One of the biggest things to happen in the Strath Taieri and Maniototo areas of Otago in recent years has tongues wagging – but only those of outsiders.
Six helicopters, a giant marquee, security guards and dozens of trailers have been parked in a paddock east of Hyde for the past four days.
But ask the locals why the trailers are there, and most reply “can’t say” or “don’t know”.
However, use the words “hobbit”, “film set” and “Sir Peter Jackson”, and sly, knowing smiles cross their faces.
Filming for Sir Peter’s two-part Hobbit series started in Wellington in March and, while other locations have been closely guarded, they include areas around the Strath Taieri and Queenstown. More..
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AICN’s Quint has his third report from the set of The Hobbit! Take a look: Welcome to the third and final Hobbit article focusing on the Matamata (Hobbiton) section of the big location shoot as The Hobbit crew moves all around New Zealand. Main unit spent 5 days in Matamata with second unit getting aerial and pick-up shots after the circus moved on to the next location. In true movie magic form we ended our second to last day with a big shot of Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins hauling ass out of Hobbiton, chasing down the dwarves, and began our final day with Mr. Baggins returning to The Shire as his grand adventure comes to a close. The beginning and the end within one 24 hour period. More..
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The Beard sends this in: I see on TORN that there seems to be Hobbit action in Dunedin, so maybe the filming here in Golden Bay is second unit, or maybe they got creative to deal with iffy weather here. The word around the Bay is that they are filming at two locations: Canaan Downs at Harwood’s Hole, and at a private sheep station at Kaihoka Lakes. I was actually at the latter place yesterday, on a social visit with a friend, but there was no sign of filming and the owner apparently told my friend that they were filming at Canaan Downs that day.
In other words– lots of talk about the Hobbit here, but not much fact to share other than the supposed locations. I do believe the Kaihoka Lakes location, as this is a farm family who would have no reason to make up the fact that their property is being used!
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Ross sends along some exclusive photos from Pelorus River and Pelorus Bridge area.
The Pelorus River is situated halfway between Nelson and Blenheim on state highway 6 at the top of the South Island. It is the first time any of the 3 Foot 7 films have had a location in the Marlborough province. The Bridge over the river is set in prime native bush which has many walks and a small camping ground where the local bird life proliferate, their calls breaking the background river noise. Continue reading “NZ Photos from Pelorus River Region”
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docdanz writes: I popped past the actively shooting location near Middlemarch today on the way back from Queenstown to Dunedin where I live. It was a hive of activity with a veritable city of trucks, trailers and marquees on the the side of Hartfield Road, which is a small gravel back road across the Taieri River from Middlemarch.
The set itself was a little further along (southwards) and just out of view (apart from the sight of more trucks). It seemed clear that they are prepared for a huge number of extras and support crew for this particular shoot. My guess is that this is going to be where the battle of five armies is shot. The terrain is basically the same as the rocky terrain used for Rohan in The Lord of The Rings. The location is here on Google maps. The route was well signposted by bright pink signs, marked with “LR” (Not JAMB this time!).
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Hundreds of cast and crew for The Hobbit films have flown to Dunedin International Airport seemingly bound for Otago film sets. An airport spokesman said four chartered flights carrying 320 cast and crew arrived, starting on Thursday night with a BAe146 Whisper Jet from Wellington. Today (Friday) another three flights arrived, two from Wellington, and one from Taupo, also on chartered Whisper Jets. A large contingent of rental cars had been organised for the arrivals to travel, but he did not have further details. The spokesman said he had not known the large group was coming until a couple of days ago. More..
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