Selwyn Times: June 06, 2017

SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi
Tuesday June 6 2017 29
Travel
QUAINT: Fantasy meets reality at Middle Earth.
SNUG: Have an ale at the Green Dragon Inn.
Hobbiton casts you under a spell
•From page 27
Sir Peter Jackson’s art director,
Brian Massey, ensured everything
down to the mugs maintained
complete faith with how The
Green Dragon Inn was depicted
onscreen.
A triumph of expert craftsmanship,
it’s a charmingly snug and
toasty timbered environment,
and the crackling open fire was an
extra thrill to warm the cockles,
on a chilly April day. All the brews
are exclusively created by Good
George Brewing, in Frankton.
Maybe it was the ale, but as I
re-boarded the bus to depart, I felt
like I was stepping out of a movie.
It really doesn’t matter whether
you’re a film fanatic or not.
The movie set sits on 4.8ha of
land and my charming guide,
Kate, shared a constant flow of fascinating
bite-sized nuggets about
Hobbiton.
An over-riding theme is the
meticulous attention to detail
that Jackson demanded. All of the
farm’s livestock had to be removed
when shooting took place, because
they didn’t look English enough.
Suffolk sheep, notable for their
black faces and legs, were hauled
up from the South Island during
shooting.
Real apple and pear trees
were stripped of their and replaced
with plastic leaves and
plums, even though they only
featured for three seconds in the
movie.
A fake oak tree, created from
silicon, was dressed with 200,000
fake leaves. Jackson didn’t like
the colour of the leaves, so they
were all re-painted by hand, even
though the tree was only in shot
for 10 seconds.
Kate also revealed that moss
and lichen was liberally deployed
to give the movie-set’s fences a
weathered, old look. They created
fake moss and lichen by blending
woodchips, yoghurt and paint
together.
As they were during filming, the
vegetable patches are still filled
with super-sized plants so as the
hobbits would look smaller.
Technically, it is still an “active
set,” and a team from Weta visit
every six months to give it a touch
up.
The hanging clothes were deliberately
made to hang on the line
for up to two years, before being
replaced.
A full-time gardening team
work daily on maintaining the picturesque
appearance of the trees,
flowers and lawn.
FAST FACTS
•Visiting Hobbiton gives
you the chance to relish
a remarkably tangible
piece of living cinema
history. Visit www.
hobbitontours.com
•Treat yourself to a
bumper self-drive
escape. Thrifty Car
Rental offers hot deals,
swift service and
an excellent fleet in
handy locations. Blue
Chip members enjoy
lightning-fast pick-ups.
AA Members can save
up to 30 per cent off the
all-inclusive rental rates.
www.thrifty.co.nz
Saturday 8 – Saturday 22 July 2017
Tickets on
sale NOW!