FWIW I was lucky enough to be in Matamata the day after shooting was done on the set and took the tour. I can’t release my pictures until the films are released but suffice it to say, it looked amazing and exactly as it was in the original films (though we were told it had been slightly expanded to have more hobbit holes).
They were still in the process of removing props – there were still a ton laying about, we even found mail in Bag End’s mailbox! – so I don’t know exactly how it will look for future tours, but it definitely looks to be amazing compared to the old look. They rebuilt it this time to last safely as a part of the deal to reuse the site, I understand. NZ was an amazing place to vacation and it’s beautiful country in Matamata, so if anyone has the chance to go, I’d recommend it. Eat first though, the lines at The Shire’s Rest were long and the selection small.
We stayed at a B&B used by the cast. They gave us one of Martin Freeman’s leftover beers.
Anybody have any recommendations for more of Martin Freeman’s work? I’ve seen The Office, Love Actually, and Sherlock, and I think he’s brilliant–especially in the latter. I see several films and a few other television series on his IMDB page. Which ones are worthwhile?
I’d have to go through the pictures to know the exact brand, but it was a local NZ microbrew.
Totally serendipitously. Awhile back I had been making some noise about a trip to Morocco (with a group tour) and my sister got worried that this was too dangerous, and long story short we agreed on a vacation with her and her husband and I to save money. We planned for Australia, but as it turns out the airfare was the same to add a leg to Auckland. Being the nerd that I am, I asked that we go to at least one LOTR filming location, and Hobbiton was the closest notable one to Auckland (a lot of the filming locations were on the south island). However, filming was happening around that time so we weren’t sure it would happen, but we wanted to go driving in the country anyway so we just booked it and hoped for the best.
Throughout the trip (we did Australia first) the place was closed so I was pretty nervous, and the closure got extended slightly. It wasn’t until very shortly before that we heard that they would be open the exact day we’d booked. Filming had completed just the day before but they were letting people in while people from the production were still on site finishing up. On the bus from Shire’s Rest to the location, we passed a couple of guys with a huge pile of wooden furniture and other big props, as well as the people taking down the catering tent. However, tons of small props were left so it all looked pretty much exactly as the films, and with all kinds of little details. Things like little personal belongings left on windowsills, laundry hanging out to dry, that sort of thing. Also, impressively, there were tons of obviously fresh flowering plants (mostly in carefully hidden pots) so it all looked absolutely bursting with life and energy. It just looked like all the hobbits had gone down to the Green Dragon for an ale. Which is there too, though we only saw it from across the water, I always assumed they had just added it with CGI.
It was really cool. Just very fortunate timing all in all.
As for staying where we did, just lucky – NZ prices in the country are pretty low (compared to Aus especially) so when we were looking at Matamata locations to stay, which there aren’t too many, we picked what seemed to be the best B&B in town and apparently they were used a lot during filming. It ended up being maybe $10 or $15 more per person to stay there vs the cheapest place so it seemed like a good idea, and the pictures on the website were impressive. They were actually right on the edge of town with terrific scenery, even more than I expected from the pics. Had a great time! We also did some hiking near “Mt. Doom” (Mount Ngauruhoe) while in the Lake Taupo area.
This might be of interest to regulars in this thread: Christopher Tolkien has given a very rare interview to Le Monde. He talks about the movies, and his father’s legacy.
Word on the (extremely vague, speculative) street is that it’s not so much an expansion of the second movie as much as a return of the “bridge film” idea. Film 2 should still conclude “The Hobbit.” Film 3 will, if made, depict some of the events between “The Hobbit” and LOTR as described in the Appendices.
I think this is less a money grab than a “Jackson can’t let go of the LOTRverse” situation… and honestly, I can’t really blame him. He’s created a beautiful cinematic universe in which he gets to play with some of the best actors and effects artists in the business. If Jackson and his cowriters manage to come up with a compelling, coherent narrative for the third film, I’m all for it. It’s a ridiculously tall order, though.
Between coming home and finding the silverware gone and leaving in a bang what really happens over those 60 years?
Frodo/Sam/Merry/Pippin are born
Gimli is born
Aragon leaves Rivendell and travels thourgh Rohan/Gondor and into the East
Gandalf wanders around
White Council debates the rings
Sauron builds Mordor back up
Gollum wanders and is captured
Gandalf/Aragorn hunt Gollum
Looks sparse with no character to connect them unless you use Gandalf or Aragorn. But the movies have all had Hobbits to ground them. Not sure how this would work.
Which is there too, though we only saw it from across the water, I always assumed they had just added it with CGI.