‘Lord of the Rings’ — creating the impossible
Sir Peter Jackson’s blockbuster trilogy ‘The Lord of the Rings’ put Wellington on the map as a major film-making destination.
New Line Cinema
Over two-and-a-half years, filming for one of the largest ever film projects, ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy of films, took place in Wellington.
Easy access to dramatic locations
While production was in Wellington, director and producer Peter Jackson made the most of New Zealand’s stunning landscapes. He shot on location throughout the country in late 2011.
Wellington’s central location made it the perfect production base for a film that needed to travel the length and breadth of the country in a very short timeframe.
World-leading technical know-how
Wellington’s creative energy drives projects from pencil and paper to ground-breaking cinema.
The first movies ever to film at 48 frames per second, the makers of ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy used the latest camera and stereo technology. As many as 48 cameras were used in the film, which was shot in digital 3D.
The high-end infrastructure, technology and crew in Wellington made such an ambitious project possible.
What the stars had to say
The proximity and world-class quality of the facilities in Miramar led director Guillermo del Toro to describe Wellington as, “Hollywood the way God intended it”.
Stephen Fry tweeted shortly after arrival for filming his role in ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy that it was “just about the most astounding place I’ve ever, ever visited”.
Meanwhile, Elijah Wood described filming ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ in Wellington to BBC as a “family reunion”. In another interview, he said, “It feels like home.”
James Cameron describes the effect that Peter Jackson has had on Wellington. “There’s nothing else like it. A local filmmaker has really created a magnet for world production.”
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