Twizel is in the south island of New Zealand,  located between two mountain ranges the grassy fields was used for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in the Lord of The Rings trilogy.

From Oamaru Mail comes this update regarding the casting call times:

From Hobbit looking for local extras

A search to find extras for The Hobbit film will be held in Oamaru next weekend.

Organisers will be at the Oamaru Opera House’s Empire Room on Sunday, September 25 from 10am to 1pm for the  casting call.

Filming is expected to take place in the Twizel region in late November and December.

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In 1998, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh bought The Film Unit, the only post-production facility in New Zealand capable of processing 35mm film. They needed to have access to such a facility in making The Lord of the Rings. In 2003, they moved the company from Lower Hutt to Miramar (only about a block from the Weta Ltd. headquarters). On January 1, 2005, it was renamed Park Road Post and later added “Production.”

According to the Dominion Post, Park Road Post Production is now expanding its presence by partnering with Film New Zealand to open an office in Los Angeles. Film New Zealand is the government agency that works to attract producters from other countries to bring their film projects to New Zealand. According to the story:

The two groups are partners in an initiative that will see Park Road Post Production marketing head Vicki Jackways, working for Film New Zealand as well when she heads to Los Angeles from 2012.

“We have been travelling to LA for years, but they have been quick trips. What we want to do is turn that on its head,” Park Road Post Production general manager Cameron Harland said.

The past decade or so has seen a growing competition among countries to lure filmmakers from abroad, with financial incentives and the creation of sophisticated post-production facilities. Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia already have representatives in Los Angeles. But New Zealand gained a high profile with the Lord of the Rings film and others, like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Avatar, and The Hobbit, that followed.

Jackways will head for Los Angeles in 2012, and the office will be open for a trial period of 18 months. As the Film New Zealand rep, she will also promote other film-related companies in the country.

Join in the fun with TORn Tuesday! LIVE at 5pm Quickbeam will be talking about all things DragonCon 2011 and his adventures on the road to it! As always talk with folks in Barliman’s chat room LIVE. Check out the broadcast in our LIVE event section tonight at 5pm PST! [LIVE Event Area] (See All Times)

Lissuin writes: The Roxy Cinema, Miramar, Wellington sent out this info in their newsletter today: LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY: SPECIAL SCREENINGS! – They’re back! We’re excited to announce that over the next three Mondays, we’ll be screening the original versions of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, beginning with The Fellowship of the Ring at 3.00pm on Monday 19th September. Tickets are on sale now through the box office on 388 5555 extension 2. www.roxycinema.co.nz

Sir Ian Holm, aka Bilbo Baggins, is turning 80 today! We’d like to wish Sir Ian an absolutely marvelous day and hope there are many more to come. Sir Ian was born in Goodmayes, a north eastern portion of London back in 1931. He will be reprising his role as the ‘older’ Bilbo Baggins for Peter Jackson’s upcoming two-film adaptation of The Hobbit! (Martin Freeman is playing the younger Bilbo) [More about Ian] (And happy birthday to our staffer Garfeimao as well!)

When Weta announced the Orthanc Pre-Ruin environment during Comic-Con 2011 they together with TORn it had a very special contest attached tothis announcement. Weta would be allowing the fans to submit suggestions with one of them becoming the official name to this truly amazing environment. Well, after many submissions Weta and TORn are pleased to announce the name and the Winners of the Orthanc Contest. The grand prize winner is Christopher Turner whose entry was Orthanc – Black Tower of Isengard. Mr. Turner’s prize is the awesome Bag End Collectors Edition while the two runners up Tom Barber and Chris Endicott both will receive a really cool Sauron T-Shirt. You can check out the full release of information from Weta here.