-
W
O
R
D
S

Lord of the Rings Filming Starts

Mount Victoria became Middle Earth on Monday as filming of The Lord of the Rings began with scenes of hobbits walking through dense shrubbery.

Extra trees were taken in to the town belt to make the bush denser for the hobbits, including Elijah Woods who plays hobbit Frodo.

A publicist for the production says if the weather stays dry, filming on Mount Victoria will continue for the rest of the week.

Monday's filming involved about 140 crew but nobody else was allowed on the set.

The $360 million production is directed by the Wellington film maker, Peter Jackson, and is based on JRR Tolkien's novel.