Are these the walls of Jerusalem? Empty inns at Bethlehem? A Nazareth carpentry school?
The precise ancient location might not be clear, but filmmakers are building a city on a hill in Wellington's eastern suburbs for the epic biblical movie Kingdom Come.
With the filming set to start in February, crew are buzzing around the site, where a wooden structure is taking shape near Mt Crawford prison in Maupuia. Kingdom Come production manager Brigitte Yorke confirmed the set was being built for the movie, but refused to say what it represented. Ms Yorke said the film, about the life of Jesus, was in the pre-production stages and cast members were still being finalized.
It was "highly likely" other Wellington sites would also be used for filming, she said.
The biblical village of Capernaum is already well under construction at Falstone Camp on the shore of Lake Benmore in the South Island. Filming locations in Twizel, Motueka and Hawke's Bay have also been scouted. Some scenes would be filmed in Peter Jackson's Stone St studios in Wellington, Ms Yorke said.
Kingdom Come is being produced by a company called South Vineyard, whose Japan-based directors are software executives Paul and Joshua Broman and Naoyuki Baba. Joshua Broman told The Dominion Post from Japan yesterday the filmmakers were hoping to fly "under the radar" for a while, and refused to give any details about the project. The film's budget is not known.
Kingdom Come publicity manager Ernie Malik said "many aspects" of the Bible would be covered in the film. Filmmakers held casting calls throughout New Zealand last month, asking for "hairy men with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean features".
Motueka's information centre has reported being asked for accommodation for 250 people a night in February - more than the town's 200-bed capacity.
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