Rings Star Says Film a Wonder
Staff Reporter

Sir Ian McKellan, who plays Gandalf the wizard in The Lord Of The Rings, has finally seen the completed film - and he says it's great.

Sir Ian details his reaction to The Fellowship Of The Ring on his website. He was one of 40 people invited to a private screening in New York by the $650 million trilogy's executive producer Mark Ordeksy.

"Everything on screen honours Tolkien's imagination and cinematically matches it. The achievement of (Miramar-based) Weta's special effects is that they are not evident, seemingly as actual as the New Zealand landscapes which double for Middle Earth.

"The designs of make-up, costume and varying sizes, from hobbits to elves, do not draw attention themselves - they simply belong within a world that never existed which is yet fully alive. All this, with performances to match, allows the story to be the star of the film and of that I couldn't be more pleased.

"My advice would be to see it at least once on a really big screen, there is so much detail to look and wonder at. If you don't know the novels, don't try now to read them in advance.

"The film's narrative is crystal clear and you have a year before The Two Towers to slake your Tolkien thirst by reading the novel."