One Last "One Last Time" Time...? [Watch This Space!]

Exciting news! After some months of rumours, I can now confirm that Welly-moot is officially in talks to set up one last big Middle-earth event, here in Wellington! The event would take place in Miramar, at a well-known location, in the coming months.

I can't reveal much else right now, but can I suggest you all starts saving your pennies and patching your costumes one more time, since you won't want to miss this last-time-ever event.

Not only will this be a "last-time-ever" event, but if all goes well, Wellington will be the first in the world to host this.


Mysterious enough for you? :)



If you want to hear up-to-the-minute information on this as it comes to hand, get on our mailing list by sending an email to "mailinglist@welly-moot.com", with a subject of "Subscribe".

We're also on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, so no need to miss out anywhere!


  - Jack

Welly-moot #4.2 was today - good fun meeting

This year's Tolkien Reading Day was celebrated on its usual date of March 25th, but we delayed it until our scheduled Moot day of March 29th, which was today. The Tolkien Society (UK) had announced that the theme for this year's day was to be "friendship".

The meeting began at the usual 2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema, and the regulars and a few new faces enjoyed a cup of coffee over the introductions, and joined in a recap of the excellent event last month of the opening of the Rivendell Archway at the Kaitoke Regional Park. Since most of the members present had actually attended the event, it took a little while to recount everyone's experiences. All in all, we agreed that the Archway had been opened in style.

[Picture] The fellowship returns from a quest. (c) 2015 Jack Machiela

The discussion began soon afterwards. A number of battered (and pristine!) copies of various Middle-earth books appeared on the table, and everyone read out their favourite sections. The friendships between Frodo and Sam, and between Gimli and Legolas were mentioned a number of times, as well as those between Gandalf and Frodo, and Bilbo and Frodo's special status as "Elf Friend". Also, the very equal-status friendship between Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry the River Daughter stood out to some.

All too soon, our time came to an end. I wanted to broach one other subject - this week saw the introduction of the last Hobbit movie in its theatrical edition, as well as the first Hobbit boxed sets on DVD and BluRay, so that leaves one final edition to go - the last Hobbit movie in its Extended form. We briefly speculated some of the scenes we may yet see in that - hoped for are Thorin's funeral scene properly, and we may yet see Thranduil receive his white bejewelled necklace.

However, we all agreed enthusiastically that we would like to see the last release marked with a special event - perhaps we can convince a cinema somewhere to release it with an Extended Ultra Marathon - all six movies, back-to-back, in a single sitting.

I will start talking to the appropriate people soon! [NB - if you're one of the appropriate people, drop me a line!]

Looking forward to the next meeting in a few months!

  - Jack

Rivendell Archway, official opening

I'm just compiling a final list of confirmed people who can turn up to the Rivendell Archway opening on March 7th - if you haven't received an email from me tonight, but were hoping/expecting to join us, please let me know as soon as possible - I need to get back to the council in the next few days with finalised numbers. My email address is jack@welly-moot.com.

If you want to join us but hadn't let anyone know, this is your chance to get in and have a bunch of fun on the day! If you don't have a costume, we can arrange one for you if necessary. Also get in touch with me, in that case.

  - Jack

Welly-moot Event - Hobbit Costume Trail

A small group of Welly-mooters had a great day today - we managed to start and complete the Wellington Hobbit Costume Trail. Originally we thought we could do it in a few hours, that proved to be more like 5 hours instead, mostly because we were pretty relaxed about life in general.

Daniel, Jack, Cinnamon, Sarah, Alex, and Alistair posing in front of a display at Te Papa.

The day started at 11:00am, in front of the Wellington Railway Station. From there we walked to the Rydges Hotel, for Thorin's costume.Rather than walking you through the whole day (should have joined us!), I'll let the photos tell the story.

Thorin at the Rydges Hotel

Gloin at the Ibis Hotel

Bilbo at the Kircaldie & Stains shopping complex

Bilbo's Mithril coat

Dwalin at the James Cook Hotel

Gandalf at the Intercontinental Hotel

Gandalf's staff, with some secret marks

Tauriel at the iSite Information Centre

Balin at the Westplaza Hotel

Legolas at Wharewaka Boathouse

Azog at Te Papa Museum

Elf Lieutenant at Te Papa Museum

Elf Soldier at Te Papa Museum

Radagast at the Museum Hotel

Radagast's got two mismatched shoes

Oin at the CQ Hotel

Oin's warm knitted gloves

Bombur at the Embassy Cinema

Bifur at the Embassy Cinema

Bofur at the Embassy Cinema

Bard at the Copthorne Oriental Hotel

Kili (& scale Kili) at the Airport

Fili at the Airport

Gandalf on an eagle at the Airport

Gollum at the Airport

Smaug at the Airport

Dori at the Roxy Cinema

Nori at the Roxy Cinema

Ori at the Roxy Cinema

Weapons on the wall at the Roxy Cinema

Dale Market Flags at the Roxy Cinema

Welly-moot activity - Hobbit Costume Trail this Saturday! Come join us!

In honour of the completion of Wellington's trip to Middle-earth in the last fifteen years or so, the City Council has got together with a number of hotels and other venues around town, and the studios, and have hidden a number of original costumes from the Hobbit movies.

Alex and I have decided we are going to find all the costumes hidden around the Wellington CBD this Saturday.

If anyone wants to join us, we will meet in front of the Wellington Railway Station on January 10th, at 10:50am, and we'll start walking towards the Embassy end of town, hitting all the costumes along the way. You don't need to RSVP, but we will leave at 11:00am sharp, so if you're not there and start late, drop me an email (I always have my smart phone with me), and I'll let you know where to run to.

My email address is "jack@welly-moot.com".


Get your free maps from the Wellington iSite, and a few other places as well, or download them from their website.


Hope to see a few of you there!

  - Jack & Alex

Dec 28 - Welly-moot 3.6, our annual Christmas-moot

The last Welly-moot of 2014 will be held on the last Sunday of 2013, December the 28th. It's fast becoming a tradition, but Alex & I (Jack) will once again be hosting the final moot of the year at our house. Since this is our private home, we will not be taking on new members for this meeting.

Just like the last few years, this will be a shared lunch, so please bring a plate (full of food, obviously). :)


So, if you're currently a member of Welly-moot, and want to come and join us for a friendly get-together, send me an email and I'll reply with the address. If you're not sure if you're a member, email me anyway. :)

My email address is "jack@welly-moot.com".

We're aiming for a "bring a plate" lunch, so please bring something yummy to share. Home-cooked will receive the best compliments (hint!)...


 Details of the lunch:

• Arrive here at around 11:00am
• Lunch will be served around 12:30pm
• Finish around 4:00pm

As for a theme - we're hoping that everyone has had a chance to see the last Hobbit movie, so that will be the topic of the day.

So be warned, there will be spoilers!


Please email me with your intentions!

Hobbit 3 Premiere Attendance

The Welly-moot was present at the Hobbit 3 Premiere event at The Roxy last week, and Dianne sent me a copy of a great group shot. Thought I'd share it here for the group!

(If you can't see the picture, click on the link to get out of facebook - the blog has the pics)

  - Jack

Welly-moot Event: Wellington Premiere of Hobbit 3 BOTFA at Roxy

On December the 2nd, early in the morning, the Roxy will be hosting a special event and advanced screening of Hobbit 3 BOTFA for a select audience. The exclusive event, is Invitation Only, and the Welly-moot has been given a number of invitations to distribute amongst its members.

Those regular attendees of our meetings who were able to attend the event, as well as a number of other deserving Tolkien fans, have now been contacted, and your tickets should now be making their way to your door. If you haven't heard anything from the movie's distributors (Roadshow Ltd) by now, please get in touch with me as soon as possible!

I've been sent a press-release from the good folks at Roadshow Ltd, so rather than me retyping their event, here's the complete text from their memo.

---

MIRAMAR CELEBRATES THE FINAL FILM IN THE HOBBIT TRILOGY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, 25 November 2014 – Auckland, New Zealand

Gearing up for the release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Roxy Cinema in Miramar, Wellington will play host to a special celebration on December 2 (NZT), with an advanced screening of the film to an audience of fans, local cast and crew from film production with Sir Richard Taylor in attendance.

The Miramar event is part of a global celebration of the final journey to Middle-earth and will be linked via interactive satellite with the film’s London World Premiere, which will stream live before guests and VIPs prior to watching the highly anticipated finale of The Hobbit Trilogy.

Marking the end of an era, this special premiere event brings together the Wellington film community to celebrate all the hard work and inspiration that has gone into bringing the world of Middle-earth to life for The Hobbit Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy more than a decade ago.

“It’s truly fitting that the Wellington celebrations for the film will be held here in Miramar where it all began; as a phenomenal journey and era comes to an end,” said co-founder and co-director of WETA Workshop Sir Richard Taylor.   “The day marks a significant milestone in our career, and I am both excited and eager for what is next to come.”

Counting down to the New Zealand release of the film, New Zealanders can also enjoy a special 10-day projection presentation at The Roxy starting December 1.

The Hobbit Trilogy will be brought to life on the front of The Roxy building where a state-of-the art 10-15 minute projection show will play multiple times each night just after sunset.

“Ann and I are thrilled that our iconic, award winning cinema is playing host to such a significant and world-class event,” said Roxy co-owner Jamie Selkirk.

Showcasing the breathtaking special effects created by WETA Workshop and WETA Digital using sound and projection, the presentation follows the film’s characters and creatures on their adventures through the first two films leading up to the release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Sir Richard Taylor also endorsed the projections. “I hope visitors to The Roxy are inspired, and enjoy their time in the heart of the film making capital, Wellington,” he added.

The incentive is supported by Weta Workshop, Weta Digital, Wellington City Council, Wellington Airport, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, New Line Cinema and The Roxy.

The film, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro Goldwyn-Meyer Pictures (MGM), is the third and final film in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy and releases across New Zealand cinemas on December 11.

New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a Wingnut Films Production, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.”  As with the first two films in the Trilogy, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the final film is a production 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. 

Ends

---

 

Hobbit 3 BOTFA Release - Wellington Events

NB: This page will no longer be updated - check our new Calendar page instead.

---

Like last year, I've been collecting details about events planned around the opening of the final installment of The Hobbit movies.

Also: if you HAVE extra information on these, or other events, please let me know!

• Update 1 (26/11/2014) : December 2 Premier event at the Roxy added.
• Update 2 (26/11/2014) : March 7 official opening of Rivendell Archway updated.
• Update 3 (26/11/2014) : December 2 Ian Brodie Exhibition and Book Signing event at the Roxy added.

---

Hobbit 3 Release, Wellington Calendar
(last updated November 26, 2014)

November 14, 2014

• Embassy Theatre tickets go on sale for the Hobbit 3 midnight session. Full details on their facebook page.

 

November 30, 2014

• Last date for entries in the Stansborough Prizedraw for an authentic Gandalf Hat!

 

December 2, 2014

• Wellington Premiere for Hobbit 3 BOTFA at the Roxy Cinema, starting at 6:30am (early morning!), breakfast at 7:00am, and an early showing of Hobbit 3 BOTFA for a lucky audience. Event is Invite Only, and invites have been sent out already.

 

December 2, 2014

• In the evening of the same day as the Premiere, Best-selling New Zealand author ("LOTR location Guidebook", "Hobbit Location Guidebook") Ian Brodie will be opening his new exhibition of photography at the Roxy Cinema, starting at 07:00pm. He will give a talk, and will be available to sign books as well. Time to bring in your LOTR guidebook, and buy the new Hobbit guidebook (which mentions the Welly-moot!)... 

 

December 5-6, 2014

• Caburlesque Middle-earth Madness, R18-rated Cabaret Burlesque show at the Fringe Bar, tickets from $20. Their 2012 show Bare and Back again was a real treat - don't miss this event! It's a small venue, so get tickets ASAP!

 

December 10, 2014

• Red Carpet Hobbit Fan Party, at the Roxy Cinema, from 9:00pm to midnight. Tickets are $265. Special guests are California Dreamers William Kircher's (Bifur) band. No door sales, prebooked tickets only.

 

December 11, 2014 - 12:01am midnight

• First showing of The Hobbit 3 BOTFA at the Embassy Theatre

 

December 28, 2014

• Last Welly-moot meeting of 2014, venue to be decided. More details will be posted on this blog later.

 

7 March, 2015

• Official opening of the Rivendell Archway. More details will be released in the coming month.

Welly-moot #3.5 report (from October 26)

Another two months, and another meeting has been held, once again at the Roxy Cinema in Wellington's Miramar suburb. It was well attended, we ended up having to shift to another part of the building to accommodate everyone, and then bring in more seats as well, so that was good.

Jack and Alex opened the meeting, and there were introductions all round. Jack had some updates also on other business.

• The Rivendell Archway is now completed, at the Kaitoke Regional Park in the filming locations, exactly where the original stood. All the building work has been completed, and the paint has been applied. Only two things remain - we are waiting for the end of summer so we can apply a layer of weather-dependent artificial yogurt-mould, and in the next three months we're expecting an official opening ceremony from the Wellington Great Regional Council. Jack will update the group when this takes place.

• The Hobbit 3 - The Battle Of The Five Armies will open early in December for general release, the exact date will probably be December 11th or thereabouts. The World-Premiere red carpet event will be held in London, as expected. A few functions have already been announced; a (more) complete list will be posted later.

• Welly-mooter Emily (aka 'Sadie von Scrumtious') has announced that there will be another Middle-earth themed Burlesque Cabaret to celebrate the last Hobbit movie. The event will be held in Wellington at The Fringe Bar on December 5th and 6th (Friday and Saturday). Both nights will feature a costume competition for the audience, so prepare to get involved! The event has an R18 rating (for adult themed naughtiness!), and tickets will be around $25. I'll post more details on our facebook page at a later date.

• Welly-mooter Kumiko has won the Student Prize at the end of her three year Weltec course’s Graduation Exhibition, to loud applause from her peers and the rest of the audience. Well done Kumi!

• The Stansborough Prizedraw is in full swing, so if you want to win a full-sized Gandalf Hat, make sure you're in to win!

• Sir Peter Jackson's Hobbit Fan Competition has finished, and the winners selected - of the 150 biggest fans around the world, three of them are Welly-mooters! Ash and Cinnamon managed to snag a seat to New Zealand (ok, not far to fly!), and on the names list, I noticed that Nicolas Gonzalez, formerly of Milford Sound but recently returned to Spain, is also returning to Middle-earth. Well done, all of you, and also to all those who tried and weren't successful. On the Welly-moot facebook page we'll be following their adventures through screenshots taken from the New Zealand 100% Pure YouTube videos. Follow us there!

Theme: Hobbit 3 BOFTA - What's The Story?

Finally, we got around to the theme of the day - what will be in the final Hobbit installment. Peter Jackson's last Hobbit film will includes plenty of sword-clashing and arrow-flying action for your dollar, but there’s also a lot of story materials. We spent a large part of the afternoon covering these points (and more!)

• Smaug, having left his treasure-filled nest, will wreak havoc on Laketown
• Thorin has yet to actually retake the Lonely Mountain for his people
• Bard’s quest for redemption needs closure
• Four Dwarves have been left in Laketown (Kili, Fili, Bofur & Ori) – what will their roles be in Laketown?
• The relationship between Tauriel and Kili
• Amidala will get pregnant with twins, while Anakin will turn to the dark side
• The movie needs to carve out screen-time for Bilbo (Martin Freeman), so that his story may actually be brought to a proper concluding point; after all, he's the main link between Hobbit and LOTR
• Setting up other developments that transpire in the Lord of the Rings films

Other points:

• According to the predicted synopsis posted on TheOneRing.net, Thorin will get obsessed with the treasure in the mountain and will refuse to share it --- remember that Thorin's grandfather grew mad with his obsession with gold in the previous movies
• Smaug is not the only danger faced by the Dwarves. The Necromancer has sent legions of Orcs to attack the Lonely Mountain. In the second movie Gandalf was the amongst the first to discover the Necromancer's return in Dol Guldur. He also witnessed the march of his armies.
• A difficult question in Hobbit 3 is posed to all the races in Middle-earth. Elves, Dwarves and Men will have to decide whether they will stand together against the forces of Sauron or die fighting between themselves. So far, there appears to be no good relationships among them.

On a related note, two days before the meeting, a number of leaked photos were posted to TheOneRing.net, probably from the new Brian Sibley "Making of Hobbit 3" book due out in the next month or so. The photos were pulled from the site within 24 hours, but one of the mooters managed to take copies before they were removed. After checking with everyone if potential spoilers would be acceptable, they were shown briefly. If anything, they just made us want to watch the movie even more! And no, they won't be posted here.  
[I will give one detail though - ominously, a pre-battle Thorin appears to be wearing a RED SHIRT. Not good. Just sayin'.]

All too soon, it was time to pack up again. By the time of the next moot, we will (hopefully!) all have seen the movie, and we will no doubt have a lot of new information to digest!

As seems to have become a Welly-moot tradition, Jack & Alex are planning on having another post-christmas moot/party at their house, but full details will be announced in due time.

News: Hobbit 3 BOTFA Contest starts August 25

Halfway through the mad busy time of finishing the last Hobbit movie, Peter Jackson takes out to go to San Diego Comic-Con. Halfway through the insanely busy time at Comic-Con, he takes time out to announce a fan contest, to bring "the ultimate fan" to Wellington, to watch the third movie "[...] with me, at the first official screening of The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, right here in Wellington".

What are we to make of this? Is Wellington getting the Red Carpet World Premiere after all? Possibly; possibly not. It does mean, however, that SOMETHING will be happening here, as we had expected. Very exciting!

As for the contest - obviously, we're already IN Wellington, so I probably won't be entering it, hehe. If you're a past member of Welly-moot, and have left NZ's shores, this might be an awesome way to return!

The contest starts on August 15th, and we don't know what it will entail yet. Keep watching Facebook/YouTube, etc.

In the meantime, enjoy this fantastic poster, from The Hobbit blog:

Welly-moot 2.6 (Dec 29, 2013) - Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

On the last Sunday of 2013, we opened our house once again to the Tolkien group for our end-of-year get-together. The theme for the meeting, if there was one at all, was the second Hobbit movie; The Desolation Of Smaug. By now everyone'd had a chance to see it, so any and all spoilers were totally permissable.

People started arriving around 11:00am. Appropriately, Adam was the first man to arrive, but all in all it was quite a merry gathering, with fifteen of us physically present, plus another three virtually (via Skype); Jack & Alex (the hosts), Kris, Wayne & Hilary, with Terry, Ash & Cinnamon, Kumi, Adam, Emily & Richard, Kim & Warren, Annabel, and Jennifer & Ryan with young Hawk via Skype from the USA. We hadn't met Emily's friend Richard yet, and Wayne & Hilary brought the Tolkien loving Terry with them.

Overall, it was a great way to catch up with everyone, and say goodbye to 2013, which had brought us the second Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug. Everybody had seen it, and it was discussed in great detail. I won't pretend we came to any sort of conclusion, but that's always been part of the enjoyment of Tolkien - it means different things to different people, including to Peter Jackson, apparently.


The lunch was brought out - a lot of effort had gone into the dishes from everyone - thanks to all who slavered over the hot stoves! We all appreciated it!

As always, click on the pics for higher resolution. If you don't see any pics, it's probably because you're reading this on facebook. You need to come to the blog welly-moot.com instead.

That's Kim's hands cutting into the gorgeous Smörgåstårta (Scandinavian Sandwich-Cake), a recipe from Weta's Magnus Hjerte. It tasted terrific, and didn't last long enough, I thought.

Nibbles galore, freshly baked breads, pasta salads, and in the bottom right in the picture, Kumi's Sushi.

Special mention : Warren & Kim brought these great tasting biscuits, shaped like a certain other Dragon, currently residing in the Wellington Zoo.

Ash starting the dessert, while Adam contemplates another Mead.

Terry and Wayne engrossed in Kim's views on Hobbit 2:DoS. She seems to be speaking in sign-language though. (Emily on the right).

Hilary and Kumi deep in conversation. Warren deep in chocolate brownie-heaven.

Me (Jack) enjoying Kris' Mead. Very nice it was, too! Adam looks like he already enjoyed a few there (actually, he just blinked at an inopportune time). Cinnamon destroys a cupcake.

At some point in the afternoon, the party split into two groups - almost all the boys went downstairs, to the mancave, while almost all the girls stayed upstairs. We hadn't intended to break away for more than a few minutes, but the girls kept bringing us food down there. Almost... like they were encouraging us to stay... longer...? Surely not!

"To the batcave, men!". Warren in the red shirt, then Richard, Adam, and Terry. I think that's me with the iPad on the left.

I should point out that Cinnamon was honorary man for the afternoon, and joined us for an in-depth geek-out in the Tolkien-themed room I keep hidden down there.


What a great way to end the year! And looking forward to the rest of 2014, which will bring the last movie set in Middle-earth.


The next Welly-moot will be on February the 23rd, where we will discuss all the things we were supposed to discuss this time around but were too busy stuffing our faces. Normal time and place (2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema, upstairs in the cafe).

  - Jack

Dec 29: Welly-moot 2.6 - last moot of 2013

The last Welly-moot of 2013 will be held on the last Sunday of 2013, December the 29th. Unlike most moots, this meeting will NOT be held at the Embassy. Like list year, Alex and I (Jack) are hosting the meeting at our home. As such we're not taking in new members for this moot, but it might be nice to catch up with regulars in our lounge for a shared lunch.

So, if you're currently a member of Welly-moot, and want to come and join us for a friendly get-together, send me an email and I'll reply with the address. If you're not sure if you're a member, email me anyway. :)

My email address is "jack@welly-moot.com".


We're aiming for a "bring a plate" lunch, so please bring something to share. Last year we had mostly desserts, (which wasn't a big problem), but mains would be most appreciated as well!


Details of the lunch:

• Arrive here at around 11:00am
• Lunch will be served around 12:30pm
• Finish around 4:00pm

The theme, if there is one at all, will be the obvious one: "what did you think of the second installment in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy".


Please email me with your intentions!

  - Jack

Stansborough Fabrics visit - be quick!

Had a great time at the second Hobbit movie (again) last night, at the Embassy Theatre Midnight Screening. While there, we met up with the lovely people from Stansborough Fabrics, who not only created the cloaks for Gandalf in the Hobbit movie, but were actually wearing them at the cinema last night as well.

Cheryl and Barry Eldrige, who own the fabrics company, have invited us for a visit later this week, to coincide with Welly-moot friend Peter Kenny's visit from the Brisbane Tolkien Association. I spoke to my boss at Wellington Rover Tours, and he's provided a van for Friday afternoon as well, so here's the deal:

Friday the 13th of December, I will take a mini-van with Peter Kenny, and 10 empty seats from Wellington City to the other side of the Wellington Harbour, to the Stansborough factory in Petone, where they will take us for a guided tour around the 100+ year old looms. If you would like to see this, email me as soon as possible at jack@welly-moot.com and I will tell you where to be at 2:00pm on Friday afternoon. The first 10 people get in, so be quick. First come, first served.


This is a free event, but there are STRICTLY limited spaces available, so please, do be quick!


Stansborough created fabrics and clothing for LOTR, Hobbit, Avatar, Narnia, and a host of other Wellywood productions, so this is an exciting opportunity to see where it all happened!


We'd also like to thank Wellington Rover Tours for helping out with transport for this event as well. Rover Tours have been running LOTR tours in the Wellington region for longer than anyone else - so if you're after a great tour, please do check out their website as well. All their guides are crazy about the LOTR movies, so you can't go wrong.

So, email me asap, on jack@welly-moot.com !

Come meet the Welly-moot before the Midnight Session at the Embassy!

If you've got your Embassy Cinema tickets to the Midnight Screening of Hobbit 2: Desolation of Smaug, then we'll see all of you in the cafe at around 10:30pm or so, for a pre-screening buzz-out! Come and join us, before the movie kicks off, it'll be nice to see everyone beforehand.

Alex and I will be in costume, and should be easy to find. Depending on how tired we all afterwards, we should have a quick get-together afterwards as well.

This photo, taken at the Live Fan Event in Wellington on November 5 this year, was printed in the Indian newspaper The Hindu. From left to right, there's Viv, Alex, Jack, and Wayne, pictured in front of a readership of 100 million Indian newspaper readers (thanks to Marcel Aubron-Bülles from the UK Tolkien Society for the tip).

So, to recap, we're meeting in the upstairs cafe in the Embassy Cinema, from about 10:30pm onwards. If you're not yet a member, come meet us as well, we'll be easy to spot!

  - Jack


[NB - As always, if you're missing the picture and the links, you're probably reading this on Facebook. Come to the blog instead, at www.welly-moot.com, and subscribe to us there.]

Roundup of Wellington "Hobbit 2 Release" events

There are now so many events around the release of the second installment of The Hobbit trilogy that I get to use the word "plethora" in a sentence!

Middle-earth News has a good premiere roundup as well.


In order of date, the following things are planned:


December 2-3 : Official Release (Los Angeles, USA)

• Livestreamed to Wellington, starting at 3:30pm, December 3rd (NZ Time)
• URL for the livestream is on the official Hobbit Movie Facebook page.
• Check time in your own country here.

December 4-5 : Live Google Hangout with Peter Jackson (Online)

• Livestreamed to Wellington, starting at 7:15am, December 5th (NZ Time)
• URL for the livestream is on the Hobbit's Google+ page
• Check time in your own country here.

December 9th : Marine Education Centre Charity Gala (Embassy Cinema)

• URL for more details at the Embassy Cinema website
• Doors open at 6:00pm
• Doors close at 7:00pm
• Movie starts at 7:15pm
• As of right now (9:00pm, 28/Nov), there are still tickets available for this.

December 10 : Special (alleged) screening for the crew

• Heard this one on the grapevine. I don't know anything official about this, but I'm really pleased to see that the actual people who made the movie get to see it nice and early too.
• As far as I know it's invite only, and crew only as well.
• Don't bother asking, you won't get in. :)

December 11 : Special Preview (Reading, Courtenay Central)

•  Competition winners only, I believe
• Movie starts at 6:15pm

December 11 : (hopefully) Screening of Hobbit 1 ??? (Embassy Cinema)

• We're still in talks with the Embassy about this one. Hopefully we can watch part one from, say, 8:00pm, ahead of the midnight session at midnight

December 11 : Costume Party at the Roxy Cinema

• This one is organised by Red Carpet Tours
• Movie starts at midnight - I assume this is actually 12:01am, so technically the 12th of December
• Tickets are sold out, but the details are here.

December 12 : Midnight Session (first public screening)

• Movie starts at one minute past midnight - 12/12/13, at 12:01am
• This is the first "proper" public screening of The Hobbit, and will mark the start of the Box Office (I think). Due to the fortunate layout of the International Date Line, New Zealand STILL gets to see this before anyone else. 
• As far as I can tell there's satill tickets available for this one as well.
• Check the Embassy website for more details.

December 13th : LifeFlight Charity Event (Embassy Cinema)

• Event starts at 5:15pm
• Movie starts at 6:05pm
• Will be attended by William Kircher (Bifur) and Joe Letteri (Weta Digital head FX wizard)
• UPDATE - Tickets are now sold out
• More details (if you already have tickets) are available on the LifeFlight website

Apart from this plethora(*) of special screenings, I know there's also a large number of Laketown Extras attending one of the sessions on December the 14th, and will have a communal picnic somewhere the next day (15th). Don't know when, don't know where. I'm not invited (though Alex (my wife) is, but she's not telling me).

If anything changes I'll keep this page updated, so keep checking back for more info!

This page is published on the welly-moot blog, and if you're reading this on facebook, google+, RSS, or twitter, or even via email, you may be missing the links. Check www.welly-moot for more details. That's always the source.



(*) you thought I'd forgotten.

PRESS RELEASE - Hobbit 2 Gala Tickets on sale TODAY.

The second Hobbit movie premiere may be in L.A. this year, but that doesn't mean Wellington will be left behind. It looks like we're having a party after all!

We have just received a press release from Roadshow, the NZ distributors of the Hobbit movies, about a charity event with a preview of the second movie, the Desolation of Smaug.

In short, on the evening of December the 9th, there will be a Gala event hosted at the Embassy Cinema in Wellington. The movie itself will start at 7:15pm, but the doors will be open earlier, and it sounds like a grand event is planned, with six of the dwarves in attendance.

Tickets will be $100, with all proceeds going to the Island Bay Marine Education Centre. 

Book your tickets through the Embassy's website - they go on sale at 3:00pm TODAY.


See you all there!
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Update: Better link here.
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The full press-release follows:

PROCEEDS FROM THE NEW ZEALAND GALA PREMIERE OF THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG TO GO TO LOCAL CHARITY

Charity Gala Premiere Set For Monday, December 9, in Wellington

This year, the general public and avid Hobbit fans alike will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug at the New Zealand Charity Gala Premiere on December 9 at The Embassy Theatre, Wellington.

The film, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro Goldwyn-Meyer Pictures (MGM), opens across New Zealand cinemas on December 12.

Tickets to the prestigious event will be available for purchase from Thursday, November 21 at 3pm on the Event Cinemas website (www.eventcinemas.co.nz), Roadshow Film Distributors announced today.

Cost per ticket will be $100 with all proceeds raised at the event to go to the Island Bay Marine Education Centre.

“We are proud to support The Marine Education Centre, they give so much to this city, we are very happy to be able to give something back," said filmmaker Peter Jackson.

"We are delighted to be involved with this event and the money raised will help us to reach more people of all ages to inspire them to want to learn about our oceans,” said Judy Hutt of The Island Bay Marine Education Centre.  “We think education is the key to caring for our environment and the younger you start learning the better. We also think that the best way to learn about marine life is to have close encounters with it.  That's what the Island Bay Marine Education Centre is all about."

Actors from the film, including Jed Brophy (Nori), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Mark Hadlow (Dori), John Callen (Oin), Peter Hambleton (Gloin) and William Kircher (Bifur), will also be in attendance.

Along with being among the first in the world to see the next film in Peter Jackson's epic Trilogy, guests will also be treated to light refreshments and canapés prior to the 7.15pm film start time, have the opportunity to walk away with some exclusive merchandise from the film and a few other surprises.

New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Present a WingNut Films Production, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  The screenplay for the film is by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.  Jackson also produced 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 Philippa Boyens and Eileen Moran serving as co-producers.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a production 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.