The wait is nearly over, folks. Almost ten years since The Return of the King brought one of the most epic trilogies in cinematic history to a close, it’s time to return to Middle-earth. (Featured image is by Chensiyuan)
The premiere for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey takes place in New Zealand tomorrow evening, and stars of the soon-to-be blockbuster are currently descending on Wellington.
The Hobbit trilogy was originally meant to be just two films but, as anyone who’s read the book will know, there is a lot of story to squeeze into a limited running time.
So, the decision was made to turn it into a trilogy; and given the Oscar-winning quality of the last Tolkien trilogy, this can only be a good thing.
We can expect The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again in 2013 and 2014 respectively, but first up is An Unexpected Journey, which will hit our screens in December.
All eyes are on New Zealand, the real-life Middle-earth, at the moment. But this isn’t the only place to find scenery on a blockbuster scale. So, where else can you recreate The Hobbit?
Scottish highlands
Scotland has some of the most rough-and-ready terrain in the world, so could very easily be the setting for the sort of journey undertaken by Bilbo Baggins.
It seems that Warner Brothers felt the same way, as the studio sent researchers to the Scottish Highlands to scout locations for filming.
A dispute with workers’ unions in New Zealand threatened to put the whole production in jeopardy, so new locations were scouted out just in case.
To Kiwi Peter Jackson’s delight, the dispute was settled and filming went ahead in New Zealand. We can understand why Jackson wanted to keep filming down under, but we’re slightly disappointed we didn’t get to have our very own Middle-earth on these shores.
The Alps
If there’s one thing you can safely say about Middle-earth, it’s that it covers the topic of geography on a grand scale not seen in many places in the real world.
New Zealand may come close, but we’ve got some of our own pretty impressive geographical/geological sites in Europe.
Stretching roughly 750 miles across eight countries, the Alps has some stunning views which are unrivalled by any other region in the world.
Birmingham, England
JRR Tolkien was a professor at Oxford University when he penned both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, but it was his childhood home that had more of an influence on his work.
Tolkien moved to the UK at the age of three, and grew up just outside Birmingham. Places such as Sarehole Mill and Moseley Bog are thought to be the inspiration for The Shire, while Perrott’s Folly and Edgbaston Waterworks Tower are thought to have been the inspiration for the Two Towers.
Yosemite National Park
The US is not known for doing things by halves – large population, big food and huge scenery characterise the way in which this country does things. Some of the best scenery can be found in Yosemite National Park.
Located in California, this vast and impressive reserve spans more than 750,000 acres and is home to huge granite cliffs, waterfalls, streams and plenty of wilderness.
Millions of people visit Yosemite each year, with most staying within Yosemite Valley – a beautiful area that has to be seen to be believed.
New Forest, England
Back to the UK once more, and it wasn’t just the Scottish highlands that were being scouted by Warner Brothers – English forests were on the list too.
We’re not sure exactly which forests were under discussion, but with its green pastures and babbling brooks, the New Forest was surely a contender for The Shire.
It may not have quite the same hilly terrain that The Shire is known for, but that’s what special effects are for!
