Including
the LOTR production, many overseas filmmakers have seen the benefits of
filming in a country that, despite its small population, has a strong artistic
talent base as well as film facilities utilising cutting-edge technology.
New Zealand's burgeoning film industry is also coupled with a number of
prominent international actors and directors including Sam Neil, Russell
Crowe, Anna Paquin, Jane Campion, Roger Donaldson and Lee Tamahori.
New Zealand's most famous
film production is undoubtedly Kiwi director Peter Jackson's trilogy The
Lord of the Rings, filmed entirely in New Zealand. This magnificent showcase
for Kiwi film talent and scenery reveals the superlative nature of New Zealand
as a film venue.
All in all, the scenery in the movie is stunning even without digital enhancement. There were as many as nine individual units filming in the remotest and scenic areas of New Zealand. The country's landscape is diverse, and includes giant fern trees that populate temperate rain forests. Ancient beech trees covered in moss with snowcapped mountain peaks and glaciers in the background. Stark volcanic landscapes and barren mountain ranges. Beautiful beaches and spectacular fiords. As well as pristine lakes and rivers all packed into an area the size of California. The mythical landscapes of New Zealand were the perfect location for Middle Earth and productions such as Xena, Hercules and Willow were also filmed here for this reason.
Sean Astin, who plays Sam the hobbit says "I recall sitting in Queenstown against the mountain range aptly titled the Remarkables and feeling I was actually living the books. It was like Tolkien had walked across New Zealand."
Scottish actor Billy Boyd, who plays hobbit Pippin, acknowledges he was changed by New Zealand. "The way the people seem to understand the land better; they enjoy it without destroying it".
LOTR:
The story and actors.
In
a time before history, in a place called Middle-earth, a dark and powerful
lord has brought together the forces of evil to destroy its cultures and enslave
all life caught in his path. Sauron's time has come and he needs only one
small object - a Ring that has been lost for centuries - to snuff out the
light of civilization and cover the world in darkness.
Though
he has put all of his power into the search for it, fate has put it in the
hands of one -- a young hobbit named Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), who inherits
the Ring and steps into legend. With the help of a loyal fellowship comprised
of hobbits Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd);
Gimli the dwarf (John Rhys-Davies); and humans Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and
Boromir (Sean Bean); and with the guidance of the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen),
and elves Arwen (Liv Tyler), Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Elrond (Hugo Weaving),
Frodo must journey to the Mount of Doom to destroy the Ring. If he doesn't
find a way, no one will.
| Related pages
Slide Show (Australasian Premier) New Zealand Film Industry |
All our photos can be licensed for commercial and non-commercial use, (unless otherwise specified).