Pack your Baggins

The journey finally begins, again, with Peter Jackson directing (as it should be)...

Wellington, NZ, March 21, 2011—Production has commenced in Wellington, New Zealand, on “The Hobbit,” filmmaker Peter Jackson’s two film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s widely read masterpiece.

The two films, with screenplays by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, will be shot consecutively in digital 3D using the latest camera and stereo technology. Filming will take place at Stone Street Studios, Wellington, and on location around New Zealand.



Martin Freeman takes the title role as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen returns in the role of Gandalf the Grey. The Dwarves are played by Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Ken Stott (Balin), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifur) James Nesbitt (Bofur), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Rob Kazinsky (Fili), Aidan Turner (Kili), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), John Callen (Oin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Mark Hadlow (Dori) and Adam Brown (Ori). Reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy are Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Elijah Wood as Frodo. Jeffrey Thomas and Mike Mizrahi also join the cast as Dwarf Kings Thror and Thrain, respectively. Further casting announcements are expected.

The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson and Walsh, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, “The Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.



I'm so relieved that, after so many delays over the rights the past couple of years, these two movies are back on track and have begun production.

As many of you know, I visited Hobbiton in New Zealand (where they filmed all of the Hobbit village scenes) a couple of years ago (the shot of me above is right outside where Peter Jackson is standing in the new photos at the top).

If you ever get to New Zealand, I highly recommend taking that tour. If you're a fan of the Lord of the Rings films, you'll be very glad that you did.

A trip to Hobbiton

As many of you know, they filmed the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy entirely in New Zealand. It was another reason I was very excited about visiting this country, to see some of the scenery (although almost anywhere you go here, it looks like a location from the movie).



There are also MANY "Lord of the Rings" tours in each of the major cities around New Zealand. There are tours by bus, train, boat, plane and helicopter. The two things that they all have in common is that they are generally expensive (the more modes of transport and time you invest) and that none of them have any on the sets still intact...so, as I mentioned in the past, you're just seeing lovely scenery and told "This is where blah, blah, blah happened or was built.".

Well...except for ONE. The Hobbiton tour....



And it was supposed to be torn down when filming ended, like all the others.

There were 37 Hobbit holes/homes created (among other Hobbiton town sets built on this location) and 20 of them had already been torn down after filming ended. However, on the day that the rest of them were supposed to be demolished, New Zealand got hit with several days of rain and the crew asked the studio if they could come back in six months to do the rest, because the ground was too wet, unstable for them to use their machinery. Fortunately, for fans of the movie (and the sheep farmer that owns this land), they still remain.



After filming had stopped, the owner started noticing random groups of people who would stop by to ask permission to see the area where the movie had been shot. As surprise visits to his farm started to become a regular thing, he decided to keep the remaining hobbit holes and spent two years negotiating with New Line Cinema to turn the area into a tourist spot. A deal was worked out and 5 years later, people still arrive several times a day, 7 days a week, and are given the grand tour.

Although he owns 1,250 acres of land to work his 12,000 sheep and 300 cattle, it has been said that he makes more money per year on just the tour, than his already very successful farm. I believe it.

When you are driven back about a mile into the land, where the set is located, you can see why Peter Jackson chose this location...it looks untouched by people and beautiful no matter which direction you look.





Although New Zealand is still in the middle of a 12 year drought, it is still pretty green and lovely to stroll around.





The only hobbit hole that you can actually enter is the one, in the movie, where Bilbo Baggins and Frodo lived at the top of the hill. As you can see from the "before" shot above, they are much more....barren now (they weren't allowed to recreate the copyrighted gardens/set-front designs). But, since Peter Jackson needed shots looking out from that one, they built an inside room with space for the camera equipment and small crew to shoot out. So, of course, this is where everyone gets their picture taken (generally peeking out the door or window).

The view from inside out...is pretty nice and it does kind of give you the feeling that you could be in another world.



You can see the "Party Tree" (the area where they shot off the fireworks and had their festival at the opening of the first movie) and the lake behind it. That tree and lake is what ended up making this location THE one.



Since the book described, in great detail, this large tree by the lake in Hobbiton, Peter Jackson was determined to find a location that would be true to that. They had 3 different locations already chosen to use as parts of Hobbiton, but when the location crew found this lake and tree...then noticed the rolling hills behind them....the other sites were scrapped and it was all filmed here.





Oh....and as you probably noticed, there are a lot of sheep around (it being a working sheep farm and all).



They are kept out of the hobbit holes (well, unless someone leaves a gate open or they find a hole in the fence), but are given free access to the rest of the area. So, with 12,000 sheep around...it also means that you're gonna step in a lot of...



You can't avoid it and you're warned about it as you step off the bus at the beginning of the tour...but they have special brushes up by the entrance/exit and after a few minutes, you're all ready to board the bus and head back to the Shire's Rest for your lunch (included in the price, thankfully), a hand-washing and a last chance to buy some souvenirs before hopping back on the bus for home.





To be honest, I almost didn't take take this excursion (it was between this and a 5 hour bus ride up north to a beach area that is supposed to be nice), but in the end...I'm really glad I did.

Because, no matter how often I try to downplay to others and, especially, myself about how much of a Sci-Fi/Fantasy geek I really am...



It was really frickin' cool to be there!

End Scene

Peter Jackson posted this on his Facebook account today to let people know that he has just wrapped shooting on both of the Hobbit movies.

Part one comes out this December, with the other half arriving next December.

Exciting!

Update: Peter Jackson released an exclusive Comic-con preview poster on his Facebook page today.



Wish I could be there to see his presentation this week.

Hobbit Video Blog 14

Here's Peter Jackson's latest video blog from the Hobbit production team...

Post by Peter Jackson.

I really love this series of videos a lot.

Hobbit Video Blog 12

Peter Jackson posted a new video blog from the set of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug today. Just like the others, it's very entertaining and enjoyable to watch how much fun they all seem to be having making these movies.

Embiggen the screen to get the full visual effect.

Post by Peter Jackson.

However, I'm not looking forward to the giant spiders scene.

::shudder::

FIRST LOOK: Hobbit Poster and Trailer

Peter Jackson released the first Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug poster over the weekend on his Facebook page and then, today, released the first official trailer (which is rumored to be showing with Man of Steel this weekend).



It's nice to see the first appearances of Orlando Bloom and Evangeline Lily as Tauriel, as well.





The trailer looks pretty cool, although I honestly think that the Hobbit films are using too much CGI (unlike the Lord of the Rings films which, although they used a lot of CGI, had a much nicer balance of real locations/sets and much more subtle/realistic-looking CGI).

The Hobbit movies look more like a video game (just like the two Matrix sequels did), than a live action-adventure film.

But...I'm still looking forward to watching them anyway because they are pretty amazing video games to watch!



UPDATE: Peter Jackson just uploaded a video of Evangeline Lily, Orlando Bloom, and Lee Pace watching a video of two kids seeing the new Hobbit trailer for the first time. It's funny to see their reaction to the fan's excitement for the film and their characters.



The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens on December 13th.

The Hobbit: Video Blog 11

Peter Jackson just posted a new video blog on his Facebook page. This one covers gathering the cast and crew together again to shoot some additional scenes for the upcoming movies, including The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

As with the previous video blogs, it's very entertaining...



Also, last week was Orlando Bloom's final day on the set and he and the crew celebrated with a few beers and this entertaining video...



It looks like they might have had just a "little" to drink before putting that together.

Here is the original "They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard" video remix.



Now that song is stuck in my head....

The Hobbits, the Hobbits, the Hobbits, the Hobbits...to Isengard!

More from the Hobbit set

Peter Jackson has released another great video blog from the set of The Hobbit. This one focuses on filming the movie and drawing the concept art in 3D.



I'm glad this one is being shot in 3D (like Avatar was) rather than "converted" afterwards, which always seems to suck.

Hobbit Video Blog 9

Peter Jackson has released a new video blog that covers the final production stages of getting the Hobbit movie ready for release next month.

Just like the others, it's very entertaining and informative.

Embiggen the video screen below to enjoy the full visual experience.

Only a couple more weeks until the first part is released in theaters.

Yeah!

The journey continues....

If you enjoyed Peter Jackson's first video blog from the set of The Hobbit, you'll definitely enjoy the new one he just released. Especially the gorgeous location scouting they do throughout New Zealand.

I highly recommend enlarging the video screen while watching.



The mountain vistas and landscapes are breathtaking.

Exciting!

Ain't no mountain high enough

And I thought the view from my hotel balcony was nice...check out the view from Liz's living room.

Liz had the misfortune of sitting next to me on the flight from Melbourne to ChristChurch a couple of weeks ago. "Misfortune", in the sense of, she told me that she lived in Queenstown and that, when I got there, I should contact her. I'm sure she was just being polite and must have thought/hoped that this chatty American would forget or lose her contact info. But, I didn't...



It's funny, when I called her a couple days ago, I heard something in the background and asked her if she had one of those soothing "Sounds of Nature" CDs on and she laughed and said "No, it's just a bird..I have the sounds of nature actually here.". After she picked me up today to join her on her regular hike up into a nearby mountain, we stopped by her home for a second and I got to see where she lives. The pictures above and below show the view that she has from her house...can you believe it? Unobstructed views of another part of the lake and several mountain ranges.





And that's just the front yard. This is her view in the backyard...



Maggie...I think I found your dream house (we've just gotta get Liz to donate it to us).

It was just so beautiful there that I told Liz, even if we didn't do anything else, it would have been just fine to sit and stare at the lake and mountains. But, she still wanted to go hike and, she's no monkey...I'd get me out of her house too. So, off we went, first stopping at a secret "Lord of the Rings" site that isn't on any of the overpriced tours they give here. Peter Jackson bought this particular parsel of land and restricted it...but, Liz knew the one lane that could access it. So, we drove up this long, windy hill into a grove of trees and here it is...



Nice....hill. Liz laughed and said that this is what most of the tours do...take people to little areas that pretty much look like this and say "'This is where the blah blah blah happened or was shot", but there is no set piece or marker there to show the "before". Just an area of land, your imagination and your credit card charge. This particular area had a large columned stone (faux stone) castle on it (from the first movie) and, if you scratch a bit below the dirt in places, you can find wee bits of the dusty foam remnants. I'm glad I didn't pay the honkin' price for one of those tours...



So, we got to the base of the mountain, parked the car, and headed up the nearby trail. This was no sissy-hike, it was a steep, windy hike and I "let" Liz lead for a couple of reasons. One, because she knew where we were going (she hikes/runs this about 3 times a week) and, Two, because I didn't want her to hear the sound of my heart bursting, which I was certain it was going to do at several points during the hike. It was probably good for her, because it shut me up for a bit so she could enjoy the serene setting. But, I actually did a pretty good job of keeping up with her and she showed me a variety of really cool, hidden areas....like this water fall and swimming hole that some people use in the summer to cool down.





Then we wandered up further and she showed me this natural tunnel in the middle of one part of the mountain.



I took my picture and was ready to get back on the trail, when she said "No, we're going through it.", which we did. Not a bug, spider or snake to be found...which is one of the many reasons I enjoy New Zealand. I haven't seen one spider or large bug since I've been here...just a few sand flies, which is something I can deal with. It was like walking through Jurassic Park, but without the dinosaurs, danger or Jeff Goldblum.



We hiked even higher and, before my head had a chance to explode from the lack of oxygen, we came across Sammy Summer's cabin (or Jamie Summers cabin...some summer's cabin). It used to be where an old prospector lived back in the 1800's (there's still some gold in these here hills). So, it's kept up and, somewhat maintained, for people to check out if they survive the climb.



There is even a guest book on the desk that people sign, which is pretty fun. Liz had a group of friends who, when filling out what their destination was, put "Liz's house for dinner" as a joke. Well, a few other random hikers over the next couple of months saw that and also put "Liz's house for dinner" too. So, of course, I put "Liz's house for lunch". Gotta continue the tradition.



We hiked even higher and came across another natural water fall and, sometime, swimming hole down below. I didn't swim, but it was beautiful to see, as everything else was on this hike. So many interesting things to see along the way. Like this huge, twisted tree that looked like where the Keebler elves might live...



This interesting rock sculpture that someone had created.



Liz said she notices them randomly appearing along the trails now and then. I told her it reminded me of the "Blair Witch Project" markers, but, thankfully, without the chicken bones or blood. Then, Liz said that we had one more nice lookout just up the trail and, "nice" was putting it mildly....



Who needs a silly "Lord of the Rings" tour when you get to see scenery like this? Thankfully, we had reached the top of the hike and finally headed back down the mountain, with me snapping pictures of the cool scenery that just seemed to continue appearing around each corner.







Before we hit the bottom of the mountain, I saw this house on a nearby hill...I bet they have a nice view.



Maggie...I'll see if I can get you this house instead. Liz is kind of attached to hers, as you can imagine.

We made it to the bottom and stopped on the bridge, chatting with an unusual local man who was talking about heading up into the mountain to pan for a little gold (and he was serious). Of course, now that I write about that, it occurs to me that maybe we saw the ghost of that Sammy Jamie Summers guy from up in the hill. Insert "Twilight Zone" music here....

We got back to Liz's, picked and ate a couple apples from one of her trees, and headed back into town. I'm so glad that she was kind enough to bring me along and show me the sights along the way. People pay big bucks to see the kind of scenery we saw today, for free. Maybe I'll come back here and give guided tours. Well...after they install a gondola and/or escalator up to the top, of course.



Before leaving, I had to take one last picture of her house, from the back yard this time.

Would you ever leave your house if you saw this kind of view every day?

I don't think I would.