Production on The Hobbit movies is taking a break until early September so many cast and crew are off to catch up with friends and family. Many are travelling overseas for other work commitments like Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) who will be acting in The Syndicate in the UK while others are escaping our winter and catching up with family and friends. If you are down in the South Island you may see actor Peter Hambleton (Gloin) holidaying with his wife and enjoying the beautiful scenery.
No rest for director Peter Jackson, who will scouting South Island film locations over the next few weeks for the next block of filming, working out what designs need to be approved for sets and editing footage that has already been filmed.
With 254 days of filming scheduled for both movies over both 2011 and 2012, it is a tiring schedule even with the planned breaks, Peter Jackson says he is usually exhausted a few days into filming and just stays that way until a project is finished. Andy Serkis who is playing Gollum and directing the second unit for The Hobbit Movies commented that he does not know how Peter Jackson does it.
If you would like to learn more about this follow the below link to see some behind the scenes footage and hear what cast and crew of the Hobbit are up to during July and August.