Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, New Zealand Ethan Gilsdorf Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, New Zealand Ethan Gilsdorf

Hobbiton under construction

Yes, it's official. Despite on-going legal battles between filmmakers and the Tolkien family estate, it seems production on The Hobbit is moving forward -- with backhoes. TheOneRing.net and stuff.co.nz reports that "fruit trees are being planted, hedgerows are being groomed and new hillocks are being marked off as the sites of more hobbit homes."

The site in Matamata, New Zealand does not yet seem blocked off, as the folks who operate tours of the Hobbiton movie set, ain't saying they are closed for business. Not yet anyway.

But the pictures of the backhoes etc suggest that the place is all torn up. In Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, I visit the Matamata Hobbiton set. You can also get a tour of the place from whence hobbit come in my video.

 

 

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Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth, New Zealand Ethan Gilsdorf Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth, New Zealand Ethan Gilsdorf

The Author in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Under smoky-blue cloud cover, they raise their ladders, and thrust their siege towers toward Helm’s Deep. From all sides, like a stream of mercury, hordes of orcs pour through the crumbled curtain wall.

In my elaborate reverie of battlefield glory, I vault up the stairs, light-footed, graceful, deadly, ready to face my foes. Of course, I can’t stop them alone. I have an army of heroes on my side. I can’t stop the theme music trumpeting and drumming in my head, either. What fantasy freak can, especially in New Zealand, land of so many memorable film locations? ... read more in my article for the Boston Globe

 

 

--- Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks

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