Rings prequel born out of one fan's blood, sweat and tears

Stills from Kate Madison's Lord of the Rings low-budget prequel Born of Hope, which has had over half-a-million hits on YouTube so far. Photo / Supplied

Watch out Peter Jackson - a Lord of the Rings fan and amateur actress is causing a storm with her cheap prequel to the epic trilogy.

Kate Madison, 31, spent more than a year making the hour-long film, which has already had half-a-million hits on YouTube.

Born of Hope, is based on two paragraphs in the appendix of Tolkien's original books referring to Arathorn and Gilraen the parents of Aragorn.

The project cost only £25,000 ($56,000) after Madison convinced more than 400 volunteers to work for free.

She raised two-thirds of the cash via an internet appeal and the rest was her life savings.

She told Britain's Daily Mail that Jackson's trilogy had blown her mind.

"The battle scenes and the array of incredible characters really inspired me and I was desperate to have a go at making an epic myself," she said.

News of the film's success is international and on Twitter Madison says she is flat out.

"Having a crazy day bouncing from one radio interview to another. Getting loads of press calling and trying to juggle lots of TV interviews!"

Madison beat Jackson in the race to complete a Lord of the Rings prequel.

He is executive producer and co-writer on a film adaptation of The Hobbit, due for release in 2012.

But staff from Jackson's Weta Workshop, which won Oscars for its work on the Lord of the Rings, were effusive in their praise.

After viewing early footage, director and effects supervisor Richard Taylor said the film looked "amazing".

"It's incredible to see what craftsmanship, sensitivity and attention to detail is being brought to bear on this ambitious project ... I can't wait to see the finished film."

Weta designer Daniel Falconer said he admired what Madison was doing and would love to support her efforts.

Reviewers were equally complimentary. Wendy Ide, of timesonline.co.uk, described Madison as a "force of nature".

"We should put her in charge of the British film industry."