Hobbit unit publicist Ceris Price has announced that filming for The Hobbit’s second unit should be completed “on schedule” by the end of May reports the Dominion Post.
“This is approximately four weeks prior to the completion of principal photography on The Hobbit films.”
The second unit is directed by Andy Serkis who also plays Gollum in the films. Peter Jackson directs the first unit. Filming on The Hobbit started in March 2011.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Part 1) will be released in theaters on 14 December 2012 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again (Part 2), which Ceris Price confirmed will show The Battle of the Five Armies, will be released in theaters on December 13, 2013.
Meanwhile, New Zealand is preparing for an influx in tourists.
In Matamata, the WaikatoTimes reports, the Hobbiton set has been preserved as a tourist attraction with a new road being built and further groundworks being undertaken. Even the owners of the local greengrocery have learnt the Chinese names for their produce as they see the number of Asian visitors rise.
The Tourism Industry Association are anticipating a greater number of tourists from the two Hobbit films than from the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Matamata Public Relations Association manager Sue Whiting said they were planning to “make the most of it.”
