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!).
Argyris writes: Next Saturday Elijah Wood will chat with Edith Bowman on BBC Radio 1. If you want to ask him anything about LOTR trilogy…or even better about the upcoming Hobbit movie, you can ask him on BBCradio1 facebook page or send your e-mail to lovely Edith Bowman! The show will be next Saturday morning at 7 o’clock (UK time). More..
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..
Sir Ian McKellen has updated his blog with a new entry titled “Soldiering On” and, among other things, talks about his role as Gandalf the Grey in The Hobbit.
The relevant excerpt follows:
In The Hobbit, Gandalf is part old duffer but more he’s a soldier. Peter Jackson, who likes to see the old guys fighting it out, reminded me the other day that Gandalf is a commander, a general.
Having slain the Great Goblin I was being a bit too indulgent with the dwarves who meanwhile had mislaid Bilbo in the goblin tunnels. I’ve played enough soldiers to see that PJ was right and in the next take I was very stern.
The image on the right comes courtesy of McKellen’s blog post.
Our message board member Roheryn writes in to tell us that they received a news email from Willowbank, a local wildlife reserve in Christchurch, that states:
Some of Willowbank’s animals are off to Glenorchy to help in the filming of The Hobbit.
Stinky (the goat), some of the sheep, two cattle – a dexter & a galloway, a miniature donkey and some sebastopol geese are setting off for Queenstown on Monday.
The picture on the right was accompanied with the following little description in the email:
This image shows Stinky getting ready for his trip. He has been taken on walks to get used to wearing a halter and walking alongside David [the handler accompanying the critters to Glenorchy].
On this weeks episode of Hobbit in 5 we take a look at some new amazing set pics of Hobbiton. We also have the mysterious set in Wakatipu nearing completion. We continue to track the Hobbit cast and crew, LOTR collectable items and MGM and Netflix partner up to distribute The Hobbit.
