Godzone brightest star in hobbits’ galaxy, 22 December 2001
You won’t find bigger fans of our place than the four young actors who returned for the New Zealand premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Ask variations on that tired old question, “So what did you think of New Zild?” of American star Elijah Wood and Brit newcomers Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd and Orlando Bloom, and they gush like a Whakarewarewa geyser.
And despite having spent 15 months here shooting the three …

Merry and Pippin Talk Friendship, Fellowship and One Wild Ride, 01 March 2001
There’ve been plenty of amazing transformations during the making of Lord of the Rings . Rural landscapes have turned into bustling villages. Mild-mannered extras have been done over as snarling Orcs. Oscar-nominated actors have gone toe-to-toe with dazzling special effects.
But perhaps nothing connected with director Peter Jackson’s trilogy has undergone a more dramatic reworking than the lives of Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd.
Monaghan, a 23-year-old Brit, and Boyd, a 32-year-old Scot, …