Ross sends along these great photos of the stars arriving in Nelson, NZ. Who do you see? Comment below!
Category: New Zealand
QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND — Queenstown has a powerful international flavor. Stop and listen on the streets and you are as likely to hear a language from Europe or Asia as English and even that comes in several flavors: Kiwi, Aussie, British with the occasional Yank thrown in.
It is a city of tourists that include backpackers and couples in retirement years soaking up all the world has to offer including the incredible scenery of the amazing Queenstown by Lake Wakatipu. This is great of course, but young travelers and those in the golden years aren’t the best demographics for movie collectibles.
So it might surprise some to find Hugh Clark and Sarah Dobson carving out a niche with high-end items made by the likes of Weta Workshop and Sideshow Collectibles at their Reel Collectibles shop. But there they are in the Queenstown Mall on Beach St., selling superhero items, Lord of the Rings stuff (a given in that part of the world) and Star Wars swag. Expect an avalanche of Hobbit stuff when the films hit the world a year from now. Continue reading “Reel Collectibles keeps fandom alive in Queenstown”
QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND — Queenstown is the kind of place where people come and never leave. In fact, talk to a few dozen folks in town and chances are good a few of them wandered into the place and never found their way out.
If it isn’t already, get it on your bucket list.
The mark of the Lord of the Rings films are still indelibly written here and to a degree that might surprise. Nestled on the shores of Lake Wakatipu with majestic mountains on either side, this busy adventure town looks a good bit like cinematic Middle-earth because many times this regions served as such in Peter Jackson’s films. In fact, the list is too long to include comprehensively here.
With a town big enough to have good food, amenities and lodging suitable for stars, it is also on the frontier and a gateway to much of the South Island. But, cultural and financial residue from the LOTR films is still readily apparent and especially to a writer who wears a “One Ring” jersey around town. Continue reading “LOTR still found in the fabric of Queenstown, Hobbit next”
From Otago Daily Times: Up to 250 members of The Hobbit film crew were
working on Treble Cone, in the Matukituki Valley, yesterday but those in charge were keeping mum about who was in town and what part of J.R.R. Tolkein’s popular story was being filmed.
The second production unit of Peter Jackson’s company, 3Foot7 Ltd, began setting up camp in a Cattle Flat Station paddock at the base of the Treble Cone ski area access road on Monday.
The film crew began arriving on Tuesday for a single day’s filming, but visitors were kept out by security guards.
Unit manager Belinda Lee Hope apologised for having to decline to give any details about the unit’s activities, but said she could understand if locals were excited about the film crew being in the area and that Wanaka locations could appear in the film. more..
Sir Peter Jackson has saved Wellington’s Bats Theatre from eviction, buying the theatre company’s building for $1.1 million. The non-profit, charitable company that runs the 84-seat theatre had a month left to move out of its home of 22 years, come up with funds to buy the building or close, after its long-term landlord decided to sell. The theatre has fostered such talents as Bret McKenzie, Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Robyn Malcolm and Tim Balme. More..
More than $1 million is estimated to have been pumped into the Wakatipu economy while the main film unit of The Hobbit shot on location in Paradise, near Glenorchy, and more money is expected to be spent when the second unit begins filming in the next few days. Academy award-winning director Sir Peter Jackson, of Wellington, and stars including Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman, James Nesbitt, Mikael Persbrandt and Sir Ian McKellen were among 450 cast and crew who arrived early and filmed for three days on the remote Arcadia Station, 66km from Queenstown. More..