By Sharon

Prior to the cast going to the Ball they attended a Pre-ball Cocktail Party (the private gathering that Elijah spoke of in the nightline news clip). This is where my family and I got to spend some time with the cast. It was a small gathering of around 20 people held at the Parkroyal hotel. The room had a Hollywood theme to it...in one corner there was a mock up of a medieval looking film set, there was a large gold throne with red cushions, a knight encased in steel armour, an old film camera mounted on a tripod and a couple of directors chairs...on the walls were various black and white posters of old movies from the past like Psycho and of actors like Lauren Bacall and Bruce Lee (a favourite with Dominic), amongst others. On the wall opposite the bar was a large video screen showing the movie Casablanca in black and white with no sound

Elijah and Sean arrived first. They walked on over to the film set to taker a closer look and then made their way to the bar.

Shortly thereafter Billy, Dominic and Orlando arrived. By their reactions (hugs and shouts) when they joined up together it was apparent that they hadn't seen each other for a while. They looked like quite a happy, close knit group. All of the guys looked really smart in their tuxedos. Orlando stood out with his mohawk, he has quite a dark olive complexion, darker than I first thought him to be. I expected him to be taller, sure he was taller than the hobbit actors but amongst the crowd at the Ball I would have put him at average height, not short and not tall (as in over 6 feet).

Introductions are made...and sought

After a while, my cousin Isla and I decided we'd head on up to the bar. We were waiting for our drinks when I heard someone say to me "Hello, how are you?", I turned to find the voice belonged to a smiling Billy Boyd (with beard, which I thought suited him) and standing along side him was Dominic. I admit I was a little flustered/thrown not expecting quite a direct approach like that.

Billy asked me something like "What was I up to or what was I doing?" I said that we were going to the Ball. We then had a short conversation about filming, Dominic said they would finish in December and Billy said they would be in the South Island for a few months. Then speaking on Isla's behalf ..who is a big fan of Elijah Wood... I explained that it was her birthday on Sunday and she would dearly love to meet him. So Billy introduced us, Elijah wished Isla a happy birthday and asked how old she was going to be. I then proceeded to tell him of how far Isla's adoration extended, (tease that I am ...I couldn't help myself) he was very flattered and then turned to me, smiling, to say "Your embarrassing the hell out of her". Unperturbed, I asked if Isla could have her photo taken with him and he said sure. So leaving Isla in the company of the three hobbits I dashed off to get my camera and alert the rest of my family.

So, Isla had her photo taken with Elijah and then we had a family photo with him. He was very relaxed and co-operative about the whole thing. We went back to the bar and he asked us if we wanted any drinks. I put my camera on the bar, Elijah picks it up, looks into the lens, pulls a face and takes his own picture!!! The photo turned out great,

I then asked if I could have a group photo of the actors, no problem. Elijah rounded up the actors and there followed a quick discussion about where to take it, Dominic pointed and said he wanted the photo to be taken with Bruce Lee. So we all headed on over to the Bruce Lee poster, along the way Elijah grabs my mother and tells her to "Come on over". Being the last to arrive I discovered not only the actors in place but my family as well...I was left holding the camera...hey, hang on a minute, that's not fair, I'm the Rings fan!!!... I quickly found someone to take the photo for me (a lady who I am eternally grateful to) and without a second thought inserted myself next to Orlando. After the photo had been taken, Dominic shouted out to our nameless photographer "You forgot Bruce Lee!".

Meeting Orlando

Now out of all the actors there, Orlando was the one I wanted to meet, if you hadn't guessed already, and not just because of his looks mind. I wanted to meet the man who was going to be Legolas the Elf .....sigh....my favourite LOTR character. The opportunity quickly presented itself, I spotted Orlando on his own watching the large movie screen. Well, it was now or never. I said to myself "Come on Sharon, you've got nothing to lose, he won't bite" so with a deep breath and a dry throat I walked on over. He had his back to me facing the screen, so I tapped him on the arm to get his attention. He turned and I smiled and said the first thing that came into my head, "Excuse me, hi, can I have your autograph".

With that well thought out opening line (I'm being sarcastic) he came over to join our group. I gave him a pen and a blank sheet of A4 and said to him, "Just write...To Sharon....Ummm", trying to think of something witty, profound and drawing a blank (being totally unprepared), he then said " What about... Lots of Love or All my love forever...". So in the end he wrote, in large capital letters...Sharon... All my love... Legolas AKA Orlando. Then he stayed for a chat. I asked where he had been on holiday, he said to "Australia, Thailand and to London for a few days" and that he "couldn't wait to get back to Wellington". He went on to say he had only arrived in the country that same day after a 20 hour flight. We then spoke about Drama school and here is replies were quite lengthy and detailed, oh for a tape recorder.

I can not recall everything he said just certain words he used, we talked about RP (received pronunciation) accents, voice tone and voice projection for the stage, breathing... using your diaphragm, (he has a lovely soft voice...bless...) It was really interesting to hear what he had to say, he sounded quite knowledgeable, well I suppose you would after three years hard study at drama school. Orlando went on to talk about the physical aspects of acting like body movement and such and was in the middle of explaining something when Sean Astin joined our group, interrupting Orlando in mid flow, with a "Hello folks, how are you, I'm Sean"...then turned to each of us asking for our names...ahemmm...This brought our conversation with Orlando to an abrupt end and he left ...Sean you have a lot to answer for, just joking...

Sean wanted to know where we came from, he said that he had only been to Te Anau and Glenorchy but not as far south as Invercargill. He pointed out his wife Christine and talked about his little girl Alex. He appeared to have put on a bit of weight, he had quite a solid, stocky build. On leaving, after shaking my mothers hand, he turned her palm over and kissed the back of her hand ...bless...and I missed seeing it. Because of Sean, Mum (who had quite a nice chat with him) is now making a second attempt at reading LOTR. I talked further to Elijah, nothing LOTR related. I asked about his holiday, he had been to Sydney then LA to see his parents. We talked about other things like the Oscars and I remember him saying something like.."it was a once in a lifetime experience...but it's better sitting at home watching it...". And then it was time for them to leave for the Ball.

During the time they were at the cocktail party I managed to get all their autographs, they all wrote nice little messages. I was expecting maybe to get one or two but not all 5 on one sheet of paper...very chuffed about that!!!

The Ball

Then soon after my family and I were chauffeured to the Ball which was held at the Millennium hotel. There was a giant, gold Oscar statuette outside the main entrance and a large, white light thingy shining into the night sky. There were loads of people, 500 all up I think. The main room had a similar Hollywood theme to it, the tables and chairs, surrounding the dance floor, had black fabric draped over them with large white bows tied around the back of each of the chairs, also there were several giant video screens on the walls showing different movies...I can remember seeing James Dean, I think in Rebel without a Cause and then later on I happened to glance at one of the screens...looked hard and thought ..."Willow???!!!"...eeekkk... coming to a near dead stop on the dance floor.

There were awards handed out and one was for the Best Dressed Man. Orlando's name was called, he hopped on up to the stage and was given a mock Oscar, with microphone in one hand he made a little speech. He was articulate and self assured, looking very confident in front of a room full of hundreds of people. He felt that the award should go to someone else, a man seen wearing an old 18th century naval uniform instead of the regulatory black and white, who looked like and who Orlando nicknamed "Captain Cook", said person then appeared on stage to collect the award.

There weren't hordes of fans surrounding the actors, they were pretty much left to themselves, apart from Elijah and possibly Sean the others aren't that well known, unless of course, like me, you've been following the LOTR on the net and are familiar with who's who.

It was a great night, I feel very fortunate and lucky to have gone. I am thrilled that I had the chance to not only get their autographs and photos but that I could talk with them as well. The actors were friendly and approachable, down to earth, no airs about them whatsoever, a credit to themselves. They were excellent and I'm stoked.