Hi Harry,

Slartibartfast here. A few weeks back I was lucky enough to see the World Premiere of Harry Potter, but nothing could have prepared me for the excitement of going to Lord Of The Rings World Premiere and Party last night. So here is a short report, with a small review of the movie (I know you've had lots already so I have kept it short), and some details of an amazing party.

mmmmmmmm....a bit dull and a bit of a dissappointment really!

Of course not...it was FU^&ING FANBLOODYTASTIC. The movie itself was everything I wanted it to be and more. I guess what I wasn't expecting, and what came as a complete shock to me, was that it had an amazing emotional depth that you just don't see in big expensive blockbusters. But first things first...

I thought it would look fantastic, and it did.

I thought the special effects would be great...and they were (but in a much less obtrusive and more sophisticated way than many recent CGI heavy movies).

I figured the acting would be pretty good, but it was universally top notch. EVEN Sean Beans performance. He's an actor I rarely like in anything and who I find to be quite irritating sometimes, so I groaned when I first read that he had been cast. But like EVERYBODY else in the movie, he gives a pitch perfect performance. Same with Liv Tyler, thought she'd be a weak link..she wasn't. Ian McKellen was amazing as was Elijah Wood...in fact suffice to say that I'm normally very picky when it comes to actors, and I really couldn't imagine a stronger cast.

BUT, and this is the thing, this is what I've woke up thinking this morning and just can't get out of my head...the film had a heart. Such a heart. The heart of the book is not in all the fantastic battles, the incredible settings or the rich history. It is fundamentally a story of friendship. An extraordinary friendship, no doubt about that...but still just simple human values. And for me at least, the movie kept that emotional resonance, the heart of the novel. And that could have been no easy task. What makes this even better...but agonising in terms of having to wait for another 12 months, is that for those who have read the book....we know this is just the beginning, and my mind can't comprehend just how amazing the second and third movies will be.

I will be stopping off at Odeon Leicester Square tonight to buy some more tickets....and that is the best compliment I can give it. My expectations for this one were VERY VERY high, and all of them have been met.

ONTO THE PARTY....OMG THE PARTY...

My Evening With Mr Frodo Baggins and assorted friends....

So....shall we begin at the beginning? Or maybe at the moment we arrived at the party. That seems like a good place to start.

From the moment we turned the corner and saw the venue you just thought WOW and knew you were in for something special. Outside amid all the flames shooting into the sky were some huge spit roasts, with many a fine succulent pig and chicken being prepared for feasting later....vegetarians really needed to look away at this point.

Once inside the doors...there was the hundred metres or so of red carpet with what seemed like at least a hundred different TV crews from around the world, lined up and ready to do interviews. After downing a nice warm shot of something delicious which was given to warm you from the cold, we made it into the entrance proper. There we were given programmes, whch included a MAP. Yep, it was on that kind of scale. Everything looked simply AMAZING....with about ten different large rooms, but all kind of open plan or totally glass fronted, so you could see inside everywhere...creating a huge sense of one big space but with different areas and themes. After walking past the amazing huge statues of the Stone Trolls from the Hobbit, started to have a look around.

There were trees inside, people offering you food and drinks at every turn. So many people working there, and all dressed to perfection straight out of the movie (and all the girls were VERY good looking to boot). The detail was incredible, too much to talk about here...but for example 'The Prancing Pony'. This is the Inn in the book, and they had a HUGE wooden bar in there, but when I say HUGE I mean really really big...so the stools were about 5 feet tall, and you felt the size of a Hobbit when ordering drinks from the looming bar staff above (yet again they chose very big guys so the sense of scale was even better). The whole place was full of details like this, statues, sculptures, a museum section that had glass cases full of props from the film (including The One Ring).

Food.....mmmmm delicious food. There were about six different places to eat from, ranging from a sit down meal, to the lovely roast pork baguettes courtesy of the earlier spit-roast.

A band played initially in the disco that was downstairs, yet again very open plan, so you could look onto it from the balcony above and the stairs down were covered with hundreds of candles...in fact the candle count must have been well into the thousands for the whole place.

So much merriment and drinking ensued...all of whom were very gracious and friendly as I watched on. Few more drinks later and in a quieter moment I pounced on Elijah Wood...apologised for disturbing him and then ranted on how I thought it was a life changing movie and that I couldn't have imagined a better Frodo. He seemed genuinely happy and responded by saying what a fantastic experience it has been for him. Later did pretty much the same thing with Ian Holm. All of the cast were there (Liv Tyler looking particularly gorgeous) with the exception of Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving. And more importantly the whole cast seemed genuinely very happy to be there and were most resceptive to the many well wishers. And there was no VIP area, which was great for us commoners as the stars mingled freely. A few other famous faces around, but to be honest if they weren't in the movie I wasn't really paying attention. Many more drinks and some drunken dancing later...it was time to leave for home after an unforgettable experience.

Now, MUST see this movie again....and again....and again..this will be the longest twelve months of my movie going life.

Your friend and mine

Slartibartfast