Morfydd Clark attends The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Los Angeles red carpet premiere. Photo / Getty Images
A long way from wet, wintry New Zealand, in a distant land known as Los Angeles, TimeOut has arrived for the American premiere of the new, big-budget series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Coming to Amazon Prime Video, the series is inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and takes place thousands of years before the events of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie trilogies.
TimeOut has a spot on the red carpet for the event at the historic Culver Studios and, as is often the case with New Zealanders at these sorts of things, it is the absolute last position on the press line. This means I'm standing right next to the pen containing hordes of rabid Rings fans, many of whom have travelled far to be here.
A young couple from Finland hoping to spot Viggo Mortensen, Aragorn in Peter Jackson's LoTR epic trilogy, are extremely disappointed to learn he won't be attending.
When the Finns note my country of provenance, the guy casually comments, "Weren't parts of the original films shot in New Zealand?" and my mouth is agape. "Parts!?" A fan from England corrects him, then further clarifies that the series they are attending the premiere for was also shot in New Zealand, before proudly announcing that the second season of The Rings of Power is going to be filmed in his (and Tolkien's) home country. I shoot him an icy look.
It's blisteringly hot in LA but the gargantuan cast of the series is out in force and dressed to the nines (fittingly, as mortal men get that number of rings), as is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, a rare red carpet presence whose passion for Tolkien apparently drove Prime Video to produce what is reportedly the most expensive television series ever made.
Amid the fray, former Go Girls star Leon Wadham, the sole New Zealander in the core cast, wanders over for a chat and I ask him how it feels to be representing the Kiwi contingent at the premiere.
"It feels good. It feels surreal," says Wadham. "But it's a beautiful day in California. I was in the pool this morning. Now I get to celebrate a show that everyone worked really hard on."
Wadham plays Kemen, a member of the Númenórean race, long-living mortal men who we haven't seen in any Tolkien adaptations yet. The day before, TimeOut had a chance to watch the first two episodes of the show (it's very impressive!), and Wadham's character has yet to show up. But the Númenóreans, and Númenor itself, will play a major role in the series going forward.
"There's some pride in these people," explains Wadham. "And there's a level of resentment that the elves gave them extended lives and not immortality. We're at the peak of our powers. But pride comes before a fall."
Just before the premiere begins, I get to speak to co-showrunners/writers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, the principal creative forces behind the series.
Payne says it was "extremely important" that the first season was shot in Aotearoa. "New Zealand is Middle-earth in so many people's minds. We love our Kiwi crew and are incredibly grateful for everything they did: all the sacrifices, all the work, all the hours."
"We miss it," adds McKay, who is sporting a pounamu pendant for the premiere. "We loved it there and people are going to fall in love with New Zealand anew in the show."
McKay says he is "incredibly sad" to be leaving New Zealand to shoot the second season in England, but offers up a reasonable rationale.
"Starting in New Zealand lets us hopefully pay homage to the past, and returning to the UK, the books are coming home in a way and I hope it gets a new flavour that builds on what's there and goes somewhere new."
It's time we start to come to terms with the fact that we were only ever stewards of Tolkien's works. A new era of The Lord of the Rings has begun
THE LOWDOWN
What: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
When: Premieres Friday September 2
Where: Streaming on Amazon Prime Video