Toronto Star
11 May 2001
HOBBIT FORMING: The hottest movie
here yesterday drew a capacity crowd that needed a secret location
and two sets of I.D. to get in - and all we saw was 25 minutes
of it. But when you're talking The Lord Of The Rings, the biggest
thing since Star Wars, it's to be expected. Director Peter Jackson
was on hand to show a select press audience clips from all three
chapters of the $300 million (U.S.) LOTR trilogy, the first of
which, The Fellowship Of The Ring, arrives in theatres in time
for Christmas.
Judging by what we saw, long-suffering fans can finally expect
to get the screen adaptation they've always wanted of the beloved
Tolkien classic about the hobbits, elves, dwarves and various
other inhabitants of the tumultuous world known as Middle-Earth.
Ian McKellen is perfect as the wizard Gandalf, Ian Holm makes
a fine shire squire Bilbo Baggins and Viggo Mortensen is the brave
Aragorn who will make female hearts beat a little faster.
As for the special effects, which gloriously convert the mountains
of New Zealand into Tolkien's world, one comment will suffice
for now: George Lucas, watch your back.
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