海角大神

If you pass through Wellington Airport, you may come face-to-face with a new visitor: a giant statue of Gollum, the memorable creature from the 鈥�Lord of the Rings鈥� trilogy.

The statue, which is more than 42 feet long and weighs more than 1.2 tons, was added to the airport to celebrate the upcoming 鈥淗obbit鈥� film, which hits theaters Dec. 14 and was directed by 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� helmer Peter Jackson. The statue is accompanied by large fish, creatures which Gollum loves to catch and eat in the 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� films. The fish each measure more than 13 feet and are accompanied by large bubbles. In order to fit through the doors of the airport, the Gollum model had to be broken down into nine separate parts.

The statue was built by Masayuki Ohashi, a Japanese artist, and designed by Weta Workshop, the special effects company which was behind the 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� trilogy and has worked on the 鈥淗obbit鈥� films as well. The statue was built using polystyrene and epoxy resin and constructed with the aid of chainsaws and robotics.

鈥淚t was a very exciting project to work on,鈥� Ohashi said in a .

In addition to the Gollum statue, Wellington is being temporarily renamed 鈥淭he Middle of Middle-Earth鈥� to celebrate the new movies, so travelers will now also see a sign announcing the name.

鈥淲ellington Airport feels like the home of Gollum after spending so many months here during the last three films,鈥� Weta co-founder and creative director Richard Taylor said in a . A Gollum statue had resided in the airport to celebrate the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

In the films, Gollum is played by actor Andy Serkis using motion-capture technology. Many fans and some movie critics were outraged when Serkis was not nominated for an Oscar for his work in the second and third 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� films, 鈥�Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers鈥� and 鈥�Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.鈥� (Serkis is glimpsed for merely seconds in the first film.)