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Lights, Cameras, Action: Quarry Battle

Dramatic scenes on Haywards Hill, near Upper Hutt, early today as actors and extras wearing armour and waving swords stormed a mock castle in a battle scene from Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings. Filming on the set for the $360 million epic began last month. The fortress and castle-like structures are understood to represent Helm's Deep - a fortified ravine in J.R.R Tolkien's classic trilogy. In his second book, The Two Towers, Helm's Deep is besieged by armies of creatures called orcs and men obedient to the wizard Saruman. Interest in the set has been high because parts of it can be seen from the road. Onlookers have parked their cars across from the set entrance at night hoping to get a peek at filming.