Air New Zealand’s new in-flight safety video features Hobbits, wizards and elves

Hobbits and elves are squashed in next to Orcs and wizards on board of Air New Zealand flight – suggesting the latest movie adaptation of a J.R.R Tolkien classic has been given a modern twist.

The scene is taken from Air New Zealand’s new in-flight safety video, which even features a cameo from director Sir Peter Jackson along with one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most famous characters – Gollum.

The safety video was inspired by the upcoming film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first in a trilogy of movies from director Sir Peter Jackson, who was also behind the smash hit hugely successful The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

The Oscar-winning director even agreed to appear in the safety video along with cast members, and Mike and Royd Tolkien, the great-great grandsons of the author of timeless masterpiece The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien.

The airline’s general manager of marketing and communications Mike Tod said the video – called An Unexpected Briefing – was representative of the hotbed of creative talent in New Zealand.

“To have Gollum step off the movie screen for the first time and into an Air New Zealand aircraft is incredibly special, and Sir Peter Jackson delivers a superb cameo,” Mike Tod said.

“He should come out from behind the camera more often,” he added.

Royd Tolkien, who features in the video with prosthetic hairy Hobbit feet, said of Air New Zealand’s video: “They’ve done a great job of capturing the essence of The Hobbit films and it was a privilege to be invited to participate.”

New Zealander Dean O’Gorman, who plays the Dwarf Fili in the movie, can also be spotted among the passengers in the safety video, along with two super-Hobbit fans from TheOneRing.net – the largest online Tolkien fan site.

Mike Tod said the release of An Unexpected Briefing marks the official start of Air New Zealand’s two-year global marketing programme dedicated to The Hobbit trilogy.

A forthcoming feature of Air New Zealand’s support of The Hobbit trilogy will be a themed aircraft which will be unveiled prior to the movie’s global première in Wellington on November 28.