Paul Lieberman writes: Elijah Wood, who is given the job of saving the world (or Middle-earth at least) in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, began his career modeling little boys’ clothing in a mall. He was just 7 when his mother moved him from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Los Angeles in 1988, and his screen debut came almost immediately, with a small part in the second episode of “Back to the Future.” Enough decent roles kept coming his way that he did not have time to do a single stage play or complete high school. He figured he could learn more “from life,” anyway, and by working with the likes of Peter Jackson, the rumpled New Zealand director who had never grossed more than $3.1 million with a film in America before he began negotiating a deal to make three, for $300 million, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s cult classic novels — arguably the greatest gamble in filmmaking history. !!Spoilers!! [More]

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