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MOVE aside Hollywood and Bollywood (the Indian film capital in Bombay): Wellywood is on its way. And what better blockbuster to establish Wellington as an international film-making centre than J R R Tolkien's magical trilogy of The Lord of the Rings?
Los Angeles-based New Line Cinema's commitment of $264 million to Wellywood for the project is no accident. It was attracted by a combination of the talent of film director Peter Jackson and his team, their track record over a string of films, an ingenious special effects facility in Weta Ltd, computer software said to be a year ahead of anything else, ideal settings ranging from the southern lakes and Central Otago to Coromandel and Ruapehu, and, not least, the prospect of completing the trilogy at a fraction of what it would...