On October 31st, Quint from Ain’t It Cool News revealed that he had been selected to visit New Zealand, where he would be allowed access to the set of The Hobbit films. He has chronicled his adventures in a short column appropriately titled, “An Unexpected Journey.”
During the first part of Quint’s journey, he visited the Hobbiton set in Matamata, Waikato, on New Zealand’s North Island, where he saw just how green the grass in New Zealand is, caught a glimpse of Elijah Wood filming a few scenes as Frodo, and was even fitted for a cameo appearance.
Part two described Quint’s transition from reporter to Hobbit, the drudgery of having prosthetics applied and removed, and what it was like working alongside Martin Freeman and under the direction of Peter Jackson. Excited at the prospect of being on camera, receiving a Hobbit name (Fredegar Chubb), and having a line in the film, he also expressed some nervousness about his performance.
In Quint’s third and final article, he spoke of the wrapping up of filming in Matamata. He spoke with production designer Dan Hennah, who said that the Hobbiton set was the most important one he has worked on in the films, as it plays such a crucial role in making Middle-earth a believable place.
While Quint talked some more about bring the Party Tree back to life and creating a realistic environment, he also shared some of The Hobbit storyline and how some scenes may be portrayed a little differently than in the books.
While we don’t yet know what set Quint will be visiting next, he does acknowledge the presence of wizards, dwarves, and horses. Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of Quint’s journey.
