A premiere fit for a king

By RUSSELL BAILLIE, JAMES GARDINER and CATHY ARONSON


It may have been our first bow in the bigtime movie spotlight. It may well be our last.

But as far as world premieres go, the bow of The Return of the King tonight in Wellington was an event that itself made movie history.

Few films have been greeted with more excitement - a mix of national pride and movie star adulation - or such numbers.

Wellington came to a standstill as crowds - believed to have exceeded the 100,000 anticipated - poured on to the streets to cheer a parade that wound from Parliament through the central city to the Embassy Theatre.

Shops, offices and classrooms emptied out and buses, trains and ferries were swelled by a huge influx of passengers from all parts of the country.

All the organisation by the city council, police and the companies behind the film appeared to have paid off as the parade and other lead-up events ran smoothly in front of good-natured crowds.

In front of the newly restored Embassy, the man of the hour, director Peter Jackson, was greeted as a conquering hero before making a long speech thanking individually what seemed like a sizeable portion of the 23,000 New Zealanders who had worked on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well the cast and craftspeople behind it.

For good measure, he invited the principal cast and crew onto the stage.

"This city played host to The Lord of the Rings for nearly 18 months while we were shooting. We had a group of actors come from overseas who fell in love with this city, the bars, the cafes - the women," joked Jackson.

"Yes," responded Sir Ian McKellen, "the bars of Wellington, the cafes of Wellington, the women of Wellington - and the men." The English actor has been nicknamed "Gandalf the Gay".

Sean Astin, who plays hobbit Samwise Gamgee, won admiration for heartfelt words that went beyond the "Thanks a bunch, New Zealand" of other cast-members.

"It's such a tenuous time on the planet," said Astin. "So much darkness and so much villainy in the world but this city and this country are a beacon of hope.

"Your warm, bright, smiling faces, your huge hearts and your enormous welcoming spirit are a hope for the world, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of my family. God bless you all."

In his speech, Andy Serkis briefly fell back into the split-personality character and voice of Gollum: "Wellington sucks. No, we loves it. Wellington is our friend. Oh, okay, just this once."

Jackson paid special tribute to partner Fran Walsh, who has shunned any limelight for her involvement in the project as writer and producer, to help protect their two children from the glare of media.

"I really couldn't have done it without Fran. She has been my absolute collaborator, my supporter."

With his extended speech, the shy and retiring director proved he would be up to the task should the Academy Awards give him an even bigger audience in late February.

Jackson thanked his hometown for the grand reception, apologising that they cannot see the film until its release on December 18.

"I wish you could have seen the film tonight. We should have just played it on the screen. But we can't - there's too many video cameras and you'd pirate it. It would be available on the corner of Cuba St tomorrow morning."

Fans began their vigil alongside the red carpet on Courtenay Place 24 hours before the parade was due to start.

Those who braved the chilly evening were rewarded shortly after midnight when stars Viggo Mortensen and Sir Ian went along the lines chatting, signing autographs and thanking them for their dedication.

By early morning, clear skies heralded the perfect weather everyone had been hoping for and within a short time every front-row position on either side of the half kilometre of red carpet had been secured and jealously guarded.

Gretchen Hauptfleisch, 16, from Paraparaumu, and friend Kelly Harper, 13, from Wellington, spent the night beside the barriers, although there was not much sleeping.

"It was so cool," Gretchen said.

"It was really cold," Kelly added.

A carnival atmosphere prevailed as joyous teens played cards, shouted greetings, painted their bodies and chatted on cellphones, which for Vodafone users, listed the "Wgtn CBD" cellsite as "MiddlEarth" - not that anyone needed reminding.

Emily Laurie-Fendall, 15, from Raglan, her sister, Ruth, 17, and Laura Sifleet, 14, and Aisha Healey, 14, both from Hamilton, met their friend Amanda Farmer, 16, in Feilding.

"We got up at 4am and got here at 8am," said Amanda, "I love Elijah", one of many messages adorning her body.

But the star most of the young girls wanted to see - and more, if possible - was Orlando Bloom.

"We love you Orlando," read one sign. "De-bloom me, Orlando," urged another.

Before the parade, Jackson and his cast were treated to a parliamentary reception hosted by Prime Minister Helen Clark. Only there was a right royal wait for Liv Tyler who plays elven princess Arwen.

She arrived so late for the Lord of the Rings reception hosted by Prime Minister Helen Clark that the camera crews, photographers and much of the large crowd had disappeared. But, boy, did she arrive.

There were screams of "Liv, Liv" as the red limousine glided onto the parliamentary concourse and Tyler alighted with a huge smile and wave to the crowd.

In high heels and a figure-hugging black evening dress, she walked up the red-carpeted steps to cheers from the crowd, many of who had turned around and raced back across the Parliamentary lawn that minutes earlier had been packed. Apparently her hair had needed some last minute attention.

Prior to that the Orlando chant had gone up from the shoolgirls in the front row. "Come here Orlando, they demanded, and on two occasions Bloom made a move to do exactly that but was advised against it by black-suited security guards who surrounded the entire entourage.

Later on the red carpet and inside the Embassy, local A-list local celebrities, politicians and sports stars rubbed shoulders with the LOTR cast.

"If you look closely you migh see Jerry Collins in [the film]," Tana Umaga joked at the expense of his fellow All Black who also had premiere tickets, possibly in the front row. "I don't think he had any make-up on."


* Return Of The King opens in New Zealand on Dec. 18.

Red carpet commentary: Wellington celebrates the world premiere

Herald Feature: Lord of the Rings