#799: Richard Taylor and Greg Broadmore, Wētā Workshop — Untapping Creativity, Stories from The Lord of the Rings, The Magic of New Zealand, Four Tenets to Live By, and The Only Sentence of Self-Help You Need

The Tim Ferriss Show

Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig

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4.6 • 17.4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2025

⏱️ 143 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Richard Taylor is the co-founder and creative lead at Wētā Workshop, which he runs with his wife and co-founder Tania Rodger. Wētā Workshop is a concept design studio and manufacturing facility that services the world’s creative and entertainment industries. Their practical and special effects have helped define the visual identities of some of the most recognizable franchises in film and television, including The Lord of the Rings; Planet of the Apes; Superman; Mad Max; Thor; M3gan; and Love, Death, and Robots.

Greg Broadmore is an artist and writer who has been part of the team at Wētā Workshop for more than 20 years. His design and special-effects credits include District 9, King Kong, Godzilla, The Adventures of Tintin, and Avatar, and he is the creator of the satirical, retro-sci-fi world of Dr. Grordbort’s. He is currently working on the graphic novel series One Path, set in a brutal prehistoric world where dinosaurs and cavewomen are locked in a grim battle for supremacy.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, boys and girls, ladies and germs. This is Tim Ferriss. Welcome to another episode of the
0:04.0	Tim Ferriss show, where it is my job to deconstruct world-class performers to tease out how they do
0:09.8	what they do so you can take their frameworks, their tools, their inspirations, and apply them to your
0:15.5	own lives. Today, I am interviewing two people I would consider the athletes of creativity. The first is
0:23.3	Richard Taylor. He is co-founder and creative lead at Weta Workshop, which he runs with his wife
0:28.5	and co-founder Tanya Roger. Weta Workshop is a concept design studio and manufacturing facility
0:34.1	that services the world's creative and entertainment industries. What you'll see is just how much they do. Believe it or not, it's started by them
0:41.3	assembling things and making things on top of their bed. We'll get to that. They've been recognized
0:46.7	with five Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, three Theo Awards, and more than 30 other national
0:52.3	and international accolades. Their practical and special
0:55.2	effects have helped define the visual identities of some of the most recognizable franchises in film
1:00.3	and television. You will know some of them, including the Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes,
1:05.1	Superman, Mad Max, Thor, Megan, and Love, Death, and Robots. If you haven't seen Love, Death, and Robots, check it out.
1:11.5	There are some amazing, amazing shorts. In addition to that, they do a few other things.
1:16.1	Get ready for this. What a workshop offers tourism and retail experiences, consumer products,
1:20.7	and interactive studio, public sculptures, and private commissions. They've also done augmented
1:25.4	reality and video games and all sorts of things.
1:28.5	Richard now focuses much of his time on their immersive experiences, which I've had the chance
1:33.5	to experience firsthand. I recommend them very highly, such as the Thia Award-winning Gallipoli,
1:39.2	the scale of our war, Weta Workshop unleashed, and the giant atrium installation, ORA, Forest at Edge of the Sky.
1:47.5	Next, we have Greg Broadmoor.
1:49.6	Greg is an artist and writer who has been part of the team at Weta Workshop for more than 20 years.
	...

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