- Title: NEW ZEALAND: Thousands celebrate "The Hobbit" premiere in Wellington
- Date: 28th November 2012
- Summary: CROWD WAITING FOR STARS TO ARRIVE NEXT TO THE RED CARPET CROWD WAVING HOBBIT FLAGS SIGN READING "I BAG'S BILBO" PEOPLE HOLDING SIGNS SAYING "3 HORSES DIED IN THIS FILM" WITH PEOPLE MOVING SIGN'S FOR THE HOBBIT IN FRONT OF THEM CATE BLANCHETT WALKING ON RED CARPET MARTIN FREEMAN TALKING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR WHO PLAYS BILBO BAGGINS, MARTIN FREEMAN
- Embargoed: 13th December 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: New Zealand
- Country: New Zealand
- Reuters ID: LVA3ZH15LWYPOHOIJI7BFZPM99V4
- Story Text: Neil Finn and his band played the theme song from the Hobbit, "Song on a Lonely Mountain" to the thousands of people packed in New Zealand's capital city on Wednesday (November 28) to get a glimpse of the stars attending the red carpet world premiere of the film "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey".
Wellington, where director Peter Jackson and much of the post production is based, renamed itself "the Middle of Middle Earth", and fans with prominent Hobbit ears, medieval style costumes, and wizard hats had camped out the night before to claim prized spaces along the 500 metre (550 yards) red carpet.
Most of the film's stars attended the premiere, including British actor Martin Freeman, who plays the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, and Elijah Wood. Ian McKellen, who plays the wizard Gandalf, was absent.
Freeman, known for his roles in the comedy The Office and Sherlock Holmes, said he looked for a different, lighter, slightly pompous Baggins from the older, wiser character played by Ian Holm in the Rings movies.
"I wanted to play him in the way I wanted to play him and fortunately Peter wanted me not play him that way too. You know, that's why he wanted me to do it. So between us we kind of hash out a version of Bilbo. There'll be others you know. But our version is this one and I hope people like it," he said.
Jackson, a one time newspaper printer and the maker of the Oscar winning "Lord of the Rings" trilogy more than a decade ago, was cheered as he walked the red carpet.
The Hobbit trilogy is set 60 years before the Rings movies, but Jackson said it has benefited from being made after the conclusion of the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy saga.
"I am actually glad that we made The Lord of The Rings first. I'm glad that we established the look and the style of Middle Earth by adapting Lord of the Rings before we did the Hobbit. Because, now with the Hobbit we can bring in the wonderful humour and the whimsy from that book, the novel that Tolkien wrote. But we can still, we now know what the Lord of the Rings world is so we can tie the Hobbit into that. so all six movies will eventually will just tell a united story," Jackson told Reuters from the red carpet.
Jackson, a hometown hero in Wellington, said the production had been on a "difficult journey", alluding to Warner Brothers' financial problems, and a later labour dispute with unions.
Richard Armitage who plays dwarf warrior, Thorin Oakenshield, was a new addition to the gang of actors, most who had acted in Lord of the Rings.
"Being with those guys was like being plugged into their life blood. So, you know, it was thrilling. I learnt from them, I shared my new ideas with them but, you know people create a family and that's the most important thing," said Armitage The cast were no less enthusiastic about the Hobbit, especially those who had starred in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
British actor Andy Serkis, who plays the creature Gollum with a distinctive throaty whisper said picking up the character after a near-10 year break was like putting on a familiar skin.
"Oh it was fantastic. It was great and what I enjoyed most was getting to work with Martin Freeman because he's such a stunning actor. No one else can play the Hobbit, you know and to get to play that scene out in its entirety, time and time again, and to explore that scene was a real joy," he said.
"Was it like getting back into the skin of an old friend?" asked Reuters TV.
"Yes, he's never really left me to be honest. I'm reminded on a daily basis of Gollum, he's truly never left me," said Serkis.
Lord Elrond, played by Hugo Weaving in Lord of the Rings trilogy is back as the Lord of Elven kingdom and found the Hobbit film very much like the book.
"That was the thing that most interested me, was the tone of this book. It is so different from Lord of the Rings and what that would mean for us as actors. Whether we'd be working in a totally different film and I was sure it would be totally different in some way but I wasn't sure what that was going to mean for us as actors. But, so actually on the day it was very similar for us on the set form day to day. But the end result is lighter and yet also I think it has a flow to it and it breaths, perhaps more charactable," said Weaving.
Elijah Wood is back as a Hobbit, although a very brief appearance, after having played Frodo in Lord of the Rings. "Oh man, it was beautiful. You know, it was a time and a place and a character that I never thought I would revisit. So to get a chance to come, even for a brief amount of time and see old friends. So many of the same crew were working on the Hobbit as on Lord of the Rings, many of the same cast members. It was a gift, it was like a family reunion," said Wood.
Australian, Barry Humphries, better known as the actor behind Dame Edna Everage, stars as the unattractive Goblin King.
"I like playing it, but it's the most grotesque character I've ever played," said Humphries.
At the end of the red carpet, director Sir Peter Jackson was joined on stage by the cast as they all thanked and fare welled the crowd of supporters.
The only sour note came when several animal rights activists held up posters saying "Middle Earth unexpected cruelty" and "3 horses died for this film", after claims last week that more than 20 animals, died during the making of the film.
Event organisers tried to block out the protesters' posters with large Hobbit film billboards. Jackson has said some animals died on a farm where they were housed, but none had been hurt during filming.
The movies have been filmed in three-dimension at 48 frames per second (fps), compared with the standard 24 fps, which Jackson has likened to the leap to compact discs and vinyl records.
The second film "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" will be released in December next year, with the third "The Hobbit: There and Back Again" due in mid-July 2014. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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