Hollywood stars spotted in Rotorua

Hollywood movie stars have been spotted in Rotorua to the delight of locals.

It's believed the Disney movie Pete's Dragon has begun filming in the region, a remake of the 1977 classic which blends live action and computer-generated imagery to tell the story of a special bond between an orphan boy named Pete and his best friend, Elliot, a dragon.

See also: Hollywood legend flies in, whisked off to Tokoroa

The cast includes Robert Redford, Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help), Wes Bentley (Interstellar) and Karl Urban (Lord of the Rings) and 10-year-old Oakes Fegley.

The film's production will be based at Stone Street Studios in Wellington but it was announced late last year filming would also take place in Rotorua and in the Canterbury region.

A call was made for local extras with auditions held in Rotorua and Tokoroa.

A Rotorua man noticed Hunger Games actor Bentley when he was contracted to do some work at a Rotorua home.

"I saw this guy and was trying to figure out where I had seen him before. Then I heard he and wife's accents and I must have seen him in a movie," he said.

"I went back to the office and Googled movies being made in the area and found him."

He said the actor and his wife were here with their two young children.

"I didn't talk to them, only spoke to my client who owned the house. But my 14-year-old daughter was keen to help if I need to go back again for work, she thought it was quite cool to have seen him."

Leonardo Baldi said Urban dropped in to dine at his restaurant, Leonardo's Pure Italian, last Saturday.

"He came in with his partner and at first I didn't recognise him but my chef told me who he was and I'm a huge fan of The Chronicles of Riddick," Mr Baldi said.

"He was really down to earth and when I asked him for a photo, he was really good about it and came back into the kitchen."

Mr Baldi said the couple dined on prosciutto and shared three mains of chicken and two pasta dishes.

"I don't think our other diners realised who he was, he was dressed casually and had a hat on so wasn't easy to recognise. But a really nice guy."

It is believed the cast and crew were officially welcomed to Rotorua in a pohiri last week by Rotorua Lakes Council members and representatives of Te Arawa but they have requested no publicity.