Filming on Redford movie forced indoors

Lucy Robertson and her grandmother Anne, whose family are extras in Pete's Dragon, race to beat...
Lucy Robertson and her grandmother Anne, whose family are extras in Pete's Dragon, race to beat the snow in Northumberland St, Tapanui, yesterday. Photo by Peter McIntosh/NZTA/Skyline Queenstown.
Sarah Harris (11), of Tapanui, plays in the snow.
Sarah Harris (11), of Tapanui, plays in the snow.
Traffic is banked up on State Highway 6, at Five Rivers, Northern Southland.
Traffic is banked up on State Highway 6, at Five Rivers, Northern Southland.
A view of a snow-capped Cecil Peak across Lake Wakatipu from Skyline Queenstown.
A view of a snow-capped Cecil Peak across Lake Wakatipu from Skyline Queenstown.

Instead of the fire from a dragon's breath, film-makers on set in Tapanui yesterday experienced a polar blast.

Snow fell on a diner, a drug store, American cars and flags on the main street of the West Otago town, which is the location for Disney film Pete's Dragon.

However, it was business as usual on another film set at a carefully guarded disused mill site 10km outside Tapanui, where filming was moved inside for the day.

It is understood the stars, Robert Redford, Karl Urban and Bryce Dallas Howard, are in Tapanui.

Four Square owner Vicki Adams said she had not met Redford around town but she had met the film's producer while having lunch at a local cafe.

She did not know where Redford was living, but she understood the actors and crew were staying locally, most renting local homes.

Ms Adams was excited at the prospect of having her supermarket transformed into an American-style superette for this weekend's filming in the main street.

The whole town was ''buzzing''. While it was a Hollywood production, Ms Adams said it was still a Kiwi affair and she knew quite a few people involved.

''Most of them are Kiwis. You get the feeling it's a real Kiwi crew.''

Extras on the film were mostly men with beards, working 15-hour days and doing ''lots of sitting around''.

Anne Robertson and granddaughter Lucy were also excited about the film, in which Lucy's mother and brother were extras.

Lucy said her brother would be filmed ''in a yellow school bus''.

Filming of the main street is scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

- Liam Cavanagh 

Add a Comment