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Auckland - New Zealand's national airline unveiled a giant image on Monday of the dragon Smaug on one of its planes to celebrate the premiere of the second movie in the Hobbit trilogy.
Air New Zealand showed the 54m image that's featured on both sides of a Boeing 777-300 aircraft. The plane is scheduled to fly to Los Angeles in time for the premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which screens on Monday at the Dolby Theatre.
First look at Smaug
It was the first time fans got a chance to see director Peter Jackson's interpretation of Smaug. In the first movie, the director revealed only the dragon's eye.
The Hobbit trilogy was filmed in New Zealand and is based on the book of the same name by JRR Tolkien.
The movie opens in SA theaters on 13 December.
Basically a giant sticker
The image is a decal, or giant sticker, produced by special effects studio Weta Digital, which also worked on the movie.
Air New Zealand spokesperson Andrew Aitken said it intends to keep the decal on the plane for at least a year, until the opening of the third Hobbit movie. The airline also used a decal to celebrate the opening of the first movie.
New Zealand has sought to use the popularity of the movies as a way to market itself and boost tourism.
Watch a time-lapse of the unveiling below:
Air New Zealand showed the 54m image that's featured on both sides of a Boeing 777-300 aircraft. The plane is scheduled to fly to Los Angeles in time for the premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which screens on Monday at the Dolby Theatre.
We’re adding to the Hobbit Plane fleet. Check out the newest addition to the @FlyAirNZ family #AirNZHobbit pic.twitter.com/zwiNbAfGjL
— Air New Zealand (@FlyAirNZ) December 1, 2013First look at Smaug
It was the first time fans got a chance to see director Peter Jackson's interpretation of Smaug. In the first movie, the director revealed only the dragon's eye.
The Hobbit trilogy was filmed in New Zealand and is based on the book of the same name by JRR Tolkien.
The movie opens in SA theaters on 13 December.
Check out our new Hobbit plane featuring Smaug, designed especially for us by Weta Digital @Wetafx #AirNZHobbit pic.twitter.com/85k532Wpw3
— Air New Zealand (@FlyAirNZ) December 1, 2013Basically a giant sticker
The image is a decal, or giant sticker, produced by special effects studio Weta Digital, which also worked on the movie.
Air New Zealand spokesperson Andrew Aitken said it intends to keep the decal on the plane for at least a year, until the opening of the third Hobbit movie. The airline also used a decal to celebrate the opening of the first movie.
New Zealand has sought to use the popularity of the movies as a way to market itself and boost tourism.
Watch a time-lapse of the unveiling below:
