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Posted on 12/09/2003 12:03:57 PM PST by HarleyD
Recently MOVIEGUIDE® had the opportunity to speak with some key members of the cast and crew for the magnificent final movie, RETURN OF THE KING in the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy.
Peter Jackson, the director, writer, producer, said it was his intention to make the spiritual aspects of the story even clearer than the book. It was also his intention to make some of the other themes clearer.
Peter pointed out that Tolkien was deeply influenced by the two world wars, but always said that he wished he had been born 100 years earlier when England was more like the shire. The hobbits in many ways are like the English yeoman who was called up to leave his farm to go fight in the killing fields of Europe.
When Mr. Jackson was asked by MOVIEGUIDE® why he moved some of the elements of the plot around, such as Shelob the spider from book two to movie three, he said it was for dramatic effect.
A leading Tolkien authority who runs the most popular website on Tolkien on the Internet said that he has initially wary of the movies, but after seeing the third movie, agrees that Peter made the right choices.
John Rhys-Davies initially didn’t want to play Gimli the dwarf. He went to New Zealand on the advice of his elder son, and, for the first week, he looked for a way to get out of working in the movie. He thought Peter Jackson couldn’t make the trilogy, but he began to see that every level of the production manifested excellence. The more he looked into it, the more he realized that this series was going to be bigger than STAR WARS. He found that Peter Jackson had real strength and depth in his preparation, that he knew the story he wanted to tell, and that he had a mastery of almost every aspect of the filmmaking craft. Moreover, Peter’s temperament was and is perfect, relaxed, and clear.
Andy Sirkis, who plays Gollum, also commended Peter. Initially, he was supposed to be there for two or three weeks to voice the role, but his acting was so good that Peter started to recreate the character of Gollum inspired by Andy’s inspired delivery.
When asked how he created such a great villain, Andy said that he tried to keep Gollum innocent. Gollum is wrestling with his decisions in the movie, and the audience can’t decide whether to trust him or not, just as Frodo can’t decide. He influences Frodo through his innocence and his manipulation.
Andy said he was inspired by his 5-year-old daughter Ruby. In fact, one scene where Gollum is hanging onto the rocks was inspired by Ruby hanging onto a candy counter as he tried to drag her out of a grocery store. Parents will appreciate his insight.
Ian McKellen, who delivers the clearest spiritual lines in the movie, was clear that he is not spiritual in real life. He doesn’t like churches or Christianity. He doesn’t like people to tell him what’s right and wrong. He wants to discover it for himself. However, he didn’t let his views influence his role. He said "I’m an actor, not a proselytizer. I do what the director tells me. I’m a tool in his hands. I don’t judge characters, I just play them.” And, he played Gandalf very well.
Ian pointed out that, although Peter Jackson used a full palette of colors, sets, costumes, and characters in the movie, he wanted only primary emotions, not a lot of subtext. Of course, this classic view of character makes the movie much stronger.
MOVIEGUIDE® asked Sean Astin how he developed Sam into the true hero of the story. He said he didn’t want to be the bumbling hobbit of Ralph Bakshi’s animated version. He wanted to show honor and duty and loyalty without being obsequious.
Regarding his stirring speech in THE TWO TOWERS and equally stirring speech in RETURN OF THE KING, he said that Peter tried the first speech with several characters, but found that Sean delivered it best. Though young, Sean is an old pro. His father played Gomez in the ADDAMS FAMILY show on TV.
Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo, responded to the question whether he was upset that Frodo’s picture was on the cover of the first movie whereas Aragorn was on the cover of the third, “Well, the name of the movie is RETURN OF THE KING.”
The Tolkien expert pointed out that the biggest fans of the series used to be boys 17 to 25, now it’s girl’s 13-20 who are interested in Elijah. Elijah replied that the role hasn’t changed his life, and he’s just looking for quality productions.
Barrie Osborne, the executive producer, pointed out that Peter Jackson is very collaborative. He allowed the actors to develop the characters, and Barrie directed the second unit.
Even though they developed the Massive computer hardware that would allow 250,000 characters to battle each other, each making their own decisions based on the rules of war, Barrie said that the key to the filmmaking was the heart not the hardware. Still, the detail work was amazing. Every sword was forged, 15,000 costumes were created, every set was built, miniatures and bigatures were made with a such a keen eye for authenticity that the movie comes alive on the screen.
Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, and Viggo Mortensen all said that they would love to return to New Zealand. For them, New Zealand has become their shire, the place that they can find peace.
All the actors and crew agreed that this was the project of a lifetime, that it would probably never be duplicated, and that it would go down in film history as one of the best films of all time. MOVIEGUIDE® agrees.
Peter Jackson has done a wonderful job and has, IMHO, been cheated out of the Oscar. The Pianoist, Beautiful Mind-give me a break.
I'm heading to get my advance tickets. I just wish they sell me the DVD now.
BTW-I heard that PJ want to do the prequel-The Hobbit.
Ring Ping!! |
Anyone wishing to be added to or removed from the Ring-Ping list, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Gollum is only a victim, not a bad guy, cursed by the Ring's power. IMHO he carries TTT.
I can't wait...MUD
Let's hope he won't do any more stinkers like Ash Wednesday.
My Civil War books are so disappointing because I always know how they end: the South, INCLUDING TEXAS, loses every time, it just never changes...
The greatest disappointment, IMHO, has been the casting of Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. His voice sounds like he takes a hit of helium before every line. No power in his delivery. Just squeaks.
Plus, in scenes where he stands next to Legolas, the elf is TALLER!. An elf taller than a ranger??
My son read this book and cried....... but he refuses to tell me...........
It is entirely possible to be both simultaneously. Victimization does not impart virtue.
And since he originally acquired the Ring by murdering his cousin, I think he qualifies as a bad guy.
The greatest disappointment, IMHO, has been the casting of Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. His voice sounds like he takes a hit of helium before every line. No power in his delivery. Just squeaks.
Viggo has played an excellent Aragorn. I can't imagine anyone else doing the role now. I could care less about his voice allegedly "squeaking"; it sounds fine to me.
Plus, in scenes where he stands next to Legolas, the elf is TALLER!. An elf taller than a ranger??
Tolkien's elves are quite tall, usually taller than men. Fraid you're complaining about non-issues here.
It all comes down to how we've created these characters in our own mind as we've read the books over the years.
Actually, David Wenham (Faramir) is a better match for the Aragorn I created.
To each his own.
No worries Argh, we didn't quit fighting. Our guy is in the White House now! :-)
Tolkien states that all elves are taller than men, including rangers. That isn't the film - you'd have to take that up with Tolkien.
Try reading Harry Turtledove...
Sheesh! Even dwarves know that!
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