20 May 2009

Movie Magic: Wolverine

So why am I putting a big action, special effects heavy flic in my movie magic section? Well because in this case I got to see behind the curtain for a bit! I got to witness some of the magic that brings a movie to life!

No idea what I'm talking about? No worries, I'll explain a bit better! ;o)

Last year (Feb'08) we had a family vacation visiting my sister in New Zealand (btw, GORGEOUS country! the movies don't do it justice). While we were in the South Island, just south of Queenstown, my sister and I went on a horseback riding promenade in an area known as "Paradise". My sister would have prefered the other option which was down in the valley along the riverbed and allowed for places to gallop, but how could I turn down a ride through the birch wood of Lothlorien?! Yup, quite a few scenes from Lord of the Rings were filmed in those woods!!! (some of Lothlorien, Boromir's death... also early scenes from Prince Caspian, when he falls off his horse).
After crossing through the woods we ended up on a promontoir looking over a glacial river zig-zagging through morain deposits: the location for the White Tower!!! And the early scenes from Willow! So much fun being able to recognise locations like that from what you've seen on-screen!

Wait, what does this have to do with Wolverine again? Well, turns out they were filming it right then and there!!! We drove over a dirt road through the woods to get to the horses... well we drove right by Hugh Jackman!!! OMG!!! and my damn camera was too slow on the zoom-in process.... They were filming the motorcycle vs jeep chase sequence (gorgeous bike btw!).
And the place we started riding? Well the horses were pasturing right next to the barn featured in the film (where a naked Logan takes refuge after his adamantium treatment), a barn that was built specially for the film (boom!) I might add... ;o).
On the drive out of there we got our second glimpse of the man himself in a tent, this time my camera was slightly less slow, but still not fast enough (he's there lurking in the shadows).
Then with the excitement of it all in the afternoon we went back to that area with my parents (in the car) hoping to see more. And we got up as close as they'd let us to a helicopter tied between two cranes (for the purpose of crashing it, more BOOM!).

Our rental car couldn't deal with the rocks and ditches any more so we had to head back out to civilisation but we were pretty excited with just that, our first witnessing of a movie in the making! :o)

Oh, and what did I think of the movie itself? of Wolverine? (finally saw it this weekend with my Dad) Well, in between having fun spotting the stuff we saw on sight a year ago, I thought it was a blast! Doesn't pretend to be anymore than it is: a big special effects movie with a great character and quite a few winks to the fans (Scott Summers as a kid? that voice in his head and the bald guy?). The first two X-Men movies were in a whole other league than this (their stories actually had a meaning, and I'd rather not think about the third), but this is still great to help fill in some of the blanks in a favourite mysterious character. And hey, any chance to see Hugh Jackman running around in his birthday su
it gets an A+ from me! ;o)

And as a post-script, just to prove we were there:unfortunately you can't make out our trademark red hair under those horrid riding helments! :p

12 comments:

  1. lord those helmets are aweful! I miss the days we were riding in Mexico and didn't have to wear any! and I must also say I prefer a western saddle to a british saddle, still can't get used to the lack of a saddle horn!!! :p

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  2. Oh, and isn't it amazing how much they can make New Zealand look like Canada in the film? ;o)

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  3. Great read, and to get a personal angle on the film, cool. Don't know why Crazy, but hehee, I thought you were a guy. Now all your comments make sense!

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  4. a guy?! moi?! lol!!! :p

    well I did alternate between wanting to be Sleeping Beauty and actually being something of a tomboy as a kid but still...

    I guess the fact that I've frequently felt more comfortable hanging out with "the guys" (instead of girls, particularly in high school, ugh! too often vixens) might lead to some confusion in my voice... I also jot down that behavioural conditioning to the fact that I don't feel very comfortable with small talk. :p

    Not a problem... I like the fact that I have a name that can be shortened to a "neutral" version, it avoids people pre-judging you in a certain way (it's still a sexist world out there)

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  5. Crazy, THANKYOU. Youv'e done the deed! Cool cool. Well as an official reader as it were (- and someone who I hope will post lots of comments - Iv'e seen your form now -) you can now be written into the story - if you wish. Maybe there's a character you love/hate, some one has the same interest/issues as you - what ever, you can 'meet'. Let me know, and thanks.

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  6. will do!

    but I'm not sure if I understand how you can "write" us into the story... perhaps as I advance through and read what you've "done" to others I'll get the idea... ;o)

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  7. Hi yes I think I found your blog through Miss Mapp's and found your profile information very interesting. Your blog sounds very interesting and adventurous, it's good to stumble across something refreshing.

    Oh and thank you very much for reading my story! It's great reading feedback, especially from new readers. It is a bit too much like Suskind's Perfume, isn't it? But it's such a wonderful book!

    Looking forward to more posts!
    Val.

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  8. It does seem a variation on Perfume, but short and intense. And inspiration has to come from somewhere, right? It's what you do with the inspiration that counts.

    Best of luck with that writing!

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  9. Thanks for sharing. I love Hugh Jackman - how fun to be able to see some of the set for Wolverine. My husband is pushing to see this next, but I'm leaning towards Angels and Demons.

    New Zealand is so beautiful!

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  10. Between Hugh Jackman and Tom Hanks?! Jackman all the time!!! Although Angels and Demons does have Ewan McGregor to help balance things out... tough choice!

    But my vote would be Wolverine... is definitely fun, and I still don't know if I'll get around to seeing A&D in the theatre... DaVinci Code was so bad I don't see how they can do much better with this one seeing as how the novel was only marginally better than the other... But curiosity might get the better of me. Ewan mcgregor - induced curiosity (I think I've liked all of his films, he has good taste when choosing scripts). We'll see...

    If you do go see it let me know what you think, that might help convince me! ;o)

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  11. Seing the film in making is a great thing!! Thank you for sharing it...The locations of the 'Lord of the ring' movies are beautiful!!And Cris, I had thought you as guy in the begining too...SORRY!!

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  12. not a problem! is what happens when one has a nickname which is for both the masculine and feminin version of a name! lol!

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Hey there! Yes you! The quiet one in the back... I'd love it if you hung out for a bit and shared your thoughts!

I might stop by your place with an answer, but I'm more likely to reply right here so click on "email follow up comments" if you'd like to see what I and others have to say and come continue the conversation! ;o)