From Gloin

Interesting little bit of news here. I seems that with the production being so far away from Hollywood, that PJ and the crew are having things custom built, that's great for local NZers. Gloin also discusses the flooding situation, time for you Te Anau ringers to chime in!

This was from a Queenstown weekly community Newspaper (The Mirror):

Business enjoying Movie Work
by Carmen Wilson

EVEN though the Lord of the Rings has only started filming in the Southern Lakes Area this week businesses are already reaping the benefits.

3 D Marine Development owner Richard Doherty “Doc” is almost finished building a boat for the film.

The aluminium jet barge is the most unusual boat he has ever had to design and build. It is 5m long and 2.5m wide. The deck is totally flat to enable film crew to stand on the jet barge and film. The boat is able to carry 10 people and about 400kg.

“It is totally different from anything else we have ever seen in the past. It has been a really good project,” he said.

The boat still has its 5-litre V8 engine to be fitted, but it should be completed in 14 days from start to finish, Mr Doherty said.

The cost of the boat was not named but everything was new and the film company had spared no expense, Mr Doherty said. He believed they would use the boat, and another hire boat from his company, to film on the Kawarau river through Smiths Falls, just above the Kawarau Bungy Bridge.

The Lord of the Rings cast and crew arrived in Te Anau on Monday and filming started yesterday on the $360 million adaptation of J R R Tolkien’s famous trilogy.

Thought you would be interested to see this. Methinks they might imagine there is a cave behind that waterfall, It is a beautiful river and VERY wild terrain in that area. They won’t be filming in Te Anau for a while, flooding has control of everything.

Also I saw some of the WETA Workshop crew walking around Queenstown today, they are responsible for making and fitting costumes and were supposed to be elsewhere by now, but now they trapped here like everybody else. All roads are closed but there should be one open by midday tomorrow (Friday 19).