WORLD PREMIERE WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND
The stars of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first of a trilogy of films by Sir Peter Jackson, will walk the red carpet at the World Premiere in Wellington, New
Zealand tonight. An online audience of millions from all over the world including Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Greece,
Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan and the U.S.A will watch the premiere
streamed live as the stars interact with their biggest fans!
WORLD PREMIERE RED CARPET
WHEN:Wednesday 28 November 2012
Press check in 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Neil Finn concert 4:00pm
Red carpet arrivals from 4:30pm
Red carpet speeches 6:30pm
Premiere screening commences 7:00pm
WHERE: Embassy Theater, 10 Kent Terrace & Reading Cinemas, 100 Courtenay Place.
WHO: Peter Jackson (Director/Producer/Screenwriter), Fran Walsh (Producer/ Screenwriter) Philippa Boyens
(Screenwriter/Co-Producer), Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins), Andy Serkis (Gollum), Elijah Wood (Frodo), Cate Blanchett
(Galadriel), Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Hugo Weaving (Lord Elrond), Barry Humphries (Goblin King), Sylvester
McCoy (Radagast) and Dwarves Jed Brophy (Nori), Adam Brown (Ori), John Callen (Oin), Mark Hadlow (Dori), Peter Hambleton
(Gloin), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), William Kircher (Bifur), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), James Nesbitt (Bofur), Dean
O’Gorman (Fili) and Aidan Turner (Kili) in addition film makers Dan Hennah (Production Designer), Andrew Lesnie
(Director of Photography), Joe Letteri (Effects Supervisor) and Sir Richard Taylor (Costume Designer), Neil Finn
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VIP guests include James Cameron, Yao Chen, Evangeline Lily, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Colin Mathura-Jeffrees, Petra Bagust,
Dane Rumble, Jon Toogood, Brooke Fraser, Taika Watit, Jermaine Clement and dignitaries Prime Minister John Key, The
Governor-General, Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae and the Mayor Celia Wade-Brown.
EMBASSY THEATRE INSTALLATION
The Embassy Theatre Gandalf the Grey-inspired installation has been completed. It took four builders four weeks to build
and three sculptors three weeks to fabricate, an amount of work equal to approximately 500 hours work. In addition,
2,400 bamboo skewers and 153 litres of paint were used in the construction and 600 grass skirts were imported and
painted for the grass. Gandalf is 9.4 meters tall, approximately 4.5 times taller than Sir Ian.
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From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first of a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, the character he played in “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, with Martin
Freeman in the central role of Bilbo Baggins, and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. Also reprising their roles
from “The Lord of the Rings” in “The Hobbit” Trilogy are: Cate Blanchett as Galadriel; Ian Holm as the elder Bilbo;
Christopher Lee as Saruman; Hugo Weaving as Elrond; Elijah Wood as Frodo; and Andy Serkis as Gollum. The international
ensemble cast of the trilogy also includes (in alphabetical order) Manu Bennett, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen,
Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Barry Humphries, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham
McTavish, James Nesbitt, Dean O’Gorman, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott and Aidan Turner.
The screenplay for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro. Jackson is also producing the film, together with Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner and Fran Walsh.
The executive producers are Alan Horn, Toby Emmerich, Ken Kamins and Carolyn Blackwood, with Boyens and Eileen Moran
serving as co-producers.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and the second and third films of the trilogy are productions of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
(MGM), with New Line managing production. Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with
select international territories as well as all international television distribution being handled by MGM.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will release in New Zealand on 13 December, United States on 14 December, United Kingdom on 14 December and Australia on
26 December.