Fan pours life savings into Lord of the Rings prequel
Home Staff
Thursday February 11 2010, 12.01am, The Times
A Lord of the Rings fan has spent all her savings filming a prequel to the blockbuster trilogy.
Kate Madison, 31, filmed, produced and starred in her hour-long film, Born of Hope, which took six years to make with a volunteer cast and crew of more than 400. She spent £8,000 on the project and raised £17,000 by posting a trailer on YouTube. More than half a million people have watched the final cut since it was launched online in December and Ms Madison is now hoping to pitch it to Hollywood distributors.
To keep costs down the film was shot in Epping Forest, Essex, and West Stow, Suffolk, and the cast and crew camped in tents on set. The amateur actress, from Cambridge,