Schoolboys make their own Hobbit movie

Pupils at a London prep school have beaten movie director Peter Jackson by releasing their own version of The Hobbit.

Tolkien fans will have to wait until December to see the first film in Jackson's trilogy, one of the most anticipated releases of the year.

But schoolboys from Tower House School have already finished their own feature-length 90 minute version of the classic novel.

Seventy boys, aged eight to 13, from Tower House School star in the movie, filmed at various locations around the country.

Although the film was produced 'on a shoestring', they did splurge some of the budget on a CGI dragon.

Joey Whittaker, 13, who played Bilbo Baggins, said "It was a really great experience."

Paul Geary, the school's head of drama and director of the film, was thrilled with the finished result.

"It was our ambition to do something totally unique, something no other school has ever done," he told the Evening Standard.

"As far as I am aware we are the first prep school to do a full feature-length film."

The film received an official premiere at the Curzon Renoir Cinema in Russell Square.