Jamie Dornan and Amlelia Warner, Andy Serkis and son Louis, and Jason Momoa have been exploring New Zealand while based here to film their new movies. Photos / Awarnermusic, Louis.Serkis, Dean Purcell
One big-budget Hollywood production is winding down, while another has just begun in Wellington, and Society Insider has been keeping tabs on the Hollywood contingent working across both cities.
After filming in Thames, Huntly and West Auckland, Jason Momoa’s A Minecraft Movie sequel, A Minecraft Movie: Squared, is nearing the end of its New Zealand shoot. Meanwhile, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum began filming in Wellington two weeks ago.
Before leaving Auckland, Momoa, who is understood to be returning to New Zealand in a month, and his co-stars Jack Black and Kirsten Dunst are all believed to have spent time at the Park Hyatt, Auckland.
Dunst, known to be a fan of the hotel’s spa, also enjoyed dinner at Prego restaurant during her stay.
The Hunt for Gollum (THFG) director and star Andy Serkis (Gollum) is also said to be a fan of the Park Hyatt. The actor has been in the country for a few months preparing for the THFG shoot.
In May, Serkis performed a special monologue at Starship children’s hospital’s Star Gala at the Auckland Town Hall.
With him were his wife, fellow Brit and actor Lorraine Ashbourne and THFG co-producer and co-writer Philippa Boyens.
At the recent All Blacks game against Ireland at Eden Park, Momoa and his son Wolf socialised with Serkis and other stars, including Elijah Wood (Frodo), The White Lotus star Leo Woodall (Halvard), and Fifty Shades of Grey star, Irish actor Jamie Dornan (Aragorn), who had to watch as Momoa celebrated the All Blacks’ win.
The week before, the Gollum stars were joined by Gandalf himself, Sir Ian McKellen at the All Blacks versus Italy test in Wellington.
While in Auckland, Wood was spotted dining at Mexican hotspot Taco Loco in Westmere with Kiwi director Ant Timpson, who directed Wood in his 2024 movie Bookworm.
In May Wood presented Sir Peter Jackson with his honorary Palme d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
McKellen was a surprise guest on Friday evening at a screening of the documentary There’s a Hole in My Bucket by Royd Tolkien, the great-grandson of LOTR literary great J.R.R. Tolkien.
Tolkien gave a Q&A session at the Doc Edge Festival at the Roxy Cinema in Miramar, where he explained that the film was his way of ticking off his late brother Mike’s mostly-New-Zealand‑based bucket list. Mike died of motor neurone disease in 2014.
The documentary is narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, with Sir Peter Jackson, Billy Boyd and John Rhys-Davies also featuring.
Wood has also been spotted back on his old stomping ground Cuba St Mall, and it is understood his wife of one year, Danish film producer Mette-Marie Kongsved, has visited.
Society Insider is told the Wellington haunts of cast and crew include Monsoon Poon, Wellington Sea Market and The Larder in Miramar.
Dornan is currently in Wellington; his wife, English composer Amelia Warner, and their three young daughters are said to have joined him.
The family also enjoyed the All Blacks’ game together in the capital and are said to have visited Breaker Bay in Miramar, and AdventureRama in Lower Hutt.
Serkis had his youngest son, actor Louis, with him at the All Blacks’ game in Wellington. Louis celebrated his 22nd birthday in the capital, and father and son have been making the most of the rugged Kiwi outdoors, with hikes at Paraparaumu on the Kāpiti Coast.
Still to surface are the movie’s female lead, Oscar winner Kate Winslet (Marigol), and Anna Taylor-Joy (Seren), who will soon star in Dune: Part Three.
Winslet has reportedly arrived in Wellington, while Taylor-Joy is expected any day now – she was last seen in New York attending the 2026 Fifa World Cup Final between her native Argentina and Spain.
Gollum producers Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh own an extensive slice of real estate in Karaka Bay on the Miramar Peninsula and live minutes away from the film set. The film’s stars may also get the invite to Jackson and Walsh’s private 37-hectare rural estate in the Wairarapa.
Party People of the Week
Vichy Laboratoires launch
Vichy Laboratoires painted the town red for its New Zealand launch last Wednesday evening, turning Darling on Drake into a dramatic claret-coloured lounge in honour of the French brand arriving in New Zealand.
L’Oréal’s Imogen Sutcliffe welcomed guests before handing the microphone to Coast Breakfast star Toni Street, who had been announced as the face of Vichy Laboratoires earlier that day in Viva.
Street hosted a panel alongside L’Oréal’s medical representative Danielle Crooks, leading dermatologist Dr Monique McKenzie and Andrea O’Hagan, head of marketing for Chemist Warehouse, where Vichy is exclusively available.
A dynamic DJ and violin duo then turned the music up as guests mingled, enjoying champagne, bespoke cocktails and delicious bites.
Other guests included founder of Sauce, Zeenat Wilkinson; fashion and beauty influencer Jungwon Jo; model Maya Silwood; The Lit List’s Rachel Soo Thow and L’Oréal’s Poppy Compston.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.
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Source: New Zealand Herald
