Barber.
“They were the generation of kids for whom LEGO was a really big part of their
lives; it was in everyone’s homes. Nostalgia made them start to build again.
They picked up from whatever they were doing as kids, then went beyond that.”
Brickvention 2011 includes a number of competitions for adult attendees. There’s
a timed speed build; Brikwars, a LEGO-based war-game; a coloured tile sorting
test; and a competition in which participants build a LEGO set that’s contained
within a sealed plastic bag.
The My Own Creation series of competitions honours original LEGO structures. The
models can be presented in any size, but it’s the large ones that garner all the
attention.
True to form, McNaught’s project for this year’s Brickvention is a
three-metre-long model of the Love Boat from the 1970s TV series.
“I’ve cut the boat down the middle so you can see the entire insides: the
cabins, the engine room, the restaurants, the casino, the whole lot,” he says.
“And I’m putting elements of sea-based movies like Titanic and The Poseidon
Adventure in it.”
It’s impressive, but does this father of twin sons ever have to deal with
accusations of being childish himself?
“Yeah … People think it’s a toy, but when they see what it’s capable of they
have a different perspective,‘’ he says. ‘‘There is nothing better than when you
build something cool and see the reaction on a child’s face, whatever it is.‘’
Brickvention 2011 runs on January 15-16 at the Melbourne Town Hall. Full
weekend $50; public expo from 10am-5pm, Sunday, $6/$3 (tickets at door). Details
at Brickventures.com.
brisbanetimes.com.au
(1) A380 Airplane LEGO model. Photo taken last year by Ross Crawford at
Brickventures. http://www.flickr.com/photos/roscohead/4301846396/.
-end of report-
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http://www.brickexpo.com.au/
Finally stopped to read the tiny signs on the side of the road. Found more info
by googling it.
http://www.canberraonline.com.au/events/item.php?pid=6611
http://www.ourcanberra.com/CommunityEvents-Canberra.html
8 August 2010
BrickExpo Canberra 2010
10am - 4pm
The Top of the Cross, Canberra Southern Cross Club - Woden, 92-96 Corinna
Street, Phillip
An entertaining and interesting exhibition of rare and unique LEGO® creations by
interstate and local collectors and modellers.
Hundreds of static, moving and robotic models in themes including: Star Wars™,
Trains, Planes, Space Ships, Racing Cars, Monuments and Sculptures.
Entry to Canberra Brick Expo 2010 is just a gold coin donation per head, with
proceeds going to local children's charity, PaTCH (the pediatric wing of the
Canberra Hospital)
For more information or exhibitor applications, please complete the Contact Form
at www.brickexpo.com.au/Contact.html
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