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”
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”
Ross was able to snap quite a few photos of the crew arriving in the Golden Bay area to begin filming. He provides more info: One passenger said they were heading to Golden Bay for a week and were to start work today(Sat) however it has been raining there so far this morning. They arrived in Nelson at 4pm Friday and left in rental cars and vans. Nelson helicopter companies have also been providing plenty of air support. Filming from the 3D rig also took place over the Pelorus River area on Friday.
Pelorus River
The Pelorus River is a river at the northern end of South Island of New Zealand in the region of Marlborough. It flows from the Richmond Range into Pelorus Sound. This area is fantastic for camping and is renowned for its magnificent river swimming where the Pelorus River runs through a gorge.
Click here for the photos! Continue reading “Crew (and possibly cast) Arrive at Golden Bay – Pictures!”
Nikki writes: Plunket are an iconic NZ charity and Park Rd Post have very kindly donated an exclusive guided tour of the facilities and lunch for 4 in our current charity auction on NZ auction site Trade Me. Great opportunity for your NZ members to see behind the scenes of the Academy Award winning facility! More..
From the Dominion Post:
The skeleton that remained of the set has been a very popular tourist attraction. We also know that it has since been rebuilt for The Hobbit – and that this time it won’t be removed once filming is completed. It’s been designed to last 50 years.
But what surprises me is that the public can visit the rebuilt set right now before the cameras roll.
Ian Brodie, author of the detailed and very handy Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook, is the media and communications manager for the Hobbiton movie set.
He told me that multiple tours continue to visit the set each day. “The only thing they [visitors] have to do is sign a non-disclosure agreement.
They can take as many photos as they want, they just can’t post them up online or do those sorts of things. Certainly they are seeing it at its best.”
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The man in charge of communication between Hobbiton and the outside world wears many hats, but he promises none of them belong to a hobbit. Hobbiton Movie Set & Farm Tours media and communications manager Ian Brodie has read The Lord of the Rings 40 times, but he said his fan level had not crossed into the fanatical – he never dresses up in character. Mr Brodie, who moved to Matamata from Wanaka two years ago, was tight-lipped about when Waikato could expect to have movie stars in our midst again for the filming of The Hobbit.
“You know I can’t tell you that,” he said. “That information will come out of Wellington.”
Mr Brodie was just 14 years old when he first read The Lord of the Rings and, on a roadtrip with his family at the time, he decided New Zealand would make a perfect Middle Earth. More..
