PM joins ecstatic fans for LOTR triumph

By JAMES GARDINER

If you couldn't be in Hollywood, "Wellywood" was always going to be a popular alternative location.

There were ecstatic scenes inside the Embassy Theatre as more than 500 movie fans cheered home their favourite.

Some were dressed in their finery, others as characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Tony Clark of Porirua donned sandals, shorts and purple shirt to emulate the man of the moment, Peter Jackson.

Among the guests of the Embassy Theatre Trust were Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright and Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Some were there for the entire six-hour awards marathon, downing popcorn and bubbly as they watched the show live on the big screen.

Helen Clark's entourage cut it a bit finer and had to break into a run as they came up the stairs and heard the huge cheer that greeted Jackson being named best director, the 10th of the 11 Oscars for Return of the King.

But the big moment was still to come. The instant Steven Spielberg announced a "clean sweep" the theatre rose as one, cheering, whistling and stamping.

Down the road at the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club about 100 staff of the Lord of the Rings production company, Three Foot Six, were partying all afternoon.

As every nomination turned to gold the cheering reached new volumes and the people from behind the scenes who worked on sound, sound editing, visual effects, art, production and music were swamped with congratulatory hugs, kisses and handshakes.

"It's amazing," said Melissa Booth, who worked for the past five years as publicist for the trilogy. "Every time I hear Lord of the Rings I can't believe it."

She said it was especially heartening to win awards in categories in which the first two films had been nominated but missed the big prize.

Annie Collins, singled out by film editor James Selkirk when he accepted the Oscar for film editing, said she was "gobsmacked" by the award and hearing the tribute from Selkirk.

"I'm almost without words. I just think it's one of the most fantastic things to have happened, not just in this country but in film-making.

"The achievement of making these three films and the way that they were made has never been done before and is probably never going to be done again. The logistics of it were incredible."

Helen Clark was similarly effusive in praising the achievements of Jackson and his cast and crew.

"It's just blowing everyone away," she said. Asked if she now regretted not getting a part, she laughed. "Maybe I should have tried a small role behind one of those orc masks."

The result was an "unbelievable" advertisement for New Zealand.

"It's just amazing the way our people on that stage remembered the folks at home and gave everyone a plug."

She said the Rings' achievement in winning 11 awards was "stunning" and a proud day for New Zealand.

"It has been an outstanding year for the New Zealand film industry, highlighted by the massive success of the Lord of the Rings and accompanied by the wonderful achievements of Whale Rider and Keisha Castle-Hughes."

She said spin-offs from the profile these films had given to New Zealand would be felt for years to come.