updated 13:56 04/11/2011
Ain't It Cool
ALL SET: Sir Peter Jackson on set with Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins) and Ian Holm (Gandalf) at Hobbiton, Matamata.
Ain't It Cool
THERE AND BACK AGAIN: Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins) has returned to Matamata for The Hobbit.
Sir Peter Jackson has invited a professional blogger onto the set of The Hobbit to record the making of the duology as it happens.
Eric Vespe, who blogs for movie news website www.aintitcool.com using the pseudonym Quint, has posted his account, with pictures of cast and crew, under the title An Unexpected Journey: Quint on the set of The Hobbit! Part 1 - Concerning Hobbiton.
Vespe, who says in his blog he was invited onto the set a month ago, says on his Facebook page, ''I talk about movies all day. I do lots of interviews and cover film sets. Kind of a perfect job, no?''
''Calling The Hobbit a prequel doesn't exactly feel right,'' Vespe said in his blog.
''This isn't a film cooked up to cash in on an absurdly successful franchise. As most Tolkien readers and human beings over the age of 7 know, The Hobbit burst forth from the pen of J.R.R. Tolkien first. There are many Middle Earth stories, but The Hobbit is the natural choice. Its high adventure and lets us revisit some of our favorite locations and characters within its own, unique story.'''
Of the re-built Hobbiton set, which will remain as a permanent fixture with all of its camera ready set dressings when it re-opens near Matamata, Vespe says: ''Gorgeous, isnt it? As amazing as it looks in those picture's or in the movies there's something incredibly surreal and humbling to stand ON TOP of Bag End and overlook The Shire.''
Vespe writes of waking up, for his first day on the set, at 5.15am and driving the 40 minutes from his Hamilton hotel to the Matamata location.
''Once past security I found myself driving along a small dirt and gravel road following signs to crew parking. Sure enough, the countryside was beautiful and Tolkeinesque, but it wasn't until I made a turn and saw the incredibly iconic stone bridge leading to The Green Dragon that it really struck me where I was.
''That feeling intensified standing at base camp, perched on top of Bag End, looking over Hobbiton with dozens of Hobbit holes laid out over acres of green hills and the massive party tree anchored in the middle of everything . . . It took a little while, but before too long the familiar circular green front door of Bag End cracked open and out stepped an even more familiar face. Munching on jellied toast, Frodo Baggins sauntered out and hopped down the steps leading to the mailbox, grabbed some mail
and headed back inside.''
Frodo, whose story is at the heart of The Lord of the Rings, doesn't appear in Tolkien's book of The Hobbit but it's clear, from Vespe's blog, that extra scenes set within the Lord of the Rings story will appear in The Hobbit.
Vespe watched as Elijah Wood, who has returned in the role of Frodo, hammered a sign up at Bag End saying ''No Admittance Except On Party Business''.
Vespe also reveals Ian Holm, who played the aged Bilbo in the previous films, did not appear on set but was filmed entirely in London with Martin Freeman, who is playing a younger Bilbo in The Hobbit, standing in for Holm on set.
''While I didn't talk to Elijah about it, I bet it meant the world to him to have Martin there actually giving a performance for him to act off of. Freeman even adopted a little bit of Ian Holm's speech patterns for these scenes and was so good at impersonating Ian Holm that more than once I wondered if the voice I was hearing over the coms was Ian's on playback or Martin's in real life. Usually in these situations they'll have the script girl or one of the dialect coaches read the lines and while that works a charm, there's something extra special about a performer giving a performance. Like I said, I didn't talk to Elijah about it, but I bet he appreciated Martin doing that for him.
''At lunch I caught up with Elijah who was wide-eyed and smiling, obviously enjoying being back in Hobbiton with the furry feet on. He ran off and I said, Where do you think you're going? His reply: Back to Bag End, my friend!''
Vespe's next report, he promises, would cover his cameo at a Hobbit market in front of The Green Dragon.
''By the end of December you'll be given your fill of unbelievable scenery images as I travel from location to location (especially when I hit the South Island). Lets get into what was actually happening in Hobbiton.''
See the blog at: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/51787
- Waikato Times
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