London Hit by Word of Rings
Staff Reporter

Hype in Britain is reaching Harry Potter-like proportions for tomorrow's world premiere of The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring.

The first screening of the first instalment of Peter Jackson's $650 million trilogy is being held at London's Odeon Cinema, Leicester Square.

Former Evening Post reporter Megan Lane, now living in London, said there was a feverish excitement about the film in Britain.

"Almost every newspaper is reporting on it in a big way and the funny little man who did the movie," she said. "The feeling here is it's a better movie than Harry Potter and will be bigger than that as well."

Lane, who works for BBC Online and will cover the premiere for The Evening Post, said double-decker buses that had been displaying Harry Potter posters now had Rings ones.

In the past few months, New Zealand's international profile has been boosted through Rings coverage in British newspapers such as The Independent, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, The Mirror and The Guardian. Tourism New Zealand has helped supply photographs and information.

The film's premiere is in Britain as it was the birthplace of Rings author J R R Tolkien and has a massive fan base there. Wellington's Embassy Theatre will have the New Zealand-Australia premiere on December 19.

Reviews of the movie on the Internet have been full of praise.