Mayor Neil Brown may have missed the chance to star in a locally shot film, but he may have other opportunities.
Mid Canterbury is poised to grace the silver screen again and it may be just the start.
ChristchurchNZ has been working with local film studio, Torrent Films, to source locations and land access around Methven to produce a film titled Trolgar & Me.
ChristchruchNZ head of tourism, Kath Low, said Screen Canterbury “have identified Mid Canterbury as being a very rich region of opportunities which will continue beyond this period of time because we have such fantastic spaces and places to shoot”.
Brown said that sounded quite promising.
“We have lovely landscape here.
“Anything that puts us on the map is good and will add to the vibrancy of Mid Canterbury.”
Trolgar & Me is planned to be a 92-minute production which will be using both animation and real-life actors and scenes, with production starting next month.
It is the first feature film directed by Canterbury filmmaker Gillian Ashurst since Snakeskin was made in 2001 which was also filmed around Methven.
The storyline follows the banished Norwegian troll Trolgar who befriends a 12-year-old girl and her father, who all form a plan to help Trolgar leave New Zealand and return safely to Norway while evading the suspicious Mayor.
That was the plot note that caught the eye of Mayor Brown, who said he could assist in finding one.
The film’s production team is keen for most of the filming to take place in the wider Methven area and has already contracted Southern Cross Lodge as their full-time accommodation whilst on location for around six weeks.
As well as Snakeskin, the Ashburton District hit the silver screen in Lord of the Rings.
The Z for Zachariah film’s cast and crew spent time in Methven to shoot scenes at nearby Washpen Falls, with the town hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons when film star Chris Pine was caught drink-driving.

• By Jonathan Leask