'Wellywood' Welcomes Last Lord

New Zealand's usually sleepy capital, Wellington, lived up to its "Wellywood" nickname Monday, as about 100,000 screaming fans lined the streets to fete stars of the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy ahead of the world premiere of the final installment.

"I'm feeling incredibly humbled by this wonderful reception," director Peter Jackson said as he walked the 470-meter (514-yard) red carpet leading to the premiere. "You feel like you're the first people to land on the moon or something."

The streets were festooned with posters, up to eight stories tall, of characters from "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

Grandmothers in deck chairs, kids in character costumes and people clutching copies of J.R.R. Tolkien's books lined the streets four-deep as the movie's stars, such as Live Tyler and Elijah Wood, were driven from Parliament House to the theater screening the premiere in a parade headed by warriors on horseback, barefoot hobbits and orcs — all characters from the films.

Some fans had slept on the streets to get spots. Others had flocked to sites where the movies were filmed to soak up the mood.

Dutch friends Charlotte Holst and Kristen Decks are spending three months touring the sites, sleeping at as many as possible.

"We slept at Rivendell (home of the trilogy's elf people) Saturday night. After the premiere it's Mordor (city of the evil Lord Sauron)," they told the city's Dominion Post newspaper.

Jackson has already anointed the last "Rings" movie, "Return of the King," as the trilogy's best — as well as its longest, at 3 hours, 11 minutes.

The film opens in the United States on Dec. 17, most of Western Europe the next day and in Asia on Dec. 20.

Police said up to 100,000 people — a quarter of Wellington's population — were expected to celebrate the last big event in more than five years of local production for the three movies.

The marathon production and the fact that Jackson is based here earned Wellington its "Wellywood" nickname.

New Zealanders also have taken the "Rings" trilogy to their hearts because most of it was shot in New Zealand, using the country's dramatic mountains, rivers and forests as backdrops.

Without "the incredible scenery of this country, this film could not have been made," Jackson said.

The New Zealand countryside "made Middle Earth come to life," he told lawmakers and guests at a parliamentary reception before the premiere. Middle Earth is the fantasy world of Tolkien's books.

Sean Astin, who plays hobbit Sam Gangee, said the premiere was "a moment of great national pride ... and it feels like a little bit of history here."

Jackson generally shuns the limelight and said Monday that "being the center of so much attention is just a little scary and stressful."

He said he is now looking forward to working on smaller local films — although he first has to complete another monster project — his version of "King Kong."

He told hundreds of journalists gathered in Wellington that after "King Kong," he is looking forward "to becoming a New Zealand filmmaker again," making New Zealand stories rather than "international" films.

British actor Sir Ian McKellen, who plays the wizard Gandalf in the trilogy, paid tribute to U.S.-based New Line Cinema for putting trust in Jackson's vision for the films.

"It is not often that you can congratulate a studio for courage, good judgment and for backing its filmmaker," he said.

"The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" so far have grossed $2.9 billion at the box office worldwide.

New Line Cinema, a Time Warner subsidiary, is predicting at least $1.3 billion from the third "Rings" film.