December 1st Premiere For 'Return Of The King'

Director Peter Jackson was unavailable for comment – he is currently filming additional scenes for The Return of the King in Wellington.

The announcement follows a chaotic six weeks which saw the council meet three times to first agree to funding for the Embassy refurbishment, then rescind the decision, before finally this month agreeing to a $4.5 million underwrite.

At one point, New Line executive vice-president Mark Ordesky threatened to take the world premiere to Los Angeles if the Embassy wasn't brought up to scratch.

The council's final decision came despite no guarantee of the premiere from New Line, but Ms Prendergast said New Line's announcement was "as expected".