It’s a tight secret so far where the international cast and crew of the Lord of the Rings TV series might live in Auckland while they settle in to film the mega-budget epic.
The call has gone out from Goodwins Property management company for expressions of interest from Aucklanders with rental properties ahead of filming starting next month.
Goodwins needed about 250 homes in central and west Auckland from early February to May and from mid-October until late June next year, though the series is likely to be headquartered in west Auckland for around five years.
The show - rumoured to have a US$1 billion budget - is to be mainly shot at Kumeu Film Studios.
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Goodwins gave a firm “no comment” when approached to see which parts of Auckland the stars and crew might fancy living in and agents spoken to out west said they had not taken calls or even heard a peep.
Andrew Widdup, from Ray White Kumeu, said he was a bit surprised not to have heard any rumours of stars or crew hitting town but all had been quiet.
Agents in Piha and Ponsonby said they hadn’t heard anything either.
The main cast has been announced with the Iranian-British actress Nazanin Boniadi and Game of Thrones actor Robert Aramayo among those who will need accommodation.
A OneRoof story from September said Auckland can expect Game of Thrones-style numbers - that show had 3589 people working on it.
OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said then the show should boost demand for property in Auckland with the leading cast members and crew no doubt wanting to live in the best parts of town.
“Amazon may also decide it’s cheaper to buy than rent so waterfront suburbs such as Herne Bay may see more inquiry.”
Goodwins, which is also sourcing properties for the America’s Cup team American Magic, wouldn’t confirm back then Lord of the Rings was a client but chief executive Catherine Goodwin said clients were looking for thousands of properties in Auckland Central and Western Bays.
Ray White real estate agent Ross Hawkins said last year that when the Lord of the Rings movies were in Queenstown Lakes rather than renting some crew members bought homes.
“There were quite a lot of purchases made to Americans and off-shore people who were involved and they still own places there,” he said last year.
The “Rings effect” also led to a rush for rentals in Miramar, Karaka Bay and Seatoun when Sir Peter Jackson was filming the Rings and Hobbit movies at Weta Studios in Wellington.
