[Beruthiel]

Found this article in a newspaper, wish I could go but being on the other side of the world is a bit of a problem <P>"This is the truly orc-some sight that awaits Lord of the Rings fans at London's Science Museum. The venue is hosting a ₤1.2 million exhibition based on the fantasy trilogy.<BR>The magical displays include real costumes, models, weapons and props used in The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. The ticket-only exhibition sold out in hours when it opened in New Zealand, where the movies were filmed.<BR>London is the only city in Europe to host the show and tickets will go on sale officialy tomorrow. <P>Among more than 650 amazing exhibits is a 16ft troll and a 12ft replica of Treebeard, one of the ents - a race of walking, talking trees. The 10ft-wide troll caused a monster problem when it would not fit through the museum's doors. So staff had to demolish a wall to get it inside. It joins a full-sized elvish boat - complete with a model of warrior Boromir, who was played by Sean Bean on screen.<P>The show - which runs from September 16 until January - will also explain some of the computer wizadry behind the films.<BR>Interactive displays will take visitors to the fantasy world of Middle-Earth. Thay can become hobbits and meet other creatures, including evil orcs. Models of the Tower of Orthanc, Hobbiton Mill and evil Sauron's tower Barad-dûr will be on show.<P>There will also be demonstrations of the ground-breaking special effects used in the Oscar-winning films. Fans can use cutting-edge technology to see how twisted creature Gollum came to life or how the 12,000-strong monster army was born. The horribly realistic 'second-skin' masks worn by actors to bring the monsters like the orcs to life will be displayed.<P>And visitors will also see the hand-craftes weapons used by the beautiful elf Arwen, wizard Gandalf, hero hobbit Frodo and warrior Aragorn, who is played by Viggo Mortensen.<P>For fight fans, the films' mind-boggling battle scenes will be revisited, with twelve sets of armous on show, including one worn by King Theoden, played by Bernard Hill, in The Two Towers.<P>The last film in the ₤200 million trilogy - The Return of the King - is due out on December 17. But many of its props are already in the exhibition - giving fans an exciting glimpse into the saga's final instalment."<p>[ July 07, 2003: Message edited by: Beruthiel ]