B Rock Longbottom writes: Peter Jackson was interviewed by Matt Lauer this morning which started off with an extended video clip of Saruman giving his speech to the Uruk Hai on the balcony of Orthanc. [More]
Month: December 2002
Peter Jackson was interviewed by Matt Lauer this morning which started off with an extended video clip of Saruman giving his speech to the Uruk Hai on the balcony of Orthanc.
Matt started off with a joke, reading a piece from a press clipping written before the opening of “Fellowship.” He read, “Peter Jackson is the guy that may ruin New Line Cinema if this movie sucks.” Matt went on to say the movie proved the critics wrong by getting 13 Academy Award nominations and winning 4, and going on to earn $890MM. Matt then asked if now that the studio pressure is off, is it much easier this time around. Peter said he is in the fortunate position – “that ship has already sailed.” Over the course of a year and a half, the film has already been shot. Then Peter said he must remain faithful to the movie, even more so than the book, because he views the films as one long story, broken in to three 3-hour pieces. He said he took some license with the film as he did with Fellowship, in order to tell the story the best way on film.
Peter said The Two Towers literally picks up where Fellowship leaves off. Matt asks if this version is darker and more violent. Peter explained that the second chapter of a trilogy is inherently darker. He said the first piece sets up the characters and sees them set off on their Quest. Now, things get more difficult. At this point, we hear Peter’s voice as we see some of the filming of TTT. There are shots of orcs falling off the ladders scaling the walls of Helms Deep. There are some beautiful shots of Edoras, Helms Deep, and of Theoden walking out of what looks to be an opening of the rocky wall at Helms Deep and Theoden turns around stopping Aragorn in his tracks and places his hand on Aragorn’s chest. He speaks to Aragorn very enthusiastically and has the power of the healed Theoden.
Then Matt asks him about the work ahead for ROTK. Peter just smiles and says next week he begins cutting the film together and that they have about 800 effects shots to work on, so they will be busy.
Peter was actually wearing shoes this time, his black sneakers and a regular short sleeved polo shirt. Brave clothes, since it is 30 degrees Fahrenheit here in NYC today! Peter seemed quite calm and with his understated sense of humor.
Viggo Mortensen certainly got what he wished for, people talking politics and war as opposed to his role in TTT, this from his visit to the Charlie Rose show last night. TORN fans have certainly been vocal, both pro and con Viggo in regards to his statements last night. [More]
Please Note: All opinions, including those of Viggo Mortensen, may not be the opinions of this website or any of the geeks who work on it
Viggo Mortensen certainly got what he wished for, people talking politics and war as opposed to his role in TTT, this from his visit to the Charlie Rose show last night. TORN fans have certainly been vocal, both pro and con Viggo in regards to his statements last night. Take a sampling here:
–I must say that the best part of the show was the clips from the film….there was some talk about making the film, and other projects that PJ, Elijah, and Viggo were working on, but, I’m sorry to say, Viggo spent the first 10 minutes talking about his political views. He was wearing a t-shirt that said No Blood For Oil. I did not feel that this was the time or place for making a political statement. I was very disappointed that Viggo chose to do just that. PJ and Elijah were not included in this discussion, and the host tried to turn the subject away more than once. As a fan of the films, I wanted to hear about TTT, but instead, I got to hear Viggo’s position on Iraq. I hope that future shows about TTT are actually about TTT. Nikki
-I was hoping for some scoop on the movie, maybe a little insight from the director and actors about the filming of the movies, what to expect next, etc. What’s up with Viggo Mortensen hijacking half the segment with a monologue on US foreign policy? I can’t believe I stayed up late on a school night to watch it…
– I’m sure you’ve gotten a ton of emails about this already about Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, and Viggo Mortensen being on the show Charlie Rose last night. They showed three clips from TTT. One being the scene when they first meet with Eomer where Legolas almost takes him out for threatening Gimli. Another was when Frodo
and Sam are wandering around and realize that they just went in a circle and that they are being followed. And the last is where Frodo and Sam are in some kind of storage room (perhaps after being taken by Faramir?) and they want to escape. Here Sam urges Frodo to put on the ring so that they may escape. Basically, Peter said the same things you heard everywhere else. Elijah didn’t get to say much. The majority of the show was about Viggo (who was wearing that “no more blood for oil” shirt) and his political standpoint on the US war. Charlie tried to blow Viggo off like he was one of those misinformed idiotic actors trying to sound smart. But he eventually shut up and let Viggo talk. Viggo made a lot of good points. It was fun to watch because Viggo didn’t care if Charlie agreed with him or not. haha. -Fozzer
-Viggo had a shirt on that said, No blood for Oil. He questioned the U.S. on attacking and bombing innocent people. He said the U.S. is the bad guy and that Bush is Saruman. He said we should question what’s going on. He also said it’s wrong how the news turns into a countdown to war, like it’s a countdown to New Years. Which I agree with, but I don’t think the U.S. is seeking out to kill innocent people. Sadly they’re in the way and the real bad guys, the terrorist use them as shields. The difference between the U.S. and the terrorist and sadam is that their intentions are to kill innocent people. We’re trying to fight an enemy amongst an innocent people. It’s not easy to get to these devils. Sadly innocent people die. Anyway, I don’t want to turn this into a political debate. It just surprised me how out spoken Viggo is on the subject. Charlie Rose asked him back, just so they could continue the discussion. Viggo said he’d like that. Viggo sort of reminds me of Harrison Ford. Soft speaker and he seems shy, but on screen he’s an intense actor. Anyway, that left 10 minutes to talk to Peter and Elijah. -Orionsaint
–I could not resist reacting to your comments about Viggo’s appearance with Charlie Rose. First of all, I thought it was selfish and arrogant of Viggo to wear his political views on the program. The purpose of the program was to discuss and promote the movie. His shirt and comments took time away from Peter and Elijah and a further discussion of the movie. Secondly, for him to equate the U.S. with the evil Saruman shows an extreme absence of moral clarity. Perhaps he should live in a totalitarian country such as Irag, N. Korea, Sudan, etc. and experience what is truly evil. Maybe then he’ll appreciate the United States. Sorry, but I don’t see where his comments are “brave” or “knowledgeable”. He came across as a naive, moral idiot (and he is certainly no “Aragorn”!) Thanks for listening! Kirk
-Maybe it’s the Canadian in me, but I agree wholeheartedly with the comments of your reporter “Richard” re: Viggo Mortensen on The Charlie Rose Show.
I’d read some condemnation on the web this morning about what Mortensen said, then anxiously, nervously watched the program this afternoon — when the PBS affiliate in Buffalo broadcasts it — because I’ve seen some movie stars (hello Barbra Streisand) make complete mugs of themself when they tip-toe into the political arena.
Bravo! For Viggo!! Not only did he come out alive, my admiration for him just went up a hundred-fold. He was informed and opinionated, without being aloof or confrontational, and acquitted himself wonderfully. He knew his stuff. He bravely went out on a limb, and will likely be condemned in many quarters as a traitor, but in my mind he was a genuine American patriot, asking serious questions that needed to be asked. It was telling that Rose invited him back to address the issue some other time — Rose knows a smart guy when he sees and hears one. (I’m not sure if you are aware, but Justin Raimondo, the brains behind antiwar.com, wrote an excellent review of FOTR that ran last December (“Sauron in Washington” – http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j122401.html ) that
hits many of the same points that Mortensen was expressing and runs counter to many of interpretations FOTR has received in the mainstream American press over the past year.) I thought the conversation might become a total distraction, but Elijah and Peter didn’t seem put-out, and listened patiently and attentively. Later, I was most fascinated about Peter’s comments regarding the uncomfortable political campaign of The Academy Awards. He said he’ll never be a part of such a campaign ever again. Take care, and thanks for the accurate, balanced view. T. B
–I’m not f**king interested in you’re motherf**king opinion about politics. Stick to the movies!!! Viggo is an a$$hole for attacking the very country that gives him the right to spew his bullshit. F**K you and him!!!! (kindly edited by me -Xo)
-Xoanon — Thanks for posting Richard’s note.
I saw Viggo and Charlie rumble on PBS too, and boy it was the best thing I’ve seen on color TV in a long time. Charlie said he would actually like to have Viggo back to discuss the issues with some right-wingers.
It took me a while to explain to my husband the connection Viggo was making between the mechanized war-machine of Saruman and the bombing-from-30,000-feet war-machine that is the USA armed forces.
BUT, I feel that the point must be driven home that Viggo was NOT SUPPORTING ANY COMPARISON between current events and either Jackson’s or Tolkien’s work. He was merely stating, if you’re going to make that UNJUST comparison, get it right who is defending their homeland and who the war-machine is.
I just wanted to put another letter of support for Viggo in, there are plenty of the younger generation who are seeking to oppose the war, but who are struggling to find organized anti-war efforts. Oh look, here comes the Dec 8 deadline… off I go to the frontline. PEACE JLPE
There’s new stuff on the official site about Fangorn and Ents [More]
This post from Xenu’s Sister from usenet group rec.arts.books.tolkien may be very useful for people in the USA – it’s a near comprehensive listing of all tolkien/lotr-related TV shows for the next two weeks. It may not be complete, but there’s a lot of stuff here. [More]