Tag Archives: The Last Samurai

Just don’t ask him to assume the brace position

Just don’t ask him to assume the brace position

Auckland armour maker, Warren Ormsby-Green, made Web India‘s ‘What in the Weird’ equivalent with his air travel exploits. Ormsby-Green, who created pieces for LotR and The Last Samurai, wears a full set of armour…

Ringing in the Changes

Ringing in the Changes

Tourism is predicted to overtake dairy as NZ’s top export earner by mid-2004 – a phenomenon largely attributed to  Lord of the Rings hype. The country’s newfound status as a must-see destination is confirmed by a…

Taranaki’s Hollywood ambassador

Taranaki’s Hollywood ambassador

Tom Cruise sang the praises of Aotearoa to the US on his promotional tour for The Last Samurai, the Japanese military epic filmed largely in Taranaki. As well as the beautiful scenery and friendly…

Fujinaki Tours Ltd.

Fujinaki Tours Ltd.

29 October 2003 – Hoping that The Last Samurai will do for Taranaki what LotR has done for its various NZ locations, local guide James Heremaia has added the ‘A Mountain Like Fuji’ tour to his…

Lady Ngila

Lady Ngila

“The costume designer deserves a knighthood.” Award-winning Kiwi costumier, Ngila Dickson, receives nameless praise in Empire magazine for her “impressive rendering of 19th century Japan” in previews of Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai -…

Tom cruises off

Tom cruises off

Actor Tom Cruise has bid farewell to Taranaki, the place he called home for the past 4 months. The Hollywood A-lister was on location filming The Last Samurai; an epic-scale production which has proved…

Cruisin’ Taranaki

Cruisin’ Taranaki

Hollywood A-listers Tom Cruise and Gwyneth Paltrow are both currently on location in NZ. Paltrow is in Dunedin filming scenes for Christine Jeff’s adaptation of the life of Sylvia Plath, while Cruise has set…

Mount Taranakiyama

Mount Taranakiyama

Taranaki’s eponymous mountain is a suitable double for Mount Fuji, or so thinks Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall) who will direct Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai later this year. New Zealand’s…