2 December 2014

The biggest, baddest orc of all is coming to Te Papa!

Azog™ the Defiler will be on display at the national museum from tomorrow and visitors are invited to come snap a selfie with the huge and pale Gundabad Orc.

In The Hobbit movies, Azog™ the Defiler is a digital creature, played by actor Manu Bennett and created using Motion Capture technology by visual effects artists at Weta Digital.

The fibreglass statue was created by Weta Workshop to promote the final instalment of the movie trilogy The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

At 3.5 metres (11 ft 6 inch) from his heel to the blades of his mace, Azog makes a formidable foe, and as your eye falls on the loin cloth where the faces of his unfortunate victims stare back at you, turning and running seems a logical option.

[Azog the Defiler]
Azog™ the Defiler
© WBEI TM Middle-earth Ent. Lic. To New Line.          (s14)

Unless you are Thorin Oakenshield™, of course… or want to take a selfie and show your friends how brave you are.

Other Hobbit costumes, including an elf solider and elf lieutenant, will also be on display at Te Papa as part of Positively Wellington Tourism’s Middle of Middle-earth Costume Trail beginning on 11 December.

Azog will be located in the Wellington Foyer on Level Two, and will remain on display until March 2015.

Media contact:

Rachael Bruce
Senior Communications Adviser
Email: media@tepapa.govt.nz
Phone:  +64 29 601 0010 or +64 4 381 7071

Photo opportunity:

Media are invited to attend a blessing ceremony for Azog tomorrow morning at Te Papa at 8.45am. Interested media need to register their attendance with Te Papa’s communications team today.

© Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc.          (s14)