MEETING THE LOTR CAST IN NEW ZEALAND – 2003

Dez does not want to be contacted through e-mail, so don't even ask

Well here we are again. I just experienced New Zealand again like last year and I had such an amazing
Trip and now I would love to share it with you. As you know, I arranged another trip to New Zealand
So I can meet the actors again from lord of the rings and see them on the red carpet at the world premiere.
Heres the whole story.

SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2003
I flew with Qantas from Brisbane-Wellington direct and as soon as I arrived into Wellington airport, I
Felt home. The airport was just amazing, there were LOTR stuff everywhere. They had the props, the
Banners and the stamps with the characters on it. I walked through the airport to get to the taxis and I was walking through the same way where I met the hobbits last year and it was kinda freaky when I look back at it. I got a cab to the first hotel where I met up with natalie and her friend Jade and straight away they told me that they met Richard Taylor from Weta Workshop. Me and nat met Richard in August 2002 here at home and she got a photo with him and he remembered her, it was cool. I knew that Viggo Mortensen was doing a poetry reading that night and I knew the place so of course we went down there to see the longest line. I was thinking of getting tickets but then I thought it would be boring so I didn’t and now I wish I did cos it looked so cool. Natalie noticed Alan Lee in the line (artist in LOTR) and I went up to him and asked for an autograph and I got my pic taken, he was really quite. I didn’t know what to say, just the usual stuff like I’m a big fan of the movie, etc.. And then everyone went inside so we waited around for a bit and saw the embassy theatre and it looked amazing. From seeing these pics from the net, to seeing it in real life was just amazing. We decided to wait outside the theatre to see Viggo come out and we waited 45 mins and then there was this photographer and he just looked at me and took a pic of me LOL It was sooo embarassing. Then everyone started to come out and Nat spotted Bernard Hill in the crowd (king theoden in the two towers) and she yelled out “look theres bernard hill” and he ducked his head, LOL it was sooooooooooo funny!! I can’t believe how blind I am, didn’t even spot alan lee and then bernard hill. Anyways viggo never came out, we were thinking he went out the back way. We met these cool new zealand girls who said that the stars are going to be at the michael fowler centre at 8pm and it was 7:30 so we made our way there and as we got there it was packed out. Howard Shore was doing an Orchestra concert and apparently it was mentioned in the NZ paper that the LOTR stars were going to attend and of course I didn’t know about this prior as I wasn’t in NZ but as we got there the stars arrived. I couldn’t see anything, there was like a mini red carpet and I kind of made my way to the front and I saw the back of elijah walk by and then I saw Orlando Bloom and OMG I nearly freaked when I saw Orlando. I managed to get a good photo of elijahs back. The other stars walked by but I didn’t see them. After they went into the building we hung around and then found out that at midnight they are going to come back out so of course we decided to come back, we went to our hotel room and then later we came back and we got a good position, near their cars and it was 10pm and we had to wait 2 hours, we were all sitting down and then saw Orlando coming out of the glass doors and no one screamed and then everyone just screamed and he went to sign a few autographs and then went in his car. Then I saw elijah and he was waving and went inside his car and as the car drove past he waved and wow those eyes were amazing!! Then we saw billy and he waved as he was leaving and so did Sean Astin. Then we saw John Rhys Davies and Richard Taylor. It was sooo amazing. You should’ve seen Billys face when he was waving at us, hes sooooooooo cute. It was sooo worth going back, wow I had already seen the stars twice on my first day in middle earth.


SUNDAY 30 NOVEMBER

Me and my mates went for a walk in town and we picked up our tickets for the LOTR party which was that night and then I went off to meet a whole bunch of Elijah fans at Fidels Café in Wellington. We arranged this meeting months in advance and this is the café where the hobbits always hang out. I met everyone at the forums and it was just amazing, we had a lot of fun talking about the stars. We were hoping that the hobbits would drop in but they didn’t. After that we decided to check out howard shores CD signing. We were walking past Cuba Street and we saw Gamling from the two towers, his real name is bruce hopkins and we met him and got his autograph and photo. He was soooooooo nice, he was pleased to meet us. Then we saw the line to howard shores signing and it was too long and I didn’t have time to wait around. I had to check out of our hotel and check into the one where we stayed at last year. As I got a taxi to the best hotel in wellington, I saw a million fans outside, I had no idea what was going on but I knew the stars were going to stay at the same hotel as me, like last year and so this was the best opportunity to meet them. I had no idea there were going to be millions of fans waiting outside. I felt like the queen where the taxi pulled up outside the hotel and everyone was looking at me. Nat and Jade waited for me at the hotel and I checked in. As I was walking in, I saw Richard Taylor walk out and I was like “hey richard do you remember me”? and he said that he did. I couldn’t believe it. I haven’t seen him in a year and a half. We had a quick chat and he asked us if we are going to the LOTR party tonight and we said we are and we asked if any of the stars are going to be there and he said that hes going and so is Sean Astin. He said that he will talk to us tonight.
There was confusion with my room, the hotel was over booked so they said they had to find me a room but in the mean time nat told me they saw Ian Mckellan walk by so we decided to hang around the lobby and try and meet the stars. We looked like fans waiting to meet them and the security kept coming up to us asking us if we are staying at the hotel and I said we are and they went to check my booking at reception, I couldn’t believe it. There were heaps of security in the lobby and near the lifts. This was really bad as it wasn’t like this last year. We saw Liv Tyler and Andy Serkis get out the lift and then we decided to wait near the lifts and it was sooo freaky as this brought me a lot of memories from last year. I was going to die when I see elijah coming out of the lifts, those lifts made us meet them last year, freaky. Then we saw Sean Astin walk out and nat is a huge fan of him and she asked for a hug and they hugged and then I shook Seans hand and then I asked for a hug and we hugged. He looked at me and said “your not too tall yourself” and haha I was offended, he told me that I’m short!!! I thought it was quite funny. He has the best accent and it was awesome meeting him. I wanted to meet him this year. Then we saw Viggo Mortensen walk by and we couldn’t take any photos of them at the hotel, security was sooo strict, geez it wasn’t like this last year. Then Elijah came out the lifts and I said “elijah “ and I went up to him and shook his hand and then he was dragged my security and went outside. He was wearing this really funky Black jacket. I don’t know if he recognised me as it was a quick meeting but I couldn’t take photos or talk to him. It was sooo crazy, elijah went outside to meet fans. We couldn’t really go outside cos we are hotel guests and we couldn’t act like crazy fans and if we did go outside where would we stand? Theres no room!! Then Billy Boyd came from behind and I shook his hand and he smiled and I managed to get a few pics, one of them looks really funny. There were these chinese ladies standing next to us and as billy left they said “billy billy billy billy” in their accents, LOL it was sooooooooooooooo funny. Then Iam Mckillan came from behind and I shook his hand. It was so amazing to meet these stars. There was only Orlando left so we got out position ready and he came out the lift and Jade yelled out “Orlando” and she shook his hand and so did I and he looked at me and smiled. I almost died knowing that I had touched Orlandos hand. I had to go to the ladies after that and then I washed my hands – oops I forgot about that, lol. I was really excited that I met Orlando, that was my goal. Nat used Jades digital camera and to my surprise when I shook hands with orlando, she taped it, omg it looks so good. After that we went to our rooms to get ready for the ringers party that night. We dressed up as characters from the movie. I wore this blue dress with hand stripes, it looked really nice and then we got the cable car to the skyline restaurant which was at the top and wow I thought I was in middle earth. Every person dressed up as a character and they really looked like their characters. There were rohan warriors fighting and someone dressed as Gandalf, he looked soo real. We went inside and it wasn’t too flashy. We thought we were going to be seated but we had to find somewhere to sit and we had to queue up for food. The party wasn’t what I hoped it would be, we were quite disappointed. It was packed out, there were 700 people there and I don’t know how they all fitted inside the restaurant. We met a few girls there and then we saw Ian McKillan outside, I had a quick look and he was leaving. 2 hours later we deciced to leave and camp out for the premiere so we went back to the hotel and started to pack. We made our way to the embassy theatre and it was 11;30pm and to our surprise, there were heaps of fans there already. I saw my group of friends from the forums and they got there at 8pm and didn’t get the best spot. We managed to find a front row spot close to the embassy theatre and we knew we had to wait 16 hours, lol. It was the longest wait.

MONDAY 1 DECEMBER 2003 – WORLD PREMIERE DAY
Kelly and the other girls met us and we all sat together and talked and talked. A reporter came up and saw our banners. I made 2 banners and one of them said “orlando your late” and “orlando, glad you can make it, we love you”. The reporter saw my banner and came and had a chat. I told him that I’m a huge fan from Australia and he interviewed me and asked me who my fave character was and what time we lined up and he was quite impressed so he wrote down my name and told me that my interview will be broadcasted at 12pm, LOL. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My friend rang her mum to ask if she could tape it and she did. To my surprise this was broadcasted back in Australia and a few of my friends saw me on TV, OMG how embarassing!! How cool though, being on the news in NZ for the world premiere. I haven’t even seen it yet. Anyways it was 3pm and we got our positions ready, we were right at the front and the parade started at 3:30pm and we saw all the cast arrive and it was amazing. A lot of people started to push and it made me feel very uncomfortable. I was looking at the big screen and this one bitch just pushed to the front and before I knew it, she was standing next to me and she wasn’t even a fan. I was soo upset. Anyways there was a lot of pushing and I didn’t have a lot of room to move around. It was crazy. David Wenham (faramir) wasn’t far from us, then we saw sean astin and he came up to us and nat got a pic with him and he said “god bless you” and she screamed. Then we saw liv tyler and she was right next to me and she was about to come to us but her shoes started to hurt so she went away but then billy came up to us and I got to say hi quickly and he saw me but I’m not sure if he recognised me, nat got his pic taken so did kelly. I don’t know why but I didn’t think of getting one. Then orlando was coming towards us and wow the crowd went wild. I have never been pushed so much in my life, it was crazy. I nearly went deaf. Orlando was 2 metres from me but was pushed away quickly. He wore his “I love NZ” shirt and showed it off, lol. Then we went to the other side and then Hugo Weaving and Bernard Hill came to our side and we met them and said hi. Then we saw and met Peter Jackson, that was amazing. He didn’t want his pic taken with us when we asked him, he said to take a pic of him, not with him. Then we saw Elijah quickly and he went to the opposite side of us and signed for a minute and then disappeared somewhere. Then we saw Viggo and he did the same. Then they all went and Peter Jackson gave a speech and all the cast members gave a speech and it was so amazing. I was so happy to see Dom there. He flew in this morning and he said they are flying out tomorrow. After the big celebrations some of the cast went off in those small buggies and I saw them go and then saw dom at the back of one of them and I went and yelled out “DOM” and he saw me but I don’t think he recognised me as I had sunnies on and my hair was tied back, DAMMIT I want him to recognise me from last year. Anyways me and kelly went back to kellys apartment for a bit and we decided to wait until the stars come out and we can get another glimpse of them. I was so tired after the premiere that we just rested in her apartment. They showed the fellowship of the ring on TV and they had an outdoor screening of the two towers to the public at the same time and to make it even cooler they showed ROTK at a few theatres for people that had passes, how cool is that??
This years premiere was good but last years was so much better as there were less crowds and only the stars were on the red carpet as this years there were so many people on the carpet together and it was hard to spot them and there wasn’t a lot of pushing and our position was the best. This years premiere was so crazy, there were 125,000 people there and I have never waited 16 hours for something so that’s a record, lol. I was a bit annoyed by that girl that pushed in. I didn’t get autographs as I wasn’t that fussed and it was hard to get it since everyone was pushing. I was concerntrating on photos and wanted autographs later if I meet them again.
At 10pm we made our way to the embasssy and there were a lot of people there so we waited near the barrier for about 20 mins and we saw a few cars drive past, we saw liv tyler, sean astin and peter jackson. Had no idea where the others were. I met this cool girl who said she knew where the after party was and asked if we wanted to go, what do you think I said to that?? NO!! haha of course I said yes so we went to the venue but we were late as a lot of the stars were already in. As we went to the back side we saw dom walk in but we couldn’t get a good spot to see and meet them. I wish I knew about this before hand but I didn’t, all these events I find out at the time they are there. I waited towards the back and saw andy serkis and then I saw Elijah again, he was being interviewed and there were 100’s of photographers and everyone was yelling out “frodo” and my god I felt so sorry for him, being followed and all and didn’t have any privacy so I tried to hide my face so he wouldn’t see me, lol and luckily he didn’t. I have no idea what he’d think if he knew that I was everywhere he was again. It was weird with this whole after party thing as it reminded me of last year where I found that after party pass but this years venue was different. I saw elijah walk in and then a few fans left so we waited outside for 30 mins, hoping they will come back but they didn’t and it was 12:30am and I seriously needed sleep since I had no sleep the night before so I made my way back to the hotel, fortunetly it was across the road and I’m glad I didn’t see elijah outside the doors, not like last year.

TUESDAY 2 DECEMBER 2003
I got up at 9:30 and had the best sleep. I rang the hotel manager and asked if we could possibly meet the cast and get photos but he said that the stars are not staying here. I was surprised as they did last year as that’s where I had the 10 minute conversation with elijah and dom. He told me the hotel where Orlando was staying at but anyways we had breakfast at the restaurant and we hoped the will walk by but they didn’t. It was 12pm and weeks ago I planned on going hobbit hunting with my mates as I knew the places where they hang out but I just didn’t think about it. I wanted to go to the airport and that’s what I was thinking about. My friends told me their flight leaves at 4:30pm and so I wanted to be at the airport as early as I can and I got there around 1:30pm and saw my other friends that I met at Fidels café on Sunday and they told me the stars are leaving on a private charter and I had no idea what gate they are leaving from as that’s where the best place to meet them is at the gate and I wasn’t sure where to wait, I didn’t have long to think about it. Anyways I saw my new zealand friend Kelly and she waited with us at the premiere the day before and she told me that she just met Elijah Wood at Fidels café this morning and that Orlando and billy were there and that no fans were there. She got a photo with elijah and an autograph and OMG I was soooooooooo UPSET as we were there 2 days ago and if I had went hobbint hunting with her then we would’ve gone to that café and just saw them inside and we would’ve had a coffee with them. I am soooooo kicking myself, no fair!!!!!!! It was weird cos before I went to the airport today I went out of this shop and I heard someone say “I love you elijah” and I tried to look for him and didn’t see him. I spoke to kelly yesterday about going to this café for breakfast and our plans never went through and she didn’t even have my mobile number to call me to say that the stars were at Fidels. I hate myself now as I would’ve had a good conversation with him, but doesn’t matter it happened to me last year. Anyways there were security around so we knew the stars were going to come through and they said we can wait outside for them and they put up a small barrier thing, it was like a mini red carpet and I got the best spot, near the spot where all the cars would pull up. It was 4pm and the first car came and Billy got out and went straight to the other side and then as he was walking inside he waved at us and said “Thanks”, he was sooo sweet and then Elijah came out and guess what he was wearing?? Yes he was wearing his fave tan coat, LOL. He got his stuff out the car and then just walked past us, man we had the worst spot cos no one came to us and then Orlando came out and oh my god the girls went nuts!!! He was getting something out of the boot and he had this sexy sunnies on and I got this really good pic of him where he was just looking over at me, oh my god talk about hottness. He is so much hotter in real life. Anyways he didn’t sign autographs and he just walked in once again, NO FAIR!!!!! Then liv tyler came out and she came to us, yay and I got to meet her and get her autograph and I told her she looks beautiful and I think she said “oh thanks” and I got really good pics of her and then Dom came out and came straight to us, he wasn’t infront of me but only a metre and he was signing autographs and I yelled out “dom you totally rock, I love you” and he looked over at me. Then I yelled out “dom do you remember me”and he looked at me and said “yes how are you”? and I didn’t say anything cos it was crazy and OMG I cannot believe dom remembered me from last year, that is sooo cool. It was soooo funny cos last year when he saw me he said “hey its you again!! You get everywhere” and then dom walked in. It was soooooooo KEWL meeting dom again. Then Ian Mckillan come to us and I got to shake his hand again. I think I’ve shaked his hand 3-4 times now, lol. Hes not the type of person that gives autographs, he said that he will just shake hands. Then Sean astin came out with his family, he was holding his little girl, aawww it was sooo cute and then we went in. I didn’t expect an autograph. Then I looked into the glass doors and elijah and orlando were signing autographs for the fans inside, I was sooooooooo pissed off why they didn’t come here, its not fair!! Then OMG orlando came out towards us and the girls went crazy. He was heading towards me and I went to take close pics and my camera ran out of film!!!!!!!!!! Aaaarrgggghhhhhh I was soooooooo upset and of course I couldn’t change film, anyways he came up to me and I got his autograph, YAY and he wore this black jumper and it had the number 10 on the back and I touched his shoulder and said “I love you soooo much” and he looked at me and smiled and said “Cheers” and OMG I almost died!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaahhhh and then as he went back inside he waved at us, OMG I could not believe that Orlando came back outside to sign our things. They say hes the worst autograph signer but hes one of the best, I was totally shocked when he came back out, wow!! Then we saw Viggo and Andy Serkis go past. Then we went inside and I saw the Huge LOTR Plane outside with Aragorn and Arwen on it and I got right to the front as we were on the 1st floor and then we saw the stars come out and they were being interviewed and I saw the hobbits and orlando. They took heaps of pics of them standing inftront of the plane and then all of them came towards us and waved and OMG it was crazy!! I waved heaps and I think elijah or someone else had a video camera and started to film us. I tried to duck so they don’t see me on the tape but couldn’t, lol. Billy took heaps of pics of us, they were pretty close and heaps of the press took pics of us too. It was the coolest thing ever!! Then they were walking up the stairs to the plane and just waved at us again and Orlando lifted his shirt up and wow it was sooo nice and billy poked his finger in his belly button, lol it was soooooooo funny and they waved at us and we waved back at them and they left. I saw the plane leave. What would I have done to be on that plane with the whole cast for 12 hours? Ack!!
The airport was the coolest thing. I’m sooo happy I went as it was soooooo worth it. I got to meet Orlando for the 2nd time and I got to meet liv and dom!! I knew this was the last time I’d see this guys in a while and what a way to end it like that? I went back to the hotel and had a quite night.

WEDNESDAY 03 DECEMBER 2003
My last day in Wellington. I packed all morning and then met up with my friend emma who I met through the elijah forums and we went merchandise shopping and I got heaps of LOTR coins, the stamps, legolas back pack, postcards, gollum alarm clock, ROTK cup and the two towers cup. It was heaps fun. They have a LOTR shop that sells just merchandise and they were playing the two towers in the back ground. They had shirts of gollum, legolas and aragorn. We went to the embassy theatre as I wanted to go inside but the inside was soo small and we couldn’t see a lot so we got heaps of pics outside the place and it was awesome. Then I had to get to the airport and wellington airport has heaps of sets and props from the movie, it was amazing. I didn’t want to leave middle earth but I had to. That was the end of my trip. It was such a cool trip and I met the whole cast except Viggo, andy, john, david, john noble. I’m so happy cos now I have met the hobbits and Orlando bloom. I wish I had met elijah more times but it was just impossible. It was so hard to meet the cast as there were fans everywhere and so was security. I saw Elijah 7 times in total again like last year and I saw Orlando 6 times and met Orlando twice. The premiere totally rocked and I had so much fun but I think last years trip was a little bit better as I had met the cast several times and there was no security around at all and I got to meet them at the airport and get pics with them and I got to talk to elijah for 10 mins and got heaps of pics with them and the premiere for the two towers was better as there were less crowds but I’m happy with this trip as I met and hugged Sean astin once and met orlando bloom twice. I’m such a big Orlando fan and now I’m a bigger fan. Hes soooooo nice and hot in real life. He really loves new zealand. I didn’t want to leave Wellington as Wellington is my home and there were LOTR everywhere. I’ve never seen a city that celebrates LOTR like wellington and I hope to go back again.
I managed to get about 40 pics in total which was great from the different places. I couldn’t believe that I got to experience all this again and it was so fun and I will never forget about these trips to new zealand and I can’t believe that its all over now. I want this to happen to me again and I don’t want my luck to ever run out. Also all the papers in Wellington had the LOTR stars on the front cover of every issue, it was just amazing!!

I hope you emjoyed my review as I had a lot of fun experiencing it.