The Evening Post
December 4, 2001

Rings Diehards Say It's Worth the Wait
Staff Reporter

Despite a long, cold night on a Wellington footpath, recent school leavers Alex Rider, Milly Goldberg and Joel Humphreys agreed the discomfort was worth it to buy tickets to The Lord Of The Rings today.

"I'm a big humungo fan," Miss Rider said.

By 8am, about 40 people had lined up outside the Paramount Theatre to buy their tickets for the film. The Paramount was selling tickets for the Embassy Theatre screenings because the Embassy is being refurbished.

Heading the queue were Andrew James and Francesca Espie from Lower Hutt, and Mel Read, from Wellington. Wrapped in sleeping bags and blankets, the trio said they'd been waiting since 1am.

However, not everybody looked as uncomfortable as they did. Paul Kennett, who features as an Orc in the film, was waiting in style on a couch with his friends. Although the movie was also showing at Hoyts cinemas, he said it had to be seen at the Embassy.

Embassy manager Kerry Robins said he was surprised by the number of people lined up this morning, but said the Embassy was definitely the best location to watch the film. "It's Peter Jackson's theatre . . . It's the home of the film."

He said it would begin running at 6am on December 20 and screen around the clock for the following three days. Tickets for the first two days were selling for $25 as a fundraiser for the Embassy's refurbishment.

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