Hobbit movie news: Cast arrives in Dunedin, set up on Takaka Hill

Buffy Naillon

Military in Film Examiner

 

November 13, 2011—Local media in New Zealand are reporting that the cast and crew of The Hobbit movie have arrived in Dunedin and that the film crew has set up shop so to speak in Takaka Hill. With this most recent news about LOTR director, Peter Jackson's latest installment of the tales of Middle Earth, fans can rest assured they'll have their movie by the end of next year.
Other Hobbit movie news

• Tolkien's lost Hobbit illustrations to be released in book anniversary edition
• “The Hobbit”: Two convoys embark from Stone Street Studios

Hobbit movie news from New Zealand's airports
The New Zealand Herald reported yesterday that several planes carrying hundreds of Hobbit characters—that is the Hobbit movie cast and crew—arrived at Dunedin International Airport. A total of seven chartered flights landed over the span of two days with the 300 plus cast and crew hitting the rental car desks before embarking to what sources say look like Otago Hobbit movie film sets. The report also said that the exact film locations have been kept under wraps. However, towns like Queenstown and Middlemarch have seen some Hobbit character action.

Where the Hobbit movie cast might be in the future
Meanwhile hordes of trucks full of equipment have been seen at Canaan Downs close to the top of the Takaka Hill, according to the Nelsen Mail website. Hobbit movie cast and crew will be filming at the location for several months, but the specifics of those shoots were not available. Canaan Downs is said to be stunning, making it an apropos location to create some of the Middle Earth landscapes for the film.
Here's a bit of information about the location from the OneRing.net.

Hidden in the limestone landscapes on Takaka Hill is a massive sinkhole 15m in diameter and dropping to a depth of 200m known as Harwoods Hole. A short half-day track leads from the boundary of Abel Tasman National Park to the edge of the hole. Cavers often abseil into its depths and emerge out from a cave system near Takaka. After checking out the sink hole, go to the lookout which overlooks The Gorge Creek, some 538m straight down. All up, it’s an impressive trip.

The first installment of the movie versions of Tolkien's world of halflings—The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey—is slated for a Christmas season release next year on December 14th, 2012. The Hobbit: There and Back again will come to theaters the following year also during the holiday season with an expected release date of December 13, 2013. More Hobbit movie news about cast and crew is sure to come in the interim.

The Examiner