Unit publicist Andy Lipschultz said the production would arrive during the week, take a three-day holiday over Easter, then get down to work: ''Then we start working every day there.''
Hollywood actor Robert Redford is the star of the Walt Disney Studios' remake of the 1977 Disney classic.
The West Otago township would undergo a makeover as an American mill town.
Mr Lipschultz said the film unit would be in the township of 750 for the month of April.
''There'll be lots of equipment, everything you need to make a movie.
''Trucks, cameras, grip equipment, electrical equipment, trailers, everything - it's a major undertaking.''
All the actors would be in Tapanui from next week.
The most public filming would take place in the main street about April 17 to 19.
''There'll be detours, road closures when we're shooting there, which will be posted way in advance,'' Mr Lipschultz said.
