Wētā Workshop — Stories from The Lord of the Rings, Four Tenets to Live By, and Untapping Creativity

He describes holding the sword as a source of strength and wonder, and argues that well-made objects can outlast their makers and continue to bring joy—what he calls “creative immortality.”

He recounts learning through books he found as a teen (including Bosch and an inspiring sculpture book), teaching himself by digging clay from a creek, and later encountering the very sculptor behind that book by chance in Chengdu decades later.

He explains that Wētā uses tinfoil and a teaspoon because they’re widely available regardless of a family’s means, and frames the goal as inspiring kids to see what their hands can do; he notes a local supermarket selling out of tinfoil after their Auckland experience opened.

He says the company grew from a bedroom setup with an MDF board on the bed to about 400 people across seven business centers, and that diversification helps divisions support each other as markets shift (including film shrinking as a percentage of their work).

He argues that major projects require first finding a “grand idea” that unifies execution, using Gallipoli as an example: telling a whole campaign through intimate connection to eight individuals via hyperreal, larger-than-life figures rather than statistics and sepia photos.