Wanted: airmen to join Wizard

By BEN TORNQUIST

New Zealand's top fighter pilots have not only missed out on flying F16s - they've also lost their chance to appear as extras in Lord of the Rings.

Their places are now being taken by Air Force crew from other short-staffed bases, who are being scrambled onto orc-fighting duty for up to two months between August and October.

Ohakea's 75 Squadron was to have provided all 30 personnel to act as extras for the filming of battle scenes.

But the cancellation of the F16 deal means the squadron is now stuck flying and maintaining ageing its Skyhawks.

Air Force commanders had originally anticipated their work would wind down before the F16s arrived from the United States some time next year.

An internal document leaked to the Herald, asks for personnel at Auckland's Whenuapai and Hobsonville air bases to "volunteer" as extras to fill the gap from August 15 to October 16.

"Cancellation of the F16 project requires 75Sqn to maintain (and) increase activity level," the memo says.

A contract between the New Zealand Defence Force and the film's maker, New Line Cinema, committed personnel to be extras on the Peter Jackson film.

Auckland's air bases were asked to provide eight people and two non-travelling reserves.

It is unknown whether other defence staff have had similar requests.

An anonymous letter to the Herald said airforce personnel were not very happy about the request, especially because there were other staff shortages.

NZ Defence spokesman Wing Commander John Seward said the defence force would meet its commitment to provide extras for the production.

The $360 million film trilogy, directed by New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson, is using 1500 extras and 1200 computer generated creatures.

Filming began in October last year and is expected to continue until April next year. It will then go into post-production for another 18 months.

The trilogy, based on J.R.R Tolkein's fantasy epic set in the kingdom of Middle Earth, stars Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett and Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf the wizard.