Halloween Weta Style!

All Hallow's Eve..... the warmth from the ending summer still hangs in the air... there's an Autumn chill blowing in... red and orange leaves crunch underfoot.... people's fences are lined with carved Jack o' Lanterns and their flickering candles light up the spooky evening.... children run amok dressed as fairies, witches and superheros collecting candy door to door. Halloween....

.... unless you live in New Zealand. 

My first Halloween spent in Wellington, NZ was a culture shock similar to the one I experience now as Christmas trees are erected decorated with summer fruits, and cooking magazines provide Christmas BBQ recipes on the beach and cakes decorated with summer raspberries.

There were no Jack o' Lanterns, no children trick-or-treating, no crisp orange leaves on the ground, no bare skeletal trees. But just as Danny Elfman's lyrics sprang to mind:-

"the monsters are all missing,
and the nightmares can't be found"

- I arrived at the Weta Halloween party and 500 zombies honed into view. Okay, phew - Kiwis do Halloween afterall. It's just.... different!

Here are some pictures from the night. I'm the pirate wench. ;)

I leave New Zealand and am bound for Great Blighty later this month (Nov 20th)... can't wait to catch up with friends in London and then I'm orf again - back to LA in Jan / Feb where I'll be able to set up Myrtle in a proper studio space and work so much faster!

Note: You can contact me on my NZ mobile until Nov 20th and then best just to email me until I'm back in the states.