Our story so far: Peter Jackson made three Middle-earth movies and people loved them. Now he is making two more and people already love them too. MrCere, Senior Staff, Writer and Photographer at TheOneRing.net (Forged by and for fans since 1999) went to NZ to see what he could see. Landed in Queenstown, found lots of LOTR stuff, drove north to see the people of the ring, visited Hobbiton set and now is in Wellington, center of NZ’s cinematic empire.
It is pretty important while in Wellington for me to participate in what any visitor might and especially activities with a Lord of the Rings slant. The city is one of my favorites around the world, situated as it is on a bay of great natural beauty. I like the size because it feels pretty easy to get to know, but it has the advantages of a big city’s variety with excellent food and lots of travelers and plenty of full-time residents and all kinds of attractions.
This trip I enjoyed walking around the city and thumbing through vinyl records (ask your parents if those foreign objects are unfamiliar to you) checking out a variety of automobile dealerships including an upholstery shop with some interesting old cars, a comic book shop and a burrito joint with great architecture and melted candles. The nightlife here is crazy, including the Saturday morning I woke up early and discovered the Friday night revelry with its thumbing bass and cocktails hadn’t ended as I sought out breakfast.
It also, with its proximity to Peter Jackson’s filmmaking empire, was an important area in the making of The Lord of the Rings, but not just because of the production and effects studios across the harbor. I ended up heading out with
Wellington Rover on its half-day tour to make a visit to filming locations. Continue reading “‘Lord of the Rings’ tours sparkle in Wellington”
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Ross sends along these great photos of the stars arriving in Nelson, NZ. Who do you see? Comment below!
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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”
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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”
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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..
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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..
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