TK writes:
I’ve just finished reading the “Lord of Racism” article on the TheOneRing.net site. Interesting stuff. I was lucky enough to work as an extra (attached to Unit 2A) for Three Foot Six. I started off an as Uruk Hai, but most of the work I did was as an Easterling. Were most of the Easterling extras “non-Europeans?” Yes – almost without exception, except for guys who had to “loiter” in the back of shot was taking place. Were we ever told that we, as Easterlings, were the “evil” bad guys? No.
Here’s a bit of background guff on my experience as an Easterling:
I went to the last open casting call for extras held at the NZ School of Dance in Wellington after an injury brought my Rugby season to a premature end (my Mum spotted the ad in “The Evening Post”, a local newspaper and basically told me to go). I queued up, signed the forms, had my measurements and photos taken, and was then taken an office to meet the extras casting director who then asked me if I could work the next day. I was surprised, because I had no experience and didn’t expect to be offered anything at all, after seeing a whole lot of other potential extras with all kinds of previous experience being turned away.
Anyway, I got to know a few of the Assistant Directors (ADs) well enough to ask them a few questions about what would be happening, as far as film extra work went, with the film, so I could organise time off work, etc. During one of these conversations, I learnt a bit about what kind of things the ADs would be looking for in an Easterling.
Easterling extras needed to be tall (180cm+) with an athletic-to-large (not overweight) build. They absolutely needed to have brown eyes of a certain shape – somewhere in between round and slanted (when I first saw the costume, I realised why). Easterling extras also needed a darkish skin complexion, similar to a deep tan – but not dark brown or black. Based on these requirements, I immediately thought “most of these guys are going to be either Maori or Polynesian”. Months later, my initial thought on the ethnic background of the Easterling extras was to be proved correct, although there were also Asians (mostly Thai/Cambodians or lighter skinned Indian/Pakistani/Sri Lankans) and the odd darker skinned European (a good friend of mine, originally from Southern Italy, played an Easterling). Towards the end, there were a few fair skinned Easterlings, but they tended to be hidden at the back of the shot.
On set, the ADs tried to help us (extras) get into character by explaining what the Easterlings were and why we (as Easterlings) were involved. Regardless of which AD was giving “the speech”, they all seemed to focus on the same themes, which were:
– “…the Easterlings are proud, noble warriors.”
– “…when you move, move smoothly, move as if you own the ground you stand on.”
– “…feel the pride of the Easterling people, you are their finest soldiers.”
Basically, they wanted us to look smooth, controlled and intimidating, but they didn’t want us to look like a bunch of thugs stomping down Courtenay Place, looking for a couple of pints and a whole lot of trouble :^) One AD commented that she liked working with the Easterlings because there were so many beautiful men (ha ha, *grin*). Most of the guys really got into the role, even though we were only extras. We were never given explicit instructions to be “evil” – mostly we were told that we were proud warriors.
The Easterling costume was one of the more comfortable costumes I wore, apart from the “Mk. 1” breastplates which had a sharp point at the end which could be hazardous if you sat down too quickly. “Mk. 2” breastplates changed this so that the sharp point was “hinged” on a piece of leather. The costume was loose and layered, so it kept you cool when it was hot and warm when it was cold. The helmet provided good visibility, and was much better than the Uruk Hai mask/helmet setup, which was terrible – you could only see directly in front of you as an Uruk Hai. The armour moved freely and provided good protection (getting hit with prop weapons hurts :^P). It was also very easy to eat in (or go to the toilet in). This was very important – as far as extras were concerned :^D (The food was always excellent and the toilets were always cramped.)
In the scene where the Easterlings march through the Black Gate (which was shot at Dry Creek Quarry) you may have noticed that some of the Easterlings appear to be “goose stepping” towards the end of the scene. There were a lot of large rocks lying on the ground in that scene and we had to step over them to avoid tripping over :^D I appear earlier in that scene in a close-up shot of the front ranks. I am second from the front, closest to the camera. I’ve seen the movie twice and in that scene my eyes flick down to the ground briefly. I laughed when I saw this, because I was looking out for rocks to step over during filming.
Working as an extra on LotR was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done and if it wasn’t for an untimely Rugby injury, it would never have happened.
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Rosebud writes: I read in a recent issue of Star Wars Insider that Christopher Lee (Saruman)performed with the Tolkien Ensemble and that the Tolkien Ensemble will be releasing a new album, “At Dawn in Rivendell”.
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“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” had a epic night at the DVD Premiere Awards, taking home five trophies Tuesday, including the award for overall new extra features. [More]
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By MIKE BARNES
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” had a epic night at the DVD Premiere Awards, taking home five trophies Tuesday, including the award for overall new extra features (new release).
Other winners at the Wiltern event included Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame II” (animated DVD premiere movie); “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” (overall new extra features, library title); and First Look’s “A Gentleman’s Game” (live-action DVD premiere movie).
Gary Sinise was on hand to accept the actor award for “A Gentleman’s Game,” which was also recognized for best cinematography. The latter award went to first-time d.p. Conrad W. Hall, son of the late Oscar-winning cinematographer Conrad L. Hall.
“Rings” producer Mark Ordesky accepted many of the awards for that title in person, with director Peter Jackson thanking the DVD Premieres Academy via videotape from New Zealand for a special DVD Premiere Director Focus Award.
Harvey and Bob Weinstein accepted a special DVD Premiere Producer Award presented by Kevin Smith. Vivica A. Fox presented the second annual DVD Premiere Pioneer Award to Quentin Tarantino. And Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen accepted the special DVD Premiere Franchise Performers Award from newly installed Warner Home Video president Jim Cardwell.
Warner’s groundbreaking DVD of “The Matrix” became the second title installed in the DVD Premiere Academy of Artistic Achievement.
Jackson’s Special Extended Edition of “Fellowship of the Ring,” released by New Line Home Entertainment, also won for New Enhanced or Reconstructed Movie Scenes, Original Retrospective Documentary (New Release) and Audio Commentary (New Release).
The movie was also named the Best Special Edition of the Year (new release) for the first AOL Movies DVD Premiere Award determined by consumers in an online poll during December and early January. The AOL Movies DVD Premiere Award for Best Special Edition of the Year (Classic Movie) went to the “Back to the Future” trilogy from Universal Studios Home Video.
There were two ties at the awards, with Cynthia Stevenson (“Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch”) and Lindy Booth (“Skulls 2”) tying for supporting actress, and John Woo (“Hostage”) and Mark Bollinger (“Save My Last Dance”) tying for Internet Video.
Other celebrity presenters and/or winners on hand at the third annual awards program hosted by Ben Stein included Maria Conchita Alonso, Lindy Booth, Bruce Boxleitner, Gary Busey, Coolio, Dean Cain, David Carradine, Nicole Eggert, John Landis, Nick Mancuso, Pras, Eric Roberts, Robbie Robertson, John Savage, Bo Svenson, Leah Thompson, Ike Turner, Caitlin Wachs, Henry Winkler and the Hanson Brothers, the latter of whom were named best supporting actor for their reprisal of goon hockey players in Universal’s “Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice.”
Buena Vista Home Entertainment was the top studio with seven wins, including one for the menu design of the DVD for “Monster’s, Inc.”
The DVD producing company of Kurtti-Pellerin dominated with two personal wins for Michael Pellerin and Jeff Kurtti as the winners of the top two overall extra features awards (“Lord of the Rings” and “Beauty and the Beast,” respectively).
The DVD Premiere Awards (formerly the Video Premiere Awards), are presented by DVD Premieres magazine, a sister publication of Variety. The awards honor movies that debut on DVD or the Internet and are voted on by members of the DVD Premiere Awards Academy.
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LONDON — On a recent autumn day at London’s Abbey Road studios, director Peter Jackson was conferring with Howard Shore, his composer on “The Lord of the Rings.” [More]
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By Matt Wolf
Associated Press
Wednesday, January 15, 2003; Page C09
LONDON — On a recent autumn day at London’s Abbey Road studios, director Peter Jackson was conferring with Howard Shore, his composer on “The Lord of the Rings.”
Playing silently overhead was footage from “The Two Towers,” the second part of the huge cinematic triptych that began with the Christmas 2001 release of “The Fellowship of the Ring.” The scene was of Hobbit heroes Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) nearing a waterfall in their journey toward the Black Gates of Mordor.
Shore, putting the finishing touches on some musical passages with the 96-piece London Philharmonic Orchestra, wanted to make sure his music would hold its own against the roar of the fall.
“You should never worry about competing against water,” Jackson assured him. “We’ll just pull the water down.”
As before, it is Shore’s job to strike the right balance — as in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books — between gracefulness and grandeur. He won an Academy Award last spring for “Fellowship.”
The Canadian composer, who wrote the music for another long-awaited epic that also opened last month, Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York,” reflected in a later interview on one of the heftiest assignments any film composer has taken on.
“Tolkien spent 12 years writing the books, [so] to spend three years on the music doesn’t seem that long,” said Shore, 56. In any case, “I look at the three ‘Lord of the Rings’ films as one, and ‘The Two Towers’ was Act 2.”
Late this year will see the project’s culmination, “The Return of the King.”
Shore was speaking by telephone on a December weekend in Los Angeles, where the Los Angeles County Museum was holding a retrospective of his film music.
“The Lord of the Rings” score could have been bombastic. But Shore says narrative, not musical heroics, came first.
“You’re composing not in relation to the spectacle” — of which “The Two Towers” has plenty — “but in relation to the drama on the screen. Keeping that in mind allows you to write in a more intimate and human way,” from the Norwegian fiddles of the Viking-like culture of Rohan to the wooden instruments associated with the ancient Treebeard.
Then there’s the sinister, scampering Gollum, who comes with his own sound — a hammered dulcimer theme from the first movie that, says Shore, “has been mutilated a little bit,” as Gollum has.
In the waterfall scene, Jackson suggested, “The delicate feel is nicer.”
“The music doesn’t have to impress the audience. It shouldn’t be overly dramatic — more of a question mark,” the director said.
Even in the climactic battle scene at Helm’s Deep, says Mark Ordesky, an executive producer, Shore’s music is there to make a point.
“The theme is how the battle is fought,” says Ordesky, “and how will you conduct yourself, and I think Howard’s music reflects that, as well.”
The very title “The Lord of the Rings” in musical terms conjures up Wagner’s 19th-century “Ring” cycle, a four-opera sequence — itself rooted in mythology — that makes up one mammoth and imposing whole. Shore acknowledges the influence.
“Of course you had to look into Wagner’s great and amazing work and into the opera form. In writing a 10-hour piece, the only thing you could look to is opera.”
To that end, the score of “The Two Towers” boasts not only a full symphony orchestra but also 100 singers, including a 30-strong children’s choir and 10 soloists.
By contrast, says Shore, “Gangs of New York” required a “real mosaic of American sound” to animate Scorsese’s operatic portrait of New York blood lust in the 1860s.
Much of Shore’s music for “Gangs” derives from an extant composition, “Brooklyn Heights,” that was expanded and re-recorded for the film.
Says Shore, “I would have loved to have been able to have worked with Martin directly” — the two collaborated on Scorsese’s 1985 “After Hours” — “but because of ‘Two Towers,’ there just wasn’t time.”
Although Shore has been living “The Lord of the Rings” of late, his work also has traveled beyond the land of Legolas and Gimli. Last year, his music punctuated the fears of Manhattanite Jodie Foster in the David Fincher thriller “Panic Room,” and in David Cronenberg’s 2002 film “Spider,” Shore’s Alban Berg-like musical jags echo the disturbed mind of the hero, played by Ralph Fiennes.
With one more Tolkien movie to go, is Shore worried he might go into withdrawal once the endeavor is complete?
He laughs. “The trilogy is a sort of legacy, I guess, and I don’t feel I want it to end. We have all worked to make something much bigger than any of us; that’s the blessed part of it.”
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