'Rings' hype to hit big screen

By DANIEL JACKSON

The first scenes of the Lord of the Rings trilogy could be on movie screens soon with the expected arrival of its trailer in New Zealand next week.

The trailer, the first time devoted Rings fans will get to see any of the long-awaited first movie, has already created excitement overseas.

In Britain and the US, fans are preparing to go to the movies just to see the trailer when it is released next week.

Radio advertisements in Britain are urging fans to buy tickets for Lost Souls, a film starring Winona Ryder, not so they can see the movie but rather to take in the preview for the Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of the trilogy.

In the US, fans are expected to flock to movies featuring the preview, although whether they stay to see the feature remains to be seen. It is not the first time promoters of a movie have hyped their ad to fans.

When George Lucas announced a two-minute preview of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 1998, fans bought tickets in droves, then walked out before the feature, earning the preview the title the "nine dollar trailer."

Roadshow Film Distributors hopes the heavy interest in the trilogy, directed by New Zealander Peter Jackson and due for release worldwide in December, will have fans flocking to cinemas for their first, albeit brief, big screen taste.

Publicity and promotion manager Janice Gourley said the trailer was expected early next week, when it would go to the censor for classification.

The trailer is likely to run before other Roadshow films, including The Cell, starring Jennifer Lopez, and What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson.

Herald Online feature: Lord of the Rings