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Wellington Regional Council looking into LOTR films' Securitygate brouhaha - Lord of the Rings news - J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

August 19, 2000 at 13:09:56

TheOneRing.Net has published a couple of scans from the Upper Hutt Leader, a local newspaper. The article says the Regional Council has discussed the behavior of security guards at the Moonshine Bridge location with Three Foot Six Productions.

Xenite.Org and other Tolkien news Web sites have been following the story, which involves allegations from local residents that film set security guards have acted aggressively toward unannounced visitors to the sets, which are situated in a public park. Three Foot Six is permitted to bar access to the sets only during actual filming or when electrical systems are in use.

One Tolkien Webmaster visited the location and reported that he was well-received. The Leader sent some staff to investigate the allegations and the article reports they were permitted to drive through two locations but were turned away from another.

Filming for the "Lord of the Rings" movies is set to expand or move to the South Island in a few days. As many as four film crews are at work at any one time, and Peter Jackson directs the overall production by monitoring progress on other sets with a row of television sets. Two other directors have also been hired to share directing responsibilities.