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 (around 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.
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — I thought, and it makes me chuckle now, that when I landed in Wellington I would finally be based in one place long enough to really crank out some copy. Ha!
Instead, Wellington has been a whirlwind but that is a great thing, not a bad thing. I often contemplate cancelling one of the events here so I can spend hours writing and posting photos but I haven’t cancelled anything yet and each time I go to do something, I find that I am very glad to have been along.
Some of those events have tourism ties and then end up having direct ties to things here at TheOneRing, even when I think they will not. Other things, like spending the day with the kids at Weta, are directly tied in. None of them so far have been worth sacrificing and time is running out fast. But stories I have in some stage of ready:
* Hobbit set visit with images
* An exclusive with Richard Taylor Continue reading “Wellington is a whirlwind, smells like Hobbit”
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Just a really quick check in while I juggle the logistics of being a lone traveler: I know many readers have visited the Hobbiton movie set, but it is currently quite pristine after serving for The Hobbit and they may wish to go back. I was there yesterday and have a lot to write and say about and I will be allowed to publish some photos as well. Those who haven’t been, well, it is a prime experience. Wellington is rainy and chilly and full of friends of TheOneRing.net but I am here for a few days and should be able to buckle down and blog until my fingers bleed so stay tuned!
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When it comes to literature, can there be too much of a good thing? Hollywood film studios are putting the old adage to the test. An increasing number of book-to-film adaptations are being broken into multiple parts, a recent trend in blockbuster filmmaking.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was one novel, but it was released as two separate films, the second half of which was released on Blu-ray and DVD in November. Following the trend, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” hit the big screen on Nov. 18 and the second half is slated for a November 2012 release. More..
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TheOneRing.net is excited to announce an official Moot at the Weta Cave in Wellington this Thursday from 3 – 5 p.m. TORn founder Erica Challis, known as Tehanu, will be on hand to talk with Tolkien enthusiasts; Also in town and at the event will be Larry D. Curtis (MrCere), traveling writer who is canvasing New Zealand as the one-year countdown for The Hobbit begins. Challis is an author and her unique story and relationship with the makers of The Lord of the Rings films has been told in newspapers and books around the globe. Curtis is a journalist and speaks about LOTR and The Hobbit at popular-culture conventions around the U.S. The event is free and will be casual and fun so don’t miss it! Details about where the Cave is located and how you can get there can be found right here.
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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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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.
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