Glenorchy, New Zealand

21 March 2021

Glenorchy, New Zealand

In THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG, the second installment in the movie trilogy, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) continues his quest to the lost dwarf kingdom of Erebor. He is joined by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) and thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakshield (Richard Armitage).

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 2:19:20

Filming for the three films started on 21 March 2011 and ended on 6 July 2012. More than during production of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, scenes were shot in film studios and later digitally altered, such as the dragon Smaug guarding the dwarves' stolen treasure in Erebor. Because hobbits are smaller than, for instance, Gandalf and the actors are the same height, the original films sometimes used a forced perspective.

This was not possible for this trilogy since it was filmed in 3D. The scene in which Gandalf asks Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt), a large man who can take the form of a bear, if Bilbo and the dwarves can stay at his farmhouse also seems to have been filmed in front of a green screen. The backdrop is an existing location, Glenorchy in Paradise Valley on New Zealand's South Island. This nature reserve is partly private property and not all roads are paved. We visited Glenorchy during an OffRoad 4x4 tour of several film locations between Queenstown and Glenorchy. Our guide, Pete Mitchel, had many stories about the films that were shot here. He has also worked on film productions himself.