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| Monday
December 1st, 2003 |
| KIWIS
GET SET FOR WORLD PREM OF LORD OF RINGS 3 |
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Giant trolls and serpents swarm over buildings, fearsome warrior Orcs prowl the streets, and Frodo Baggins beams down from billboards.
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Excited fans from around the world converged on New Zealand's capital on Monday for the world premiere of the final part of "Lord of the Ring". And the opportunity to see the film three weeks before it opens worldwide.
City officials expect up to 100,000 people - equal to a fourth of Wellington's population - to watch a parade of move stars and characters at Monday's premiere of "The Return of the King". The final part of British writer Professor J.R.R Tolkien's trilogy, completed in 1955, opens on December 17 in the US and the UK.
Filmed on location in New Zealand by home-grown director Peter Jackson, the "Return of the King" is a multi-layered tale of the Hobbit Frodo and his bid to save the world by destroying a golden ring with magical powers.
Kim Ong of Singapore timed her trip to New Zealand to coincide with the premiere.
"I saw the first movie which was wonderful, it blew us away. So since then, I've been waiting forever for the premiere," she said.
Ong said she planned to spend at least a week visiting some of the film's locations around New Zealand.
The first two parts of the trilogy -- "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" -- are among the highest grossing movies in box office history, having taken in a combined $1.8 billion.
The books by the British writer Tolkien -- an Oxford professor who created whole languages and histories for his characters and plots -- have also enjoyed an enormous revival since the first two films were made and have found millions of new readers.
Stars attending Monday's premiere at Wellington's newly refurbished 852-seater art deco Embassy Theater include Liv Tyler, Sir Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Elijah Wood. Director Jackson, a self-effacing figure known for his sometimes disheveled appearance in public, told journalists ahead of the premiere he was a bundle of nerves.
"The pressure of being the center of so much attention is... stressful, but I'm just taking the approach that I'm there playing my part to represent everyone who worked on this film," he said. "I'm incredibly proud of what's happening, but it's just a personal thing."
Tipped for best director Oscar at next year's awards, Jackson said honors did not concern him.
"I'm just going to let everybody else decide that," he said. "You can only do what you can do. You do the very best job you can... I don't think I have any regrets.
"The Fellowship" won Oscars for make-up, cinematography, visual effects, and original score, while "The Two Towers" won awards for digital effects and sound editing.
Jackson said he made the film in New Zealand not to challenge Hollywood, but because it was home.
"I'm just doing what I love doing in the country I was born in," he said.
Once work finishes on his next project -- another remake of the classic "King Kong," Jackson said he hoped to return to making smaller New Zealand-based movies.
But it was possible a prequel to the "Lord of the Rings" called "The Hobbit" could be made in the future -- although the rights to the book had not yet been obtained, Jackson said.
New Zealand's capital Wellington got into the swing of things for the premier, with Prime Minister Helen Clark sending off a parade that snaked 3 miles through the city streets.
Businessmen and blue-collar workers, young and old, dressed as their favorite "Ring" characters to jostle for a place in the procession and proclaim Jackson their hometown hero.
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| "I
was really young when I started filming this thing...
Now look at me." |
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