Ian McKellen‘s new blog entry, titled “Moving On“, chronicles a portion of his travels along New Zealand’s North Island where location filming for The Hobbit is currently on. Excerpts follow:
Our first filming destination was Matamata, where eleven years ago Gandalf the Grey made his entrance into The Fellowship of the Ring, greeting Ian Holm’s Bilbo on the doorstep of Bag End.
All our trucks, trailers, generators, dining tent and loos were hidden behind and below the surrounding hillocks but it was nostalgic to clamber up the path that leads to Bag End where this time Martin Freeman’s Bilbo will be surprised by Gandalf.
We filmed there for less than a week, this time leaving everything behind, so future visitors do not have to guess at but actually see Hobbiton in its glory. They will even be able to get a snack at the Green Dragon.
Read more of Gandalf’s adventures by clicking the link provided above.
Elijah Wood was on The Graham Norton Show to promote ‘Happy Feet 2’ when the discussion turned to Oscar. Much to our surprise and enjoyment, Wood mentioned TORN’s Oscar Parties, and even mentions us on TV! Catch the clip above, and thanks Elwood! (We’re cool now, so we can call him Elwood).
“Frodo, the Argonath! Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old. My kin.“
– Aragorn to Frodo while sailing down the Anduin February 25th, 3019 TA
As we approach the Christmas Holiday the truly awesome folks at Weta have given fans a chance to get items that they may have missed. One of the items was the Argonath environment, which came back as part of their first Christmas Special last week. This was great for someone like me who had missed it before and was kicking myself for not ordering it.
The Argonath, which portray Isildur and Elendil, relatives of Aragorn, marked and guarded the northern boundary of Gondor. This was inform strangers they could not come south of the Argonath without permission. As the power of Gondor declined these imposing figures could no longer be enforced. As the Fellowship came upon the Argonath, Frodo would notice that Strider no longer was sitting beside him, but instead it was Aragorn, son of Arathorn, a King who was returning from exile.
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..
How awesome are the folks at Weta? They’ve not only given fans one Christmas special already but are now giving us a second chance to grab some really amazing items. There are a couple of deals Ringers will want to make sure they take advantage of before they sail into the west with this special. The Prancing Pony environment is back with just a few pieces left for collectors around the world to get their hands on, and Ringers if you’ve been eying those fantastic shields now is your chance to get a great deal on them. The special on the shields is if you order the set of four right now the first ten orders will get a free Collector’s Guide book. We reviewed the Collector’s Guide book if you recall right after Comic-Con 2011. Finally, make sure to check out Weta’s specials page and Christmas Guide 2011 page for all your collecting needs!
Ian McKellen‘s new blog entry, titled “Moving On“, chronicles a portion of his travels along New Zealand’s North Island where location filming for The Hobbit is currently on. Excerpts follow:
