Richard Taylor Knighted

Lord of the Rings special effects guru Richard Taylor was knighted last week by the Queen of England. He has five Oscars and four Baftas for his work in the film industry, most of it for his work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong. He is also the co-founder and co-director of Weta. In addition he involved in multiple charities including Neonatal Trust and Dyslexia Foundation.

"It's pretty overwhelming and pretty abstract at this point in my head. You go and collect an Oscar for everyone in the workshop that has helped you get there. But I think this is more what you have done in your career and how you have tried to help your local community."

"I am sure the crew here at the workshop will take great delight for a few days but I am sure it will get back to being Richard again. I don't think it will make any difference here in New Zealand ultimately because we are pretty down to earth people as New Zealanders. I think it might have some impact when I am dealing with the government in maybe Japan or China because there's acknowledgement there of credentials and qualifications to more of a degree than at home, but I don't think it's something you would trade on necessarily."

I believe he is the third LOTR member of the cast and crew to get knighted, joining Sir Peter Jackson and Sir Ian McKellen.