The Legend of Zorro: According to The New Zealand Herald, the Miramar special effects studio, WETA Digital, responsible for special effects in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will start work on The Legend, the sequel to The Mask of Zorro, next month.

Four-time Oscar winner Richard Taylor will guide the work on the multimillion-dollar film, which already has a Kiwi connection. Director Martin Campbell and producer Lloyd Phillips both come from New Zealand. Steven Spielberg is the executive producer.

"We will be making the final elements of the film, like action sequence and scenic shots. It's very exciting work," Taylor said yesterday.

A team of 12 Weta technicians have spent the past seven months creating miniature sets where most of the filming would be done, and the project had been a closely guarded secret.

The movie will open worldwide in September 2005. It reunites Mask stars Antonio Banderas as the swashbuckling Alejandro "Zorro" Murrieta and Catherine Zeta-Jones as his wife, Elena.

Thanks to 'Alex'

The Legend of Zorro was released October 28th, 2005 and stars Alberto Reyes, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Gustavo Sanchez-Parra, Adrian Alonso, Nick Chinlund, Giovanna Zacarías, Carlos Cobos, Antonio Banderas. The film is directed by Martin Campbell.