Film fans move into 'hobbit village'

Oslo has learnt its lesson from last year's premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring when 600 people queued for tickets in the Norwegian capital, some of them for days.

This year a film distributor has built a "hobbit village" to house hundreds of eager fans clamouring to get the first tickets for the second film in the J R R Tolkien trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

The village opens today in a park near central Oslo, even though tickets don't go on sale until 4 November. Fans wishing to spend the full 10 days in the village have to build their own dwellings and make their own costumes inspired by "Middle Earth". The best will win prizes, said Norway's SF Norge film distributor, the event organiser.

The village includes a miniature inn, several small houses, and teepee-like tents. There will be repeated showings of the first film, to entertain the eager hordes, who will also be entertained on their marathon wait with Tolkien-related games and performances. "It's a little crazy," said SF Norge's managing director, Guttorm Pettersen Pettersen. "But they really are devoted fans."

He said eight people were already queuing last night for the 500 tickets that will be made available to the public for the 18 December première.

The three Tolkien books were filmed at the same time, with one planned for release each year. Last year's release triumphed at the Oscars, winning four awards.