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Lorien is being filmed in Wairarapa - Lord of the Rings news - J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

June 15, 2000 at 19:19:39

TheOneRing.Net has reported that Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) and Craig Parker (Haldir, the march-Warden of Lorien) have been seen on the set in Featherston in Wairarapa. Filming is expected to conclude on Friday.

These are obviously scenes connected with the Lorien phase of the story. We found a Web page for a rental cottage in the same region which has pictures, but when we asked Tehanu of TheOneRing.Net if this might be the cottage mentioned in their story yesterday, she replied she was very certain that was a similar location but not the one mentioned.

John Leigh (Hama) has also been seen on the set. There is no obvious connection between Hama and the Elves in the books, so fans will surely want to know if there is one in the movies (the set could be used for multiple scenes, involving different parts of the story). In The Lord of the Rings, Theoden tells Saruman that Hama was killed by the soldiers of Isengard at the Hornburg.

A New Zealand regional tour Web site provides some more photos of the region, which comprises the southeastern coast of New Zealand's north island, starting just east of Wellington.

Haldir shares only one scene with Galadriel in the book, and that is when he brings the eight surviving members of the Fellowship to Celeborn and Galadriel in Caras Galadhon. There is no indication in TheOneRing.Net's spy report that Parker and Blanchett are filming scenes together.