BBC Finds “Lost World” On West Coast

New Zealand is set to receive another international boost as BBC cameras start rolling on the West Coast on February 17 for a feature film of Arthur Conan Doyles "The Lost World" John Howard reports.

Fresh from filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy, New Zealanders make up all but ten of the crew for the new BBC feature-film "The Lost World" to be filmed on the West Coast. The film will screen in Britain as the BBC's feature over Christmas.

The rough storyline might be recognised by those who saw Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park - The Lost World, although the Spielberg production adapted Conan Doyle's story to a modern setting while the BBC will be faithful to the original story set in 1911.

The story is about British explorers in the Amazon rainforests who stumble upon a hidden plateau complete with dinosaurs and a missing tribe. It has been a favourite story for millions of children.

The lead role will be played by American actor Peter Falk of television series Colombo fame. He will be supported by around 70 extras who have already been selected from the West Coast and Canterbury.

The set includes some of New Zealand's most stunning scenery from the West Coast's ancient limestone formations in the Nile Valley, to primeaval rainforests and the barren landscapes of Flock Hill.

Producer Christopher Hall said the film needed unsullied landscapes to realistically convey the feeling of a pre-historic world which the West Coast offered within a relatively short travelling time.

"It's because of the West Coast that we are in New Zealand," he said.

Mr Hall said, "We came looking for the place that would tell our story, we looked at Queensland and other places and the West Coast was where we found The Lost World."

Filming will take about five weeks with millions of Britons expected to view the finished film this coming Christmas.

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