LONDON - New Zealand film director Peter Jackson was warmly greeted by movie fans at the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings at London's Leicester Square tonight.
Fans lined up 10-deep along a 60-metre walkway leading to the Odeon theatre in the heart of London's cultural West End, cheered when an unusually dapper-looking Jackson came into sight.
Jackson, famed for wearing shorts and going barefoot, was clad in a deep purple dress shirt, nicely pressed charcoal trousers and well-polished black shoes.
That was dressed up for him, but he was underdressed for his big night on a crisp, chill, London winter evening, at an event where suits are standard apparel.
Left hand tucked into a trouser pocket, Jackson beamed and waved to the crowd as a barrage of camera flashes lit up the night.
After briefly posing for the press and fans, he turned and entered the theatre -- almost taking a side door until directed through the main entrance -- for the biggest night of his career.
Flaming rings stood atop the Odean verandah, with music from the film playing as actors and celebrities arrived.
John Rhys-Davies, who plays the dwarf Gimli, was first there.
Anne Burn, 33, of Manchester stood squashed against temporary railings to get a glimpse of the stars.
She told NZPA she was pleased Jackson directed the movie of a book she first read 20 years ago.
"Peter Jackson is an amazing director. I really have high hopes for the film. If it was a Hollywood director it could have been messed up big time.
"I'm really looking forward to the movie," she said, admitting she had waited three hours in the cold to see the stars arrive.
Burly though he is, Jackson was still overshadowed by the trio of tiny actors who played Hobbits in his trilogy.
Billy Boyd, who played Pippin, Dominic Monaghan, Merry, and Elijah Wood, who was the hero of the story, Frodo, arrived one after the other.
They were colour-coordinated, with Boyd in a green suit, Wood a matching brown suit, and Monaghan, purple.
After an extended stint signing autographs, they embraced, then stood arm-in-arm as photographers let fly.
Some fans waited for more than four hours in a bid to catch a glimpse of those who turned J.R.R. Tolkien's tale of Middle Earth into movie magic.
A range of British glitterati attended the film's long-awaited unveiling.
A Metropolitan policeman told NZPA tonight's event was not as well attended by fans as the recent Harry Potter premiere had been.
- NZPA