Just over a year ago Kuriositas reported on the state of the set of Hobbiton in Matamata, New Zealand. The news wasn't good.
After the filming of the Lord of the Rings, the owners of the farm upon which Hobbiton was created asked if some of the hobbit homes could remain to serve as an additional tourist attraction to the area. And they made it so, but soon things were being taken over by the sheep! Yet there is now good news from The Shire - what a difference a year can make!
Thanks to Sir Peter Jackson and his crew returning to Matamata to film the ‘
prequel’, the set has been rebuilt – and how! Sir Peter Jackson’s company and the farm have entered into a joint venture arrangement to allow movie fans to visit the newly reconstructed film set of The Hobbit. Sir Peter was recently pictured with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key (
below) on the set which is now
open again to the public - but with the set properly retained this time!
If you want to see how the set looked before Sir Peter’s return, please
click here. However, below is a selection of pictures from the set which you are now
able to visit, should you be (handily enough) in New Zealand any time soon! It seems odd, in a way, being able to visit the set of a movie which is yet to be released…
