To mark the last day of shooting on the Hobbit trilogy, Peter Jackson decided to liveblog a full day of work. Readers on Facebook watched the director bid his cat goodbye in the Wellington, New Zealand dawn--and joined him for a very full day of shooting, as he and splinter-unit director Christian Rivers rushed to wrap up complex fight scenes, talk through plans for music with composer Howard Shore, and prepare to dive into the editing room next week.
Jackson also used the liveblog not only to post selfies (see above) but also introduce readers to some pivotal but less prominent figures on the production end of the films--script supervisors, editors, and assistants--as well as his own good-luck rituals: an unchanging wardrobe, the well-worn armchair that stands in for a traditional canvas director's chair, and "cup after cup of green tea."
Finally, after a 20-hour day, The Hobbit was done shooting, and a weary Jackson headed home--to a houseful of jubilant teenagers, and, of course, his patient cat. "A long day. A great day. Thank you all for being part of it," he closed. "Now for some sleep!"
The second installation of The Hobbit, The Desolation of Smaug, is due out in December 2013, with the third and final chapter of the trilogy to follow in 2014.
