Massive crowd braves rain for Rings premiere in London

The stars of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy were greeted by thousands of fans at the British premiere of The Return of the King in London last night.

Some had been waiting in Leicester Square for more than 10 hours to catch a glimpse of the stars of the third and final instalment, including British actor Sir Ian McKellen.

The BBC website reported the fan turnout was the biggest ever for a London film premiere, despite bad weather.

New Zealand director Peter Jackson said he felt "relief and pride but also sadness" the trilogy was over.

"This reception is just amazing. I hear people have been here since five o'clock this morning and that's pretty touching," he said.

Sir Ian said he had been told it was "the biggest crowd there has ever been for the premiere of a film".

"And considering this is the third Lord of the Rings movie it's simply amazing."

The film's stars, which also included Dominic Monaghan (Merry), Liv Tyler (Arwen) and Sean Astin (Sam) were all met with deafening cheers from the crowd.

But the biggest applause was for Viggo Mortensen, who plays Aragorn, and Jackson.

The director spent at least 20 minutes signing autographs for fans who had been waiting all day.

Tyler said the fans were "so sweet".

"We've had the most incredible time going around these premieres."

Many fans had dressed as characters from the films, while some had travelled from as far away as Hungary for a look at the stars.

Many had posters, and had been on folding chairs and huddled under blankets in rainy conditions.

The Odeon cinema chain has recorded its biggest advance ticket sales of the year with more than one million already sold a week ahead of the film's British release.

Film critics are already calling for The Return of the King and director Jackson to be honoured at next year's Academy Awards.

Elijah Wood once again plays heroic hobbit Frodo, charged with travelling through perilous terrain to destroy the Ring.

At three hours and 11 minutes, it is the longest of the three films.

In a ground-breaking move the three films were made simultaneously in New Zealand over a number of years, and released annually since 2001.

The movie had its world premiere in New Zealand last week as 120,000 people turned out to cheer the film stars who took part in a street parade.

The Return of the King is released in the UK and the rest of Europe on December 17, with the United States and New Zealand opening on the following day.

- NZPA

* The Return Of The King opens in New Zealand on Dec. 18.

Herald Feature: Lord of the Rings