12-16-02: Hobbit Back to Second Home

The Dominion Post
December 16, 2002

Hobbit Back to Second Home
Leah Haines

Heart-throb hobbit Elijah Wood may have been the toast of New York at the weekend, but his heart was in his adopted home of Wellington, where he is headed this week.

"I can't wait. I'm coming back for the premiere of Two Towers on Wednesday," he said before an Investment New Zealand screening of the film in Manhattan, hosted by Prime Minister Helen Clark.

"Wellington last year was literally the biggest premiere I have ever been to. It was unbelievable," Wood effused. "It was like a giant homecoming."

Wood, now 21, spent a formative 18 months filming The Lord of the Rings trilogy in Wellington and has since become a roving ambassador for New Zealand. His blue eyes light up when he meets a Kiwi and, before you know it, he's hugging you like a lost brother.

But his appearance at the film's Friday night screening – designed to promote New Zealand as a tourist and investment destination – still brought gasps of surprise.

Wood explained: "I was invited to support New Zealand and be here for the screening and, honestly, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

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