It looks like the remake of Goodbye Pork Pie will be driving into Central Otago next month.
The Central Otago District Council is advertising the temporary closure of several streets in Naseby on April 2 "to allow for filming of a feature length movie'' and several sources told the Otago Daily Times the movie was the Goodbye Pork Pie remake.
A spokeswoman for Four Knights Film, which is producing the movie, said filming would take place in the South Island but declined to reveal any of the locations.
A casting call went out last month for people to audition for six roles in a film, which was using Roxburgh as a location.
There were three non-speaking roles ("grumpy farmer'', "kid on scooter'' and "smiley mum'') and three speaking roles ("youth protester'', "Naseby constable'' and "young nervous cop'').
The ODT understands Roxburgh, Naseby and some other parts of the Maniototo will feature in the "Blondini'' gang's journey southwards in the new version.
Asked for comment about the benefits of a movie being filmed in the area, Maniototo Promotions chairman Mark Button said it was a "fantastic opportunity ... It's always great to see the local area showcased in a national movie and I think the contrasting landscape in the Maniototo and Central Otago lends itself to movies and photo shoots because it's only a quick drive or quick helicopter ride between such different scenery.''
The Maniototo landscape was used as a backdrop in The Hobbit movie, filmed in 2011 and St Bathans was one of the locations for The Light Between Oceans, starring Rachel Weisz and Michael Fassbender, shot in November 2014.
Matt Murphy, the son of Goodbye Pork Pie's original director, Geoff Murphy, is the director of the remake.
"The reboot will be set today - with a new gang of Blondinis and the eclectic bunch of Kiwi characters they meet on the road,'' Matt Murphy said in a press release.
"Of course, there will be plenty of nods to the original too.''
