The Press have revealed that the Wolverine movie, via Woz Productions, has recently applied for consent to film at a number of specific locations down under, these include “Arcadia Station, near Glenorchy, […] Deer Park Heights, on the Frankton Arm […] Kingston Beach, Milford Sound, Rees Valley, Skippers Canyon and Naseby Forest.” For the dates between November 5 and February 28, time enough for both construction and filming.

Spoilers ahead:

It appears that in this application permission has been asked for “a barn and farmhouse [to] be built […] with the final scene involving the destruction of the barn using explosives.”

Further investigative work has proven fruitful, an environmental effects assessment has revealed further details concerning this purported scene;

“The premise is that a military sniper shoots a rocket launcher at the barn, narrowly missing Wolverine but exploding the building. […] This will be a one-off event, with four cameras located around the set to capture the action.”

Writer James Vanderbilt is, at the moment, frantically working on “flipping” David Benioff’s Wolverine movie script into a film-able format before the WGA contract deadline arrives at midnight tonight (31st October):

Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which is being penned by James Vanderbilt (”Zodiac”), [… is] among dozens of scripts that are being flipped, a process that actually is uniting execs and scribes in one goal: to get a script that is filmable. - Hollywood Reporter

Whilst looking towards the future, it is reported that Vanderbilt has been chosen by Sony executives to pen the fourth Spider-man feature:

Several writers were being considered for the fourth installment, and Vanderbilt apparently was chosen by Sony executives for his character-driven approach to the story rather than a focus on special effects. - Coming Soon

Composer for Shrek the Third, Deja Vu, The Chronicles of Narnia and Flushed Away (amongst others), Harry Gregson-Williams is set to take helm of the music in this particular X-men Origins feature.

This was made known via the The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency.

The New Zealand Film and Video Technicians Guild have posted some specific and production confirmed data about the filming dates and schedule of the upcoming Wolverine movie, now with pre-pended X-men Origins in its name:

Wolverine
Format: Feature Film
Dates: Prep from October 8th; Shooting 10th Dec 2007 - 18th Janurary 2008 (2 week break over Christmas 21st Dec 2007 - 7th January 2008)
Locations: Queenstown and surrounds
Production Co: WOZ Productions

Variety are reporting that the x-men spin-off shall be delayed, with a projected release date of May 1st, 2009, rather than a summer 2008 release. And that the Wolverine movie is now officially entitled “X-men Origins: Wolverine“, as we previously reported in a rumor round-up.

They also report that Liev Schrieber is in final talks to play the younger version of Logan’s nemesis, William Stryker (previously played by Brian Cox in X2).

As for the shooting schedule, Variety report that after the New Zealand shoot the crew shall travel to New Orleans to continue. There is much significance in this new location, as it holds the heritage of one particularly popular character. Specifically, this news suggests we may well witness (at last?) the inclusion of the much anticipated and loved Gambit character.