Frodo will be so real you’ll smell the little hobbit when the Fellowship of the Ring Australasian premiere hits the Embassy’s new screen on Wednesday (December 19).

The Embassy has a new 27 by 56-foot Perlux Superglow screen, sponsored by New Zealand Post, the largest cinema screen in New Zealand. It also has a new soundsystem personally selected by Peter Jackson.

The first film to use the new technology will be Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone which will screen in the days running up to the launch of Fellowship of the Ring, provided the renovations are complete. Concrete is still being poured in some parts of the theatre, which is undergoing extensive renovations to its entrance and main foyer.

Kerry Robins of Deluxe Cinemas is confident all will be ready come the premiere – or at least look ready. “We are in the movie business after all. This is just set dressing.”

The Embassy will have 100 extra cinema seats and 36 deluxe seats added for the Fellowship of the Ring opening show. The extra seating may be kept on if it all fits nicely.

“This is going to be the biggest event since Around the World in 80 Days. When I was a kid theye had balloons and searchlights on Courtenay Place. It was full of people. But Wellington hasn’t seen a party like this one.”