An Almighty road trip

Mount Maunganui is to serve as a backdrop in the popular television show The Almighty Johnsons.

The show's cast and crew were in Mount Maunganui shooting scenes for their latest series, yesterday.

The show is about main character Axl Johnson, who on his 21st birthday discovers his family members are reincarnated Norse gods.

Emmett Skilton, who plays Axl in the TV3 series, was in Mount Maunganui yesterday morning with a film crew to shoot scenes for the upcoming third series, involving a road trip through parts of the North Island.

The scene involved fellow actor Matt Saville, who is a yet unnamed emerging character in the series, picking up Axl's cellphone from the sand dunes after Axl threw it away.

Skilton said Axl was on a "fact-finding mission" to find out about his heritage.

"He wants to know more about his family's background and says "screw you guys, I'll figure it out". Along the way there's a few hiccups when Axl throws away his only point of contact with his family, his phone. He was trying to break free from his family and trying to be an individual."

Skilton said it was great shooting in places like Mount Maunganui.

"Even with fake sunlight in Auckland, it's still the city. There's usually a fast turnaround but down here it's a nice pace and I get to work with beautiful scenery. My girlfriend's family lives here so I come down here quite a bit."

From Mount Maunganui, Skilton and the rest of the film crew would be travelling to Rotorua, Taupo and a few other places in between. They expect to wrap up filming out of studio by the end of today.

The show featuring Mount Maunganui will be aired on TV3 this winter. The date is yet to be confirmed.