World press swoon over The Return of the King premiere

By ALAN PERROTT


The world's media have crowned Peter Jackson the "Hobbit King" after the premiere of The Return of the King.

"New Zealand has had a day like no other," said the BBC News website. "It was a time when Wellington, the country's sedate harbourside capital, briefly outmuscled Hollywood as the giant Lord of the Rings machine rolled into town."

Reporter Phil Mercer said if an election was held tomorrow the country would have a new prime minister, "the official candidate for Middle-earth".

The Scotsman newspaper described Jackson's march up Courtenay Place as that of a "conquering hero ... like a victorious general at the head of a successful army".

With tongue firmly in cheek, Australian website news.com hailed Jackson as "Hobbit King of New Zealand, hailed throughout the land as the saviour of hope, goodness, truth and the national economy".

It reported actor John (Gimli) Rhys-Davies as saying the director had done more for this country than Captain Cook. "Whatever idiot decided to get rid of knighthoods [in New Zealand] should have a serious rethink," he said.

While it was a massive party for Wellington, Melbourne's Age newspaper claimed "it was the actors who were awestruck, after the city and fans honoured them in a ticker-tape parade and then with a rockstar welcome on the red carpet".

Its story quoted a stunned Viggo (Aragorn) Mortensen: "I keep hearing a voice in my head saying 'remember this, remember this'."

The San Francisco Chronicle said the roar from 100,000 Rings fans woke up New Zealand's usually sleepy capital.

England's Telegraph newspaper said the parade, crowd and atmosphere provided a "stunning opening scene to rival any of the special effects seen in the series".

It said a quarter of Wellington's population appeared to be hanging from windows and clambering on to rooftops to catch a glimpse of the spectacle.

The Guardian's film critic Peter Bradshaw waxed lyrical over Jackson's achievement. "No director has masterminded three movies back to back like this, less still done so much with such a giant commercial splash."

He said Jackson was probably now the most famous man in New Zealand.

* Meanwhile, Jackson himself will start work on his $200 million King Kong film in Wellington next month.

Universal Studios is to pay Jackson a record $32 million to direct the film, which is expected to provide between 1500 and 2000 jobs.

Jackson said he still had to edit an extended version of the third Lord of the Rings film for DVD. He wanted it done before Christmas. But he would spend most of his time from January working on King Kong, inspired by the 1933 film. Shooting is planned for August, mainly in Wellington.

Jackson said that because the film would be set in the 1930s it would be easier to shoot about 80 per cent of it at his Miramar studios. It was likely that Australian actress Naomi Watts, 35, would play Ann Darrow.

Wellington special effects companies Weta Workshop and Weta Digital will work on the film.

- NZPA


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

Herald Feature: Lord of the Rings