Dozens of small-statured folk are ready to dance their way onto the Shire next month, but even Matamata accommodation providers are in the dark as to exactly when the big influx of little extras will hit the region.
Publicist for 3 Foot 7 Ceris Price said 90 people were selected late last year from the 1200-odd who applied to be Matamata-based hobbit extras in The Hobbit, but because people turned up “from all over” for the auditions, she did not know how many were from Waikato. But like everyone else involved in the making of Peter Jackson’s latest film, if there was hobbits grooming their toe-hairs in the Waikato, they were doing it with their lips firmly sealed. Ian Brodie, media and communications manager for Hobbiton Movie Set and Farm Tours, said confidentiality contracts meant anyone involved in The Hobbit in any capacity was bound to silence. More..
Related: Take a look at our exclusive collection of Hobbiton set photos, going all the way back to 1999! [TORN Scrapbook]
On today’s episode, we introduce you to our awesome new host Simone Boyce! Also on today’s show, Benedict Cumberbatch opens up about Smaug, we’ve got info on some new ‘Hobbit’ filming locations and details on TORn’s exclusive party in NYC for the New York Comic Con!
The Hobbit director Sir Peter Jackson’s production company, 3Foot 7 Ltd, is seeking resource consent for temporary filming activity and helicopter landings at Paradise, near Glenorchy, Tucker Beach and Queenstown Hill.
A land use application to Lakes Environmental says filming, which will involve more than 200 people, will be primarily on Arcadia Station around its airstrip and nearby Paradise Trust land, mostly in mid-November.
There will be a “slow buildup” in film activity from October 3, with the busiest period being from November 14 until November 22, the application says.
Filming activity will be seven days a week, 24 hours a day, with the main operations running from about 5am until 10pm, it says. Filming would exceed seven days on the Arcadia Station airstrip and the Paradise Trust site only.
Arcadia would be the base for the main unit, with up to two large marquees on site for catering, makeup and support, including up to 20 large truck units and 20 caravans. Filming would begin on November 17 and end on November 21, with a site wrap on November 23. Three weeks had been allowed for full reinstatement work.
Filming part of The Hobbit on location in Queenstown gives the opportunity for “significant exposure” for the Wakatipu on the main world tourism markets, Destination Queenstown says. DQ chief executive Tony Everitt was asked to comment yesterday after proposals lodged by Three Foot Seven Ltd to film sequences in at least three Wakatipu locations. The Wellington production company applied this month for resource consent for filming activities involving “over 200 people” between early October and mid-December. More..
Queenstown’s locals became the cast of the people of Rohan.
‘Hobbit‘ filming publicity
Filming part of The Hobbit on location in Queenstown gives the opportunity for “significant exposure” for the Wakatipu on the main world tourism markets, Destination Queenstown says.
DQ chief executive Tony Everitt was asked to comment yesterday after proposals lodged by Three Foot Seven Ltd to film sequences in at least three Wakatipu locations.
The Wellington production company applied this month for resource consent for filming activities involving “over 200 people” between early October and mid-December.
Queenstown Lakes agency Ican Models & Talent was getting “a wonderful response” from advertisements for extras with “character faces” for an undisclosed shoot in late October, late November or early December, director Tracy Neave said yesterday.
Filming was proposed to occur mainly at Arcadia Station, Glenorchy, and on nearby land owned by the Paradise Trust, with an additional site at Tucker Beach, by the Shotover River.
Flight plans were also detailed for filming at Greenstone Station on the western side of Lake Wakatipu.
Thanks to Pioneer for this clip from The Christchurch Press: The top of the Takaka Hill and northwestern Golden Bay are set to become Hobbit country, with filming of Sir Peter Jackson’s anticipated two-part movie expected in the Tasman district at the end of this year. Tasman District Council communications spokesman Chris Choat said the production company for The Hobbit, 3 Foot 7, approached the council last week about filming in the district in December. Choat said the company had yet to lodge any official land-use consent applications.
