The Book of New Zealand
Last week, I was privileged to attend an exhibit at the Beverly Hilton called The Book of New Zealand. It was not open to the public except for a very short time on Wednesday afternoon for people who had applied to see it. It was created by the NZ Tourism Board to promote travel to NZ, and was also used by the cast and others as the location for their press junkets promoting The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (USA premiere was last week at the Dolby Theatre). The exhibit was a giant "pop-up book," the size of two tennis courts; it included 4 partial Hobbit sets brought over from NZ. It was fantastic to actually see famed Hobbit set design up close. We were allowed to touch everything, sit on Beorn's chair, etc. I took many, many photos, and even some video... here are just a few. If you want to see more photos, let me know as I am glad to share.
Standing in front of the entrance with my friend.
The barrels.
Beorn's chair. It's huge!
This bed was in Beorn's house. We think it might be Bilbo's bed. (Yes, I snuggled the bedding a little... LOL.) On the floor next to the bed was a large platter of mushrooms. Beorn's bed (we assumed, because it was much larger) is also in this photo... in the background. Instead of a bed on 4 legs, it's built into an alcove.
Here I am with a broom in Beorn's house... feeling very Hobbit-sized.
Part of the Laketown set. They also had sound effects playing (water).
This was in Laketown. Someone's office? Lots and lots of details in a tiny space.
Another detail from Laketown.
