New Zealand: Day 26
January 28, 2013
The sky in Christchurch was overcast when I left this morning, but the skies cleared up about an hour out of town so that it was partly, partly cloudy, but mostly, mostly sunny. By late in the afternoon, the clouds moved in again, although it was not such a thick cover that the sun couldn't pierce through. It's official: New Zealand is experiencing a heat wave. We've had two consecutive days of confirmed temperatures in the low 80s, and these unbearable temperatures are expected to last for two more days before falling back to the high 70s. The Kiwis complain until I tell them about Mississippi summers. Evening temperatures fall to the low 60s, which I find quite comfortable.
Yesterday was about Edoras and Helm's Deep, featured in The Two Towers. Today, my explorations of Middle Earth (more about that in a second) took me to territory covered in The Return of the King. The day began, though, with coffee with my indefatigable travel planner, Ravit Abraham. Ravit has been my guiding light for this trip to New Zealand, and I originally wanted to take her to lunch or dinner to express my appreciation for all she has done. Unfortunately, our schedules didn't jibe well, and all we could manage was coffee together this morning, along with her new baby boy. She, herself, has a degree in social work, so we chatted, social worker to social worker. I'm sorry we only had an hour, but I had to get on the road, and she had to get to work. I'll have more to say about Ravit when I draft my final thoughts in this series of journal entries, because I have found the aid of a good travel planner to have been an essential ingredient in the success of this trip.
I had a three and a half hour drive this morning from Christchurch to Twizel (TWY zul) where I was to have a two hour tour with Dawn of OneRing Mid Earth Tours. Note the "OneRing" and "Mid Earth". Somehow, Warner Brothers has obtained trademark rights to "One Ring" and "Middle Earth", rights purchased from the Tolkein estate. This strikes me as trademark abuse. I make no pretense of being an expert on trademark law, but I have done work in the field as a paralegal.
First, you can't ordinarily obtain a trademark on generic terms, and "One Ring" and "Middle Earth" seem fairly generic to me even though they happened to have very specific meanings in certain fictional works. Second, trademarks have to be used as brands applied to certain categories of certain commercial goods, such as "One Ring" brand jewelry or "Middle Earth" brand lembas bread. A company can't simply stake an absolute claim to a combination of letters and words. The commercial use also is an essential factor.
Nevertheless, Dawn received a cease and desist letter from Warner Brothers demanding that she either stop using the name "One Ring Middle Earth Tours" or pay them $46,000 for the privilege of using the trademarks. It would have cost more than $46,000 to contest the trademarks, and Warner Brothers' slimy lawyers would have made the lawsuit as expensive as they possibly could. Therefore, Dawn changed the name of her company. And people wonder why I have so little respect for the legal profession. It mostly arises from having worked in the field for over a decade, but it also comes from hearing many stories like Dawn's.
But on to the good stuff. I mentioned in my journal entry on Day 22 that we passed through Twizel on our way to Mt. Cook, and that I entertained visions of the Battle of Pelennor Fields as we drove past. Today I learned that Twizel was the site of much, much more than just that epic battle. Dawn, like Dell, our guide for the Edoras tour, had been an extra, albeit in one of the forthcoming Hobbit films, and she was a veritable fount of information about the filming of The Return of the King in Twizel.
Dawn couldn't say anything about her part in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Like all extras, she was required to sign a lengthy non-disclosure agreement. Dell had mentioned this, too, but I failed to include it in yesterday's journal entry. The secrecy surrounding the making of LotR was a major issue throughout the making of the trilogy. It was taken to such an extreme that when a bus driver sneaked a camera onto the set in Twizel, not only was he fired, but his employer was fired as well; the bus company lost a lucrative contract over the actions of a single employee. It was in the contract the company had signed with the film's production company.
Twizel was one of three locations being considered for filming. Several factors were involved in its selection. First, it had to be sufficiently remote to provide Peter Jackson the privacy and secrecy he demanded. Second, the area had to be logistically capable of handling a crew of 600 people -- that's crew, not including any cast or extras. Finally, the location had to be reasonably near a location able to support the small town that was created by the combination of the crew and cast and all of the accoutrements. Twizel was the only location of the three under consideration that met all criteria, and it was the last of the three to be found.
Even though the footage shot at Twizel was not used until The Return of the King, it was among the first parts of the trilogy to be filmed. Jackson wanted to do the big stuff first so as to get them out of the way. The production company spent 62 days in Twizel, and shot footage for 32 of those days for a total of 35 minutes used in the film. The preceding days were spent preparing for filming. For example, one of the scenes shot at Twizel was the one of Gandalf the White flying across the plains to seek the aid of the warriors of Rohan. Another scene shot at Twizel was the Rohirrim arriving to provide aid to the people of Minas Tirith.
 |
The fields of Twizel were filled with rabbit burrows. If a horse were to step into one of those burrows, not only could it possibly lead to the horse breaking a leg and the need for subsequent euthanization, but its rider could be harmed as well. Consequently, per the demands of New Zealand's Department of Occupational Safety and Health, 40 people spent days combing the fields of Twizel filling the rabbit burrows with sand.
 |
Twizel served as the setting for the scenes of Osiligoth as well as the Entwash, and the aforementioned arrival of the Rohirrim. Finding a cavalry of the size necessary to represent the Rohirrim was a challenge, because the only suitable cavalry on the planet was the Canadian Mounted Police. New Zealand immigration and work regulations prevented a wholesale importation of the Mounties. Peter Jackson wanted to utilize the resources of New Zealand as much as possible, so he put out a call for horseback riders to be used "in a battle scene for a movie." Nothing more was disclosed. That filming for LotR was going on had become general knowledge, although specifics were unknown. The Chronicles of Narnia films were being filmed in New Zealand at the same time, so those who responded to the casting call really didn't know for which movie they were seeking employment.
Five hundred horsemen responded to the call; 260 were hired. Each was paid $100 per day, plus an additional $100 per day for the horse. The work day generally lasted from four in the morning until eight or nine in the evening. Over a hundred horsemen quit because of the grueling schedule. Only 40 lasted through the entire shooting in Twizel. The same horsemen played the riders of Rohan as well as Gondor. The horsemen were outfitted with authentic costumes made by real blacksmiths. Two hundred costumes were made, with each costing $4,500. This authenticity was a theme Peter Jackson used throughout the trilogy. Arwen's costumes, for example, were made of embroidered silk on the inside of the costume, even though it would never be seen. Peter Jackson wanted his performers to feel regal, feel their roles, in order to obtain the most authentic performances possible.
Peter Jackson used some interesting tricks to obtain the effects of much larger armies than he actually had. When the Rohirrim arrived, for example, he used a 190 meter long blue screen in the field so additional riders could be added later with CGI. In the Battle of Pelennor Fields, horsemen might actually take up the first, third and fifth rows; the second and fourth rows had partially costumed extras holding spears in order to give the illusion of a larger fighting force. One of Dawn's earlier visitors, a Spaniard, told her that this had actually been done in the seventeenth century in a battle between the French and the greatly outnumbered Spaniards. Dawn did not know if Peter Jackson knew of the historical precedent or if he had developed the idea independently.
A couple of interesting additional tidbits about the Osiligoth scenes. Faramir did not know how to ride a horse. A camera trick was used in a close up to make it look like he was astride a horse, but it was really the horse next to him. Faramir rode on a 50-gallon steel drum, with a camera crew racing alongside him on a track. In order to make Faramir's performance look more realistic, Peter Jackson told Faramir to move like he was making love! A problem arose when shooting the Osiligoth scenes: every time the director yelled "action" the horses took this as their cue to begin moving forward. The problem was resolved by shouting "Christmas tree" or "mountain" to start the shooting of a scene, reserving the use of "action" for when it was time for the horses to move. The one scene required 52 takes.
The details of the filming of the Battle of Pellenor Fields are perhaps the most interesting. When Peter Jackson put out the call for extras, only 450 responded. He needed 750 orcs to represent the thousands of orcs in the scene. As mentioned in yesterday's journal entry, he found some unsuspecting extras among the tourists in Queenstown; he found an additional 100 extras for the Battle of Pellenor Fields this way. A military base was located not far from Twizel. Peter Jackson made an appeal to the New Zealand army, and gained an additional 200 orcs from the base.
Weta had made 750 unique orc costumes, each costing $1,000. They were so delicate the extras were not allowed to put them on themselves; they had to hold the masks at their sides until the makeup crew could properly fit the masks. This was a major undertaking in itself. Because it was the New Zealand autumn and the weather had been cold, the extras were all told to were thermal underwear on the day of the shooting. With the New Zealand weather being as perverse as it is, of course it turned out to be a sweltering day.
One last factoid and then I'll move on. Recall the trouble Peter Jackson had finding extras for The Return of the King. Twelve years later when he needed extras for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, three thousand showed up!
There's more, but I don't want to give away Dawn's entire tour. All of this in only two hours! Dawn also had props from the movie, and I was the only person on today's tour. Consequently we had some fun fooling around with me as an orc, me as the Nazgul king, me with a sword and holding the flag of Gondor, etc. A few of these are attached. Needless to say, I had a blast for the two hours, and I highly recommend the tour if you ever make it to New Zealand.
 |
It takes more than a fearsome mask! |
After the tour was over, I had another couple of hours of driving ahead of me. I had been dreading having to drive on the left, where making a left turn was easy and a right turn meant crossing traffic. After a while I managed to adjust. I don't want to be remembered as Yet Another Stupid Tourist Who Caused An Accident By Driving On the Wrong Side of the Road. Such an accident had occurred just last week. It was a beautiful drive through mountainous countryside. Unfortunately there weren't many places where I could stop to take photographs, but I do have some very pleasant memories.
I'm rethinking whether I want to return to New Zealand in March; although the scenery was gorgeous, it would have been even better with a dusting of snow. In order to get that effect I would have to visit in the spring ... when there are even more days of bad weather. I've come to the conclusion that New Zealand, to get the treatment it truly deserves, requires something on the order of the nine months I spent in England. It really does take a good deal of time to fully appreciate a country, especially one with as much to offer as New Zealand. Here it is especially true that good things come in small packages.
Thank goodness for the GPS unit! I never would have made it to Twizel, nor would I have made it to my destination for the night, Wanaka, without it. As you may recall, I have been in Wanaka before, our destination for Day 15. This time, however, I am staying in the Barlimans suite at the Minaret Lodge. Without a doubt, this is my favorite accommodations thus far. It has a hobbit theme, with circular doorways, a huge four-poster bed, and two enormous, very comfy chairs. It has a DVD player in the room, and a boxed set of the extended edition of LotR. I may have to watch The Return of the King tomorrow night, especially after today's tour in Twizel. I've attached a photo of the exterior.
 |
Last, but not least, is tonight's dinner. I am continuing my streak of gustatory excess. I had a hankering for Italian food tonight, and my host recommended Francesca's Italian Kitchen located in the city center. Because of the restaurant's popularity, they couldn't seat me until an hour later, so I strolled around the town, and stopped at the Wanaka Speights Ale House for a glass of Monteith's crushed apple cider. This would be considered a hard cider as it has a 4.5% alcohol content. Monteith's brewery is in Greymouth (Day 13) but it is very popular throughout New Zealand. Usually at least four of its offerings can be found on tap at any bar, including the crushed apple cider. I quite liked it and even had a second glass.
Dinner at Francesca's Italian Kitchen started with a beetroot agnolotti (beetroot is another flavor I've learned to like while I've been in New Zealand) with nut brown butter, poppy seeds, sage and vincotta. Of course I tried another Sauvignon Blanc, this time a 2011 Amisfield; it had a nice peach bouquet, and it was very pleasantly crisp and dry on the palate. It was at least as good as the Charles Taylor Sauvignon Blanc of two nights ago. Then for mains I had the risotto with pea, goat's cheese and lemon pangrattata. The risotto was lightly crusted, and truly divine. I would have ordered a second helping if tiramisu hadn't been on the menu, so I finished with that irresistible dessert. New Zealand definitely is a good place to visit if you're a gourmand.
| Previous |
Please use the links below to reach other areas of this site:
Last revised: August 27, 2015.
| Contact Me | About Me |