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And it seems that they've hit gold again as many critics
are giving three thumbs up to "The Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers".
Claiming that it's a movie masterpiece tol satisfy
even the most ardent fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic
tale of hobbits, elves and orcs in the fantasy world
of Middle Earth.
"The opening of this film has truly become a global
event. 'The Lord of the Rings' has been embraced by
so many different cultures," said Rolf Mittweg, president
of New Line Cinema.
This is the second in a trilogy of "The Lord of the
Rings" films that were made by director Peter Jackson
in his native New Zealand with a $270 million budget
and a crew of 2,400.
The first film grossed $860 million worldwide last
year, a gigantic total only topped by the first Harry
Potter movie, which took $965 million.
Now the two wizard tales are going head-to-head at
the box office again.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" has already
grossed $200 million in the United States alone, with
some stiff competition from the latest James Bond
movie.
From December 18, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two
Towers" will compete with Potter and Bond in the build-up
to Christmas.
The "Lord of the Rings" stars, including Christopher
Lee and Liv Tyler face an exhausting schedule of first
nights that started in New York on Dec 5. Now it's
the turn of Paris to stage the next big premiere on
December 10.
But first the stars have a two day-long ordeal by
media on Sunday and Monday -- the world's press are
queuing up for soundbites to launch their coverage
of one of the most eagerly awaited movies of the year.
The stars will also be taking in London, Copenhagen,
Los Angeles, Wellington and Sydney to ensure the film
gets a publicity blast-off before it hits the silver
screens.
The vibes from the critics are already good.
Britain's Sun tabloid declared: "The Two Towers is
a fantasy masterpiece that does justice to Tolkien's
masterpiece."
It certainly was an extraordinary undertaking to film
the 20th-century classic that has been read by more
than 100 million people.
Jackson, who made all three films in one in a gruelling
18 months, is a passionate Tolkien fan and was determined
to honor the writer's vision.
"Whilst you can never be totally faithful to a book,
especially a book of over 1,000 pages, we have tried
to incorporate the things that Tolkien cared about
when he wrote the book and make them the fabric of
the films," Jackson said.
And to do that, he had to employ an army of artists
-- from digital experts to medieval weapon designers,
from blacksmiths to stone sculptors.
Young American actor Elijah Wood, who plays the hero
Frodo Baggins, said: "It has been an amazing life
experience for all of us. It also gave us an opportunity
to become closer than any of us had ever been working
on other films.
"I think we have made some of the best friends of
our lives."
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