mr. reno sent along some great spy photos and a little photo montage video of some scenes being…
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mr. reno sent along some great spy photos and a little photo montage video of some scenes being filmed in New Zealand in the last 24 hours. This is in the Golden Bay region, where crews have been spread out filming recently.
Take a look at the little video animation, I see men on horseback and a helicopter getting some nice arial shots. Take a look! Continue reading “More Spy Photos & Video from NZ”
The beautiful and varied landscapes of New Zealand provided the setting for Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, one of the most successful film ventures of all time. From the peaceful Shire to the fires of Mordor, locations were found for the magical world of Middle-earth where hobbits, elves, dwarves and wizards live.
When Peter Jackson was 18, he took a train ride across New Zealand’s North Island – one of the two islands that comprise the country. On the trip he read The Lord of the Rings, the great J R R Tolkien saga. The now famous film director tells how he was fascinated to see how the landscape he could see from the train window was exactly like the mythical Middle Earth imagined by the British author some 30 years earlier. More..
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..
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!
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”
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!).
