The stars of The Hobbit have taken part in a promotional visit for Tourism New Zealand speaking about why they love the country where the J.R.R. Tolkien movies are filmed.
The short film, which appears on the DVD as an extra, features New Zealand director Peter Jackson as well as British stars Sir Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and James Nesbitt, discussing their experiences filming on location and love of the country’s dramatic landscape.
In the six-minute video, Jackson introduces key areas where The Hobbit was filmed, including Hobbiton in Matamata, on the North Island and Twizel, an alpine village, and Central Otago, a dramatic dry landscape, both on the South Island.
Graham McTavish, who played the dwarf Dwalin, says people couldn’t believe the photo he took in Twizel was real.
“I took a photo to send to some friends and they refused to believe that this was an actual photograph, that I hadn’t photoshopped it.”
“What’s so glorious about those places is you can do a 360 degree shot and not a satellite dish in sight,” added Radagast actor Sylvester McCoy.
