A Hobbit Haka? Really McTavish?

 A very intriguing idea from Graham McTavish concerning the Hobbit cast, the dwarves I assume, and the premiere of There and Back Again:

We’re trying to get a haka organised for the final premiere of the third Hobbit film so the cast perform the haka. They’re always written for people; I couldn’t just go up and start performing the All Blacks’ haka, that would be very disrespectful so this, if we’re able to do it, would be written especially by the local Maori for us to perform. That’s the plan; logistically it’s just getting us all together to rehearse it. We really want to do it.




What a marvelous idea! I think they should do it, will be an unforgettable moment.

To read the rest of the interview with Graham, go to the link below:

http://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/interviews/8335-interview-graham-mctavish-the-hobbit

He also mentioned Richard Armitage and the Powhiri at the start of filming for The Hobbit:

The Pōwhiri? It was done to bless the sound stages. These particular sound stages, F and G, had never been used, so in Maori tradition it’s important to bless those things to make sure that good things happen in them. So the local Iwi got together and we were told that this was going to happen. We arrived at dawn and Richard [Armitage], because he was the leader of our group of Dwarves, was chosen to receive the greeting. The greeting in that situation is a threat as well because what they’re doing when they’re laying down the spear is this; if you don’t pick it up then it’s on, you’re going to have a fight.

But with Richard picking it up and presenting it back to him, that was a way of saying “We’re here in peace.”   I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a haka up close; I’d only ever seen it on TV during All Blacks games. To be honest with you, when I saw it I always thought it looked vaguely embarrassing, but when you see it for real it’s terrifying. The hairs on the back of your neck go up. These are frightening people.

And if you don't know what he's referring to, about the Powhiri and the Haka, watch the video below:

Thank you bccmee for the video