The filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, with its massive battle scenes has meant that almost every kiwi who ever wanted to be on the silver screen has now appeared in the movies. Its pretty hard to avoid it in such a small place. Its been a real boon to the local economy, creating on going work in a lot of fields where you would typically scratch a living. One person worked for 2 years dyeing material and making costumes. Another friend worked for a year as a blacksmith, making and repairing armour etc.