- Title: First 'Lord of the Rings' movie turns 20
- Date: 9th December 2021
- Summary: ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** "THE LORD OF THE RINGS" LOGO ON WEBSITE FANS WHO CAMPED OUTSIDE CINEMA OVERNIGHT TO SEE THE FIRST OFFICIAL THEATRICAL TEASER TRAILER FOR "THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING" GATHERED IN FRONT OF CINEMA DOORS FANS WAITING TO BUY TICKETS FAN HOLDING UP "THE LORD OF THE RINGS" T-SHIRT CANNES, FRANCE (FILE - MAY 12, 2001) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GUESTS AND PERFORMERS AT A PRIVATE CASTLE IN CANNES ATTENDING A PREVIEW SCREENING EVENT FOR "THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING" ON THE SIDELINES OF THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, DURING WHICH 23-MINUTES OF SCENES FROM THE MOVIE WERE SHOWN ACTOR SEAN ASTIN, MONAGHAN, WOOD, JACKSON AND BOYD SINGING AND CHEERING TYLER POSING FOR PHOTOS TYLER SPEAKING WITH REPORTER, SAYING (English) "We were in New Zealand on the other side of the world and kind of in a little bubble away from everything and it's really amazing to have people recognise all that hard work and passion and they're really responding to it and that feels amazing." LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - DECEMBER 16, 2001) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF GRAUMANS EGYPTIAN THEATRE / FILM POSTER GUESTS ON RED CARPET WOOD AND ASTIN SPEAKING WITH REPORTERS TYLER, BLOOM AND WOOD POSING FOR PHOTOS EXTERIOR OF CINEMA / JACKSON SPEAKING WITH REPORTERS JACKSON SPEAKING WITH REPORTER, SAYING (English) "I sort of walked a tightrope between keeping the essence of the "Lord of the Rings", obviously the plot, the characters, the things that people love about the books I wanted to make sure were in the movies, the themes. But I wanted it to be very accessible if you've never read the books you've got nothing to fear. The movie is easy to follow." LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - MARCH 25, 2002) (REUTERS) RED CARPET ARRIVALS FOR THE ACADEMY AWARDS OUTSIDE KODAK THEATRE JACKSON AND ASTIN SPEAKING WITH REPORTERS ON THE OSCARS RED CARPET JACKSON AND ASTIN SPEAKING WITH REPORTERS, JACKSON SAYING (English) "We have. We've got things stuffed in our pockets, we've got things in our shoes, we're completely loaded." ASTIN SAYING (English) "My child is at home with lit candles and a babysitter, they're praying, we're doing everything that we can do, what more can you say." CROWDS ALONG RED CARPET MCKELLEN ON RED CARPET MCKELLEN IN INTERVIEW, SAYING (English) "We're in the middle of cinematic history here, with this film, it's a huge success for the public which is what matters and we'll see whether the Academy agrees, well they certainly do so far with the nominations. Two more movies to come you know." NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - DECEMBER 5, 2002) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) SNOW OUTSIDE ZIEGFIELD THEATRE AHEAD OF WORLD PREMIERE OF "THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS" BILLBOARD OUTSIDE THEATRE ANNOUNCING WORLD PREMIERE TYLER SPEAKING WITH REPORTERS ON RED CARPET WOOD SPEAKING WITH REPORTERS JACKSON SPEAKING WITH REPORTERS ASTIN SPEAKING WITH REPORTERS RED CARPET ARRIVALS
- Embargoed: 23rd December 2021 10:08
- Keywords: Lord of the rings films lord of the rings anniversary lord of the rings trilogy lotr new zealand film peter jackson
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: Various
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA004F7BF3V1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Friday (December 10) marks 20 years since the premiere of the first instalment in the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy.
"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", received its world premiere at London's Odeon Leicester Square on December 10, 2001 and was attended by the film's starry ensemble cast including actors Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler and Ian McKellen.
Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson and his film team went on to release two more hit movies; "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King".
New Zealand's rolling mountains, meadows and forests were made famous as the backdrop for the fictitious Middle-earth in the feature film adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" trilogies. To celebrate the anniversary, screenings of the film are planned in cinemas across the country, including a special outdoor screening on the paddy field of Hobbiton, a sheep and beef farm about 160 kilometres from Auckland, famous as "the home of the Hobbits".
The number of attendees had to be capped due to COVID-19 limits and also as many fans outside New Zealand were left out due to international borders remaining shut.
New Zealand's tourism industry has been badly hit over the last 20 months due to border closures and other pandemic restrictions. Hobbiton received 650,000 tourists each year before the pandemic just got 90,000 visitors in the last 12 months. It cut its staff to just 50 people from about 320 previously.
The hairy feet and pointed-ear Hobbits are set to hit the screens again as Amazon Studios began filming of the "The Lord of the Rings" series in New Zealand last year, a TV show widely tipped to be the most expensive ever made.
But Amazon said the second season of the multi-million dollar television series will be filmed in the United Kingdom, moving 'Middle Earth' out of New Zealand for the first time.
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