Have your visual taste buds been teased into an ecstasy beyond the human fan's ability to cope any more by all those amazing looking Lord of the Rings trailers?

Then of course, you are going to want to be the first person on the whole goddamn planet to see the opening night of the Lord of the Rings movie.

Well, if that's you, my drooling fan friend, then you had better listen up, because rather fittingly, it has just been announced that Middle Earth will be the location of the premiere. Or at least, the rolling green land of New Zealand will be - and that's where all the shooting for the LoTR film took place.

New Zealand was always an inspired choice for the set of Middle Earth, as anyone who has ever visited would tell you.

It has just about every landscape you can imagine as you move from the north to the south. Mountains, forests, barren moonscapes, waterfalls, rolling hills and fields. In places you would swear you were in the English countryside (but with more sun, of course), ideal for the Shire settings.

Down South you have the rocky fields of Mordor, not to mention a great selection of near-tropical rain forests.

You may not realize this, but all three episodes have been shot back-to-back. But New Line Cinema, the film's backers, are keeping us all on edge by rationing the releases.

First off the block will be The Fellowship of the Ring, out December 19th this year (in New Zealand, anyway).

Next will be The Two Towers, due to hit the street the following Christmas in 2002. Last out will be the film for The Return of The King, at an unconfirmed release date some time in 2003.

This will give them time to hone the special FX side of the movies down to perfection, upgrading the digital 'master' tapes with any new bells and whistles that come along in the next couple of years, too.

From a crass commercial point of view, it also gives them three years to cash in on the absolutely monster merchandising push that we can expect to spill out from the studio.

We had a quick chat on the phone with Sean Bean about the upcoming movie (he plays Boromir), and he told us:

"Naturally, I have seen a lot of the material that's in the can, and the special effects are completely, truly, blinking fantastic. I think even the most die-hard fans of the books are going to be amazed when they see the film."

"Peter (Jackson) has remained as straight as an arrow when it comes to interpreting the dialogue and nuances of Tolkien's work, while the team's cutting and sfx breathe magic and pace into every moment."

"It's going to have the same effect on the audience that Star Wars had in the 1970s. A lot of people who go to see Lord of the Rings will be begging to go straight out & buy another ticket to sit in on the next screening. And the queues ... don't even go there."

We have a sneaking feeling he may be right! Roll on Christmas.