ACTING legend Sir Ian McKellen, author Brian Sibley and the great-grandson of author JRR Tolkien were among the guests of honour at an exclusive Hobbit screening organised by a Stourbridge superfan.

A year after winning a dream trip to New Zealand to visit the set of Middle-Earth and meet his all-time favourite film director Sir Peter Jackson - devoted Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fan Kyle Pedley pulled out all the stops to single-handedly organise an event commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Hobbit Fan Fellowship Contest and to celebrate the release of the extended edition of the final Hobbit movie on DVD, Blu-ray and digital.

The invitation-only event, held at Warner Bros. screening room in London, saw a collection of Hobbit Fan Fellowship competition winners from across the globe reunite for an exclusive screening of 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Extended Edition' ahead of its home release.

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But unbeknownst to most of them in advance - they were treated to a question and answer session with a panel of distinguished guests headed up by film, theatre and television icon Sir Ian McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf in all six of Jackson's Middle-Earth movies.

Event organiser Kyle from Amblecote, who had chance to meet his film hero in the flesh, said: "He’s a genuine icon of mine, so to have him attend this special event I organised was just such an incredible honour. For someone who is so distinguished and has achieved so much, he is also an incredibly gracious and down-to-Earth man."

He said there was "a standing ovation and outcry of excitement and disbelief" when fans realised the movie legend was among them and he added: "He spent time appreciating the costumes and efforts the fans had gone to, and was more than happy to do a video interview, photographs and a live Q&A session - even when he had a friend's birthday to attend to that very same evening."

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Writer and broadcaster Brian Sibley, who was involved with the 1981 BBC Radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings and who has penned many behind-the-scenes books and guides for Jackson’s Middle-Earth trilogies, also attended - along with Royd Tolkien, great-grandson of Lord of the Rings and Hobbit author JRR Tolkien.

Costume-clad Middle-Earth ‘cosplayers’ The Galactic Knights, chairman of The Tolkien Society - Shaun Gunner, and Rachel Sprackett of Tourism New Zealand were also at the event which included a special video message from directing great Sir Peter Jackson himself.

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Kyle, a 28-year-old retail manager and Stourbridge News reviewer who runs film and theatre website (A)Musings Media, said: "To be joined by the likes of Royd Tolkien, Brian Sibley and Sir Ian McKellen and have such a fantastic personal video message from Sir Peter Jackson over in New Zealand was an absolute thrill and honour."

He described the event as "an incredible, unprecedented celebration of the impact these films and last year’s incredible competition have had on people all over the globe" and added: "To have such a dedicated group of fans, who formed their own genuine fellowship over the course of a magical week in New Zealand last year, reunite from all corners of the globe for this special occasion was just an absolute joy to behold and be part of."

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The Hobbit Fan Fellowship Contest, organised by New Line Cinema, MGM Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand, was an international search conducted in 2014 by Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand and Warner Bros. to find 75 of the world’s biggest Hobbit fans.

Whittled down from more than 140,000 initial entrants, the winners were flown to New Zealand for an all-expenses paid trip which included visits to real locations from the movies, a tour of the Hobbiton Set in Matamata and a private screening of the final Hobbit film in the company of Sir Peter Jackson ahead of its theatrical release.