UK school kids film own version of ‘The Hobbit’ on shoestring budget

London: School kids from London have released their own version of ‘The Hobbit’ months before the official film premieres.

The first film in Peter Jackson’s upcoming Hobbit trilogy is one of the most anticipated film releases of the year. But while Tolkien fans will have to wait until December to see ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ on the big screen, school boys from a south London independent preparatory school have produced their own feature-length 90 minute version of the classic novel, the Telegraph reported. Seventy boys aged eight to thirteen from Tower House School star in the film, which has been filmed at various locations around the country. Although the film was produced “on a shoestring,” they had splurged some of the budget on a CGI dragon. A company run by Cliff Webb, the father of one of the young actors, assisted the school with production and editing. Tower House can already claim some notable acting talent amongst its alumni, with Tom Hardy and ‘Twilight’s’ Robert Pattison having previously studied at the school. Paul Geary, head of drama and director of the film, was thrilled with the finished result. “The boys showed great dedication to this project which shows the quality of drama that a school can produce,” he told the Evening Standard. “It was our ambition to do something totally unique, something no other school has ever done. As far as I am aware we are the first prep school to do a full feature-length film,” he said. The film received an official premiere at the Curzon Renoir Cinema in Russell Square. ANI