The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Return of the King, the third installment of Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, premiered in Wellington, New Zealand on Monday. I'm sure you're asking yourself, Monday? Which Monday? Well in New Zealand, Monday comes 24 hours earlier than here in the U.S. So there you go, the explanation of the Monday enigma. TheEmbassy Theatre played host to the premiere and seemed to have an aura ofpride and appreciation around it due to the film's connection with New Zealand. Jackson felt that his homeland would be the perfect landscape to harness the setting of middle earth; therefore, all three epics were filmedvirtually in their entirety throughout the country. The fans were treatedto a star-studded performance with a parade-like setting of armoredsoldiers on black horses masquerading through the streets of Wellington on the way to the premiere.

The cast and crew, which featured stars such as Viggo Mortensen, Sir IanMcKellen, Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, and Elijah Wood, were greeted by over100,000 fans, which is about one quarter of the city's population. Amidticker tape and cheers, Jackson and company proudly marched through thecity for three miles upon reaching the 510-yard red carpet. "Where's thefan reception?" asked Jackson. In reference to the premier, the directoralso added, "it was something I've been looking forward to for a long time,when you're always fantasizing about the day you are going to have anaudience watching it."

The third installment, which is rumored to be the most captivating of thethree epics, will finish the tale of the ring of power in just under threehours and 11 minutes. In the final film, we will find out if Frodo and Sammake it to Mount Doom safely with the ring, while Aragorn, Gandalf andcompany will wage a war and mount one final stand against Sauron's forcesin the battle for middle earth. This epic tale opens, worldwide, onDecember 17, 2003 and is expected to earn billions of dollars like its predecessors. Fans of the director also can look forward to his version of King Kong, which is due to be released in 2005. Consequently, Lord of the Ring fans can look forward to a possible adaptation of Tolkien's "Hobbit" in the future.