Eowyn and Frodo writes: Here is our fan report from our meeting with Sean Astin. We hope you enjoy it and we definitely hope you post it so that all of the fans get to know what he said at the Q & A.
Return of the King showing followed by Q&A with Sean Astin
On Monday January 5th Emilia (aka Eowyn) and Rebekah (aka Frodo) woke up and started frenetically running around town getting together costumes, wigs, ears, elven-brooches, a couple of “The one Rings” (apparently there is more than one!) on chains. and special hand made buttons. What was the occasion? We were meeting Sean Astin!! THE Sean Astin. (You know, the one who played Sam in The Lord of the Rings. HeeHee.) And we were going to ask him up to 12 chosen questions and get autographs. We had originally planned to be at the theater at 4:00AM, (in the morning!) for the showing at 7:00PM, but soon realized that people winning tickets from a Mozart radio station probably weren’t going to be the kind of geeks that we are, so we therefore arrived in style (see pictures), at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood as prepostureously late as 4:00PM.
Our friend, Suzanne, who was also in line with us at the Vista for ROTK, had crafted picture buttons (The ones you pin on your jacket) for Sean that we were extatic about giving to him. One was a picture of Sam holding his daughter and it read; “My dad is hobbit forming”. Another was a picture of P.J. reading: “Peter Jackson for best director 2003”. All in all there were 9 of them, and we couldn’t wait to see his reaction when he received our little presents.
Being first inside we chose seats in the first row, right in front of THE chair with THE microphone and we proceeded to watch ROTK looking straight up, and feeling that Gollum was occasionally just a wee bit too close. Of course Ewoyn (Emilia) forgot that wearing eye make-up while watching one of the greatest tear jerkers ever made was a bad idea, and by the time Sean arrived she looked a bit like she had lived under the misty mountains for hundreds of years, without looking in a mirror, Sean didn’t seem to mind. We were the only ones in the theater dressed up in costumes, and when he made a reference to “The fans” he pointed to us. By this time Eowyn (Emilia) was crying even more, and when the microphoned ended up beneath her chin she was unable to speak and Frodo (Rebekah) had to ask the first question.
The following questions from the audience and Sean’s answers are paraphrased, as we were not able to record the discussion (but our pens were on fire).
Question number 1: “If you, as an actor, could play any character from any story, who would it be?”
S.A.: They’re remaking a movie about Jesus Christ right now, and that would be fun. I would love to play Alexander the Great, or any big Shakespearian part – anything with big ideas, but they never call me for those kind of parts. Also Snoopy. I played him in High School.
Question 2: “What was the most challenging thing about making the films (LOTR), for you?”
S.A.: Putting on the pounds. I had just finished a marathon and having a baby, and was in the greatest shape of my life. Having to get heavy and carry all that weight around for so long was personally and psychologically very hard. Another thing was mental stamina, staying focused and keeping it fresh. As much as I love Lord of the Rings, there were times when I simply wanted to get away. I love talking about myself, my colleges, and movies, and I found myself getting sick of talking. One thing I did to counteract that, was to read books about other things.
Question 3: “Which was your favorite movie, of the three?”
S.A.: I’ve been looking at it as one big movie. It’s an impossible choice, but if I absolutely had to chose, it would be ROTK. I love the scenes on the slopes of Mt. Doom, and the climax satisfaction. From the Fellowship of the Ring I love the Cave Troll sequence, and the boat scene with Frodo at the end. In The Two Towers my favorite part is the battle scene at Helms Deep. The part that made me cry when I read the books was when the people of Gondor kneeled for the hobbits.
Question 4: This was a woman basically criticizing the development of all the characters and saying that Aragorn didn’t seem like a king, and that many of the characters didn’t have enough screen time, and Sean answered her with such eloquence and dignity.
S.A.: I think you’ll really look forward to the Extended Edition of ROTK. Basically Peter Jackson had to get it done by the Christmas dead-line, and there was a lot of stress. Every actor each has dozens of scenes – that they were desperate to keep in the film – that were cut out. For example there’s a great scene with Merry swearing his alligance to King Theoden, and scene with me and Gollum that I really liked. As far as Aragorn goes, Viggo chose to play him with such pathos and sensitivity. Viggo was incredibly committed, speaking to the writers, and trying to keep more stuff in. He was possibly even more committed than Andy Serkis, and Andy was the most commited of all. However the movie didn’t give justice to Viggo’s full performance. He was in G.I. Jane as the Master Chief and he has that strength. You wouldn’t want to be in a fight with Viggo.
Question 5: “What do you think is the films relevance to present time?”
S.A.: It’s like Aragorn’s speech at the end of ROTK. “It’s not the time for one man, but the time for all men to come together in peace.” I personally think that this is a very dangerous time on the planet. Peter (Jackson) describes it (in the films) as the elves giving up on men. We (humans on the earth) can’t stop fighting and killing each other, and ruining the environment. The films could represent a last warning. The movies’ relevance is also about friendship. Gimli makes this racial comment, that he never thought he’d die next to an elf, and Legolas says “What about dying next to a friend?” I watch “Friends” (the T.V. Series) and people love to see people being friends and making fun of each other and making up and having fun.
Question 6: “What, about Sam, would you like the audience to leave with?”
S.A.: I came in and stood at the side of the theater about fifteen minutes before the movie ended and was almost glad hearing all the sniffles. I haven’t seen the movie in quite a while and remembered again what an emotional experience it is. The relief of pain and loss, the emotional release. I want people to remember how that felt, I want people to remember that feeling within themselves. Also, Sam is such a spectacular character. He is an emblem of goodness, decency, bravery, honesty, and faithfulness. I use him as a litmus test for my own life, with my friends and family.
Question 7: “What was the hardest scene to film?”
S.A.: There were many different kinds of hard. Physically hardest was the tops of mountains. It took a helicopter to get up there, it was the most extreme. I would bring a lighter and a knife, just in case, because you don’t know. It was like “Surviver” meets Middle-Earth. The Council of Elrond was really grueling story wise. It took over a week to film because there were fifteen to twenty characters coming together, and each actor had to do his lines hundreds of times. There were so many difficulties with scale issues because there were hobbits and dwarves and men and elves all in the same place.
Question 8: “To what would you contribute the success of the movies?”
S.A.: The books, and how Tolkien captures human truths. The passion and dedication the films were made with and the fact that they were made for the fans. The kind of love that were put into this project, The audience ends up feeling it.
Question 9: “Looking back is there anything you would have done differently?”
S.A.: Of course. My father always said that he never wanted to regret anything, but for me there are thousands of things. About 90% of the experience I end up not enjoying because I’m always worried about the outcome or doing it wrong. What I would do differently If I could do it all over again is that I would let go of the mental anguish, be more zen and live in the moment.
Question 10: We don’t remember how the question what phrased, but it was about Sean’s voice over work with the ROTK – the video game and “Kingdom Hearts” video games.
S.A.: I’m a gamer. I love games. I play real time strategy games on my computer. I loved giving the performance of Sam for the game. To not have given the same commitment for the game as I did for the movies would have felt like a sell out, a compromise of integrity, because I know kids are going to be playing this, so I gave it 100%. I also hope it’s (the game) a gateway into literature for kids. As for kingdom hearts, I did that to fill in for the actor who couldn’t make it, so I don’t know if I’ll do that one again.
Question 11: Another woman complained, saying: “wouldn’t it be better to make movies about peace instead of war?” Again, Sean was graceful and eloquent in responding and didn’t take it a least bit personal.
S.A.: I understand, my wife loves to go to movies with no conflict. The only way to get my daughter to go to a movie is by telling her there won’t be any fighting. I personally love to explore conflict, It’s the most interesting part about drama. (He started going off on a tangent at this point – about directing) As a director I would love to explore luscious cinematography. For example, “Sea Biscuit” and “Cold Mountain”. I love the cinematography in those movies. I have a friend who is a rowing champion, and I would love to catch that on film.(From the perspective of a cinematographer.)
He also talked about wanting to continue directing and getting into it in a big way. The head of a studio had come to him and said that they wanted him to direct a major movie for them, and he told us that his thought was: “What, are you trying to make me cry?”. (In case someone felt like misunderstanding that, he was very excited about the idea, not sad)
After the Q & A, Sean stayed about a half hour signing autographs, taking pictures, and talking to the fans. First we got into the crowd and got two things signed for two of our friends, then we waited. When there were only a couple people left we went back up to him to give him some gifts. (Remember the buttons?) He thought they were really cool, and when we pulled out the button with the picture of him and his daughter, he paused. The “Sean on display”- personality left for a moment and you could tell he was really touched. His body guard started pushing the fact that he needed to leave, but Sean turned to us, said thank you, and gave us each a big hug.(Let me make that clear. HE gave US a hug.) And Eowyn (Emilia) started crying. Again. And Sean got whisked away – out the door by the big guy, and all we were left with was an empty theater.
A BIG Thank you to SamsKimmie for getting this transcript to us!
Sean Astin Transcript from CBS -The Early Show – Monday, January 12, 2004
Interviewer: Harry Smith
Harry Smith begins: In less than a month the final installment of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy The Return of the King has already taken in over three quarters of a BILLION dollars worldwide.
[Film clip from ROTK “I’m not sending him away”, the heated conversation between Frodo and Sam concerning Gollum playing in the background as Harry continues to talk]
Sean Astin is getting Oscar talk for his emotional performance as Sam the Hobbit who must help Mr. Frodo played by Elijah Wood carry the Ring to Mt. Doom and save Middle Earth.
[ROTK Clip showing only: Sam & Frodo “share the load” scene in which Frodo starts to distrust Sam. Clip ends with Sam saying “I don’t want to keep it!”]
Harry: WOW!
[We see Sean dressed in a very nice suit and tie, lavendar shirt—he looks great!]
Harry: Sean Astin is with us, good morning. It’s so good to see you again.
Sean: Good morning. Thank you, thanks for having me.
Harry [excitedly ahhs]: For people, cause there are, what seven or eight people in American who have not seen the movie yet apparently or in the world this whole, this whole story this third installment is about this ring. You’ve gotta get the ring back to Mount Doom and turn it and throw it into this eternal fire, right, so that it’s gone forever?
Sean: Yeah, well for six years we’ve been trying it’s been getting closer and closer and closer and now we’re within site of this volcano we’re we uh and it’s somehow the closer you get to it the more intense the obstacles become as you . . .
Harry: [Very spirited tone and lots of body language] And Elijah Wood is really the keeper of this ring and you are his best pal and THERE he turns his trust away from you [he uses the hand sign of pushing away].
Sean: Yeah, yeah it’s like all friendships you know there’s, there come moments of truth when you when there’s doubt and uh he’s you know for Sam, I don’t, Sam just is confused by it and for me as the actor [Harry interjects: You as Sam] my character Sam is just confused by the fact that all of a sudden I’ve sort of fallen out of favor or and I know that it’s not because of anything that I have done because of Gollum sort of polluting his mind and because of this [Harry interjects: creepy guy] this evil Gollum is uh is Andy Serkis and is one of the great literary characters. [More of the ROTK clip shown from the beginning of the interview in the background with Gollum saying “I wouldn’t hurt a fly”, with Sam and Frodo] But Elijah Wood you know he’s had this ring and Frodo’s had the ring and the, the evil has seeped into his consciousness and he’s, he’s not himself.
Harry: It’s so difficult that you literally have to put him on your back and carry him to the top of this mountain.
Sean: Yeah.
Harry: It is amazing. Let me tell you what uh Rolling Stone says about your performance in this third movie, that “you are the MVP. Astin plays Sam with tenderness that is unique and unforgettable.” [Sean slowly moves his face to a humble smile and a gracious snort] My own interjection here: Don’t be shy Sean, you deserve it! THE FANS LOVE YOU AND LOVE SAM!
Harry: What is it like to get that kind of adulation?
Sean: Um (timidly), well, we were at the New York Film Critics uh dinner last night and a couple of serious film critics came up and just wanted to, wanted to tell me how moved they were by the performance and there was real honesty and there wasn’t like, you know, there were . . .
Harry interjects: so nobody’s blowing smoke at you?
Sean: Well, no, there’s smoke blowing too. [both Harry and Sean giggling] But ah ah [Sean readjusts himself in his chair] which is fine as well, which is fine as well, but, no, you know what it just, um, it feels great, it feels, I mean I’ve been on so many talk shows it just feels like America has basically just said you know it’s okay, you know, WELCOME.
Harry [agreeing]: Yeah, Yeah.
Sean: So it feels gratifying. [ROTK Clip showingin background of Sam giving the last of his water to Frodo and saying “I don’t think there will be a return trip home”’]
Harry: People are talking about an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for you, do you want that? [Sean gushing a bit with a giggle]
Sean: Ummm.
Harry: Or do you dare not want it?
Sean: No. Yeah, yeah you want it. Of course. I mean my Mom won an Oscar when she was a kid. [Harry interjects: Patty Duke] Patty Duke and for Helen Keller and I was nominated when I was uh 23 for my short film and my Dad was nominated in the same category, so like we’re sort of Oscar people, we’re academy people, but, but I think for the right reasons.
Harry: Yeah.
Sean: But um.
Harry: Has your Mom seen you in this movie?
Sean: She has and she …
Harry: What does she say?
Sean: She talked to me like an actor, she talked to me like an actor for the first time since I was eight years old. [Harry laughs loudly with a breathful laugh] You know what I mean she, she wanted to talk about craft, she was and what moved her and what was honest and it was instead of the just the usual kind of pride and the knowing you know. Look she wanted to uh she was, she was SO excited, so. But the Oscar talk thing is a double-edged sword. I mean as a, I look at myself as a journeyman kind of working class actor. I mean that’s how I feel. And my agents and the town now are excited about getting on the phone and because the response they get on the other end of the phone when they’re talking about. It was for years you know. . . Here’s a guy, “oh we love Sean”, but now they want to talk about it. So. [Harry reaches over to shake Sean’s hand, says congratulations—Sean acknowledges with a “Yeah”]
The Early Show music is beginning to play to go to commercial break..
Sean: So, that makes it kinda, makes it meaningful to me.
Harry: We’ll be right back. This is the early show on CBS.
Ringer Spy Nazz attended the MANY press confrences during the ROTK media blitz last month. In this article he chats with Peter Jackson.
Special thanks to Rip It Up Magazine in South Australia for this transcript.
Peter Jackson via Satellite at the Lincoln Centre
The Epic Of All Epics – Making The Biggest Film Production Of All Time: The Lord Of The Rings
Peter Jackson’s adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s beloved three-part novel The Lord Of The Rings has rightly been acknowledged by the public as one of the great cinematic achievements of our time. All the filmmakers’ respect for the author’s work, coupled with the care and massive attention to detail put into making them seem the most ‘possible version of the books’ (to quote a phrase coined by costume designer Ngila Dickson) seems to have paid off. The Return Of The King has already smashed opening day box office records, making $34 million dollars in a single day when it opened in the US on Thursday December 18.
With the journey finally coming to an end, we present for you some of the vast collection of interviews I was lucky enough to conduct when visiting Wellington New Zealand, home-base of the production for the world premiere. Firstly, the man of the hour, director, writer and producer, Peter Jackson:
Peter, we’ve heard the saying, ‘bigger than Ben Hur’ before, but this really is. Heck, it’s even an epic among epics.
PJ: “[laughs] Possibly it is.”
How are you feeling at the moment, on the night before the world premiere of the third film, seven years in the making?
PJ: “Exhausted. I’m feeling a degree of stress about tomorrow – for me, it’s going to be a very stressful day. I’m going to try to enjoy it which is what I should try and do because it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But I don’t really like being the centre of attention at any point in time. One of the drawbacks of directing films like this is, obviously, at you get to point where you have to step up and be the front-person for the film to represent the movie; which, on many levels, I’m proud to do, but it’s just a little bit scary that’s all.
“It’ll be a relief to get to the Embassy and sit and watch the movie. I haven’t seen the movie yet.”
What are going to wear?
PJ: “I dunno as long as this doesn’t get too smelly [tugs at crumpled shirt], this will be fine [laughter]!”
I know you’re not supposed to have favourites with children, but of all the characters, there must surely be one you prefer.
PJ: “There’s not. And I’m not just saying that. I think what’s really nice about these films is that they’re true ensemble movies. There’s nobody who really is the star of the movie. In fact, even the three movies we’ve made, they’ve all managed to focus on different characters as the story weaves itself. And so no I’ve always been fond of the Hobbits as characters in themselves because the Hobbits are much like us; or certainly like me. I should be saying Aragorn really but I’m more pathetic than that I’m afraid [giggles] so the Hobbits are the people I have the greatest affection for as a race.
“If I was to choose anywhere in Middle-Earth I’d like to live, it would be in that lovely little Hobbiton village. It’s actually in Mata-Mata but never mind.”
I’ve heard on the grapevine that they’re thinking of maybe reconstructing it in the wild. Is that true?
PJ: “Well I love Bag End. One of the great joys about making this film is that I got to walk around all the sets, which was great. It’s like sometimes you feel that you’re really in the world; especially up in Mata-Mata when we had that whole farm decked out as Hobbiton. But the interior of Bag-End was back in the studio here because once we were inside the door we were back in the studio. I loved the set because, as you saw in the movie, it was all made with round walls – and it’s just amazing how comforting roundness is in a building. I thought, ‘why aren’t we making round buildings? Why is it all just square, flat walls? It’s so comforting in all this roundness, so I asked New Line while we were shooting it a long time ago, I said, ‘listen if I pay for all the storage costs’ – because basically sets are big and cumbersome and, as soon as you finish with them, they get smashed up and burnt because no one wants to keep them – so I said, ‘if I pay for the storage, can I keep Bag End?’ And they said, ‘yeah sure [laughs]. We don’t want Bag End.’ So I’ve kept it and the whole idea is to stick it into a hill and have it as a guest house.”
Technology-wise, from the beginning of the making of FellowshipŠ to now, how much has it improved?
PJ: “It has improved enormously. You can’t believe the lengthy meetings I had at the beginning of the process back in 1998, round-tables like this actually; with all the different department heads. We would go through the scripts with the storyboards and try to figure out ways to do shots. And it would be sooo complicated, like, ‘oh okay, we want this creature so we’re going to have to use a motion control and make sure we measure it out. And we’re going to have to do this and that,’ and everybody was stressing about how we were going to do it. Now four years have gone by and when this year I was doing some shooting, and nobody cared any more. There were no storyboards, it was just like, ‘well we’re going to have this big elephant thing there so we’ll just shoot it. Let’s just do it quickly coz we’ve got to move on. So bang and do it [laughter]. And it could all be fixed later. It was all a real sense that we could fix it all on the computer.
“That’s one of the things that’s happened with the technology. It’s not so much that things look so much more realistic now than they did four years ago, but the speed and ease of actually using all this stuff has got a lot faster and quicker. Kids can do stuff on PCs nowadays that can rival just about anything we can do. Computer effects are just a tool and they don’t have to dominate movies or used for special effects films, but computers are very useful for creating what you’ve got in your mind and getting it on film. I think the great use of computers is going to be for low budget films. They’ll become so cheap that low budget films can afford to use them. They’re almost there now coz you can just about, as I said, do it on your home PC. It means that people who can’t afford big crowds, because they’re a low budget movie, will be able to have them because you can it all on the computer. It’ll help low budget films feel more expensive – and not just be isolated to these big budget movies.”
What do you say to the people who would have doubted you could pull this off? Is it a bit like, ‘I told you so’?
PJ: “Oh no. I dunno. Everybody has a perfect right to doubt we could pull it off. I was a director without any box office record of particular note. New Zealand, our crews down here had never made a film this big. There was every reason in the world to have a perfectly legitimate cause to say, ‘are you sure these guys can really do it?’ It’s nice to have proven that we could. It’s nice just to realise that filmmaking has got to the point now where the biggest film productions I mean this is undoubtedly the biggest film production of all time if you look at all three movies but that it can be done – and down here in New Zealand.”
Was there ever any doubt?
PJ: “No. I didn’t have those moments, no. I mean, making The Lord Of The Rings is not a lot different to making any other film. Every film has it’s own circumstances. Making Meet The Feebles was just as hard as The Lord Of The Rings – it was no easier working with puppets and trying to find ways to hide the puppeteers and not having any money in that case, so I couldn’t solve things with money and had to figure it out cheaply. That was hard and stressful and one of the great advantages of The Lord Of The Rings was having the big budget. I was able to have a lot of people helping me and what the money ultimately provides you in a big budget film is the people. You have a lot of help and it does make it easier the more help you have?”
What’s the nicest thing anybody could say about your movie?
PJ: “I really enjoyed your film. That’s all you do it for really. There is no other reason to make the movies,” Jackson admits with a good-natured chuckle. “I don’t believe in making movies that I’ve got some personal statement I want the world to tune in to. For that reason, I don’t make movies because I think I’m an artist that wants to put something into the world that I think is significant. I just make them because want people to enjoy them, because I love movies. I’m as much of a film geek as anybody else and always have been; since I was a kid.”
What’s your favourite movie, outside the ones you’ve made yourself?
PJ: “King Kong. The original 1933 King Kong is my favourite film. Buster Keaton’s The General I love. Dawn Of The Dead I love. Lots of films.”
Why make King Kong again if it captured your imagination so much?
PJ: “I think the reality with King Kong and other similar movies is that this is the first generation now – our children if you like – most of them have absolutely no interest in watching a black and white film. I was born and brought up in a time when TV was black and white. And I was afraid of watching black and white films and old fashioned films and films with scratches or pops and hisses on the soundtrack.
“The generation of today just have no tolerance or patience for old black and white movies where the acting is a little bit old fashioned and the effects are jerky or clumsy. Kids just have no interest in it at all which is a little bit of a worry. So if there’s any time to legitimately make a new version of King Kong, this is it. This is a great story that is fading out of the consciousness of our kids. Most kids today couldn’t tell you what King Kong was. They’ve heard of it but don’t really know what it is.”
Do you remember the first time you saw it?
PJ: “Yeah. It was on TV on a Friday night here [Wellington, NZ] and I was about eight or nine years old. I didn’t really know much about it. I saw it and I was just swept away. It was the moment in time where I definitely wanted to become a filmmaker. I’d made movies for a couple of years prior to that, because I was making movies when I was about seven; little films mainly inspired by Thunderbirds actually. And then I saw Kong and it was just the most magical, enchanting experience. I just forgot I was in the lounge of Krill Bay and was just suddenly swept away to Skull Island and absolutely entranced by the film. After that I wanted to do that. I just thought it must just be so much fun to make films like this. There was an allure about it.”
What was it about that story? It was acclaimed way back then for state of the art effects.
PJ: “It was made in 1933. The one in 1976 was a horrible film.”
Was that a case of special effects taking over?
PJ: “I see what you’re saying. Yeah. The 1976 one was just horrible on all counts. They just tried to make it hip and modern and kinda trendy at that time. It looks terribly dated now. I watched it a little while ago and it’s horrible just soooo dated – more dated than the 1933 version [laughs]! It doesn’t have emotion, it just has smart-arsed stuff in it. It doesn’t have genuine heart or emotion. It’s just sterile.”
In The Return Of The King, when the Hobbits return to Hobbiton and there’s the amazing scene with the actor Tim Gordon, where all the Hobbits are prancing around a big pumpkin and the four Hobbits look to each other. I wonder, do you think that echoed Tolkien’s own experience of coming back from World War I?
PJ: “Yeah. I think that’s exactly what it was. It was actually a scene we shot this year [2003]. We’d shot everything else around that area four years ago on our main schedule. We shot the coronation, the Grey Havens later and we’d shot Frodo writing in the book at Bag End. We’d shot everything around that time, back in 1999 and 2000. But this year, when I had a look at a cut of the film
“We actually showed the film to Elijah, Billy and Dom last year. you remember when they came out for The Two Towers junket last year. They went to the premiere of The Two Towers, and the next day they came round to our house. And they said, ‘look we’ve got a favour to ask can we see The Return Of The King [laughs]?’ So I played it for them this time last year which was interesting. But I felt, what we hadn’t quite shot and hadn’t written originally, was a sense of closure of them actually finishing their job. That they’d achieved something. They’d arrived back in Hobbiton and why had they done it? I wanted a scene that did that. So I was wondering what to do.
“It was intersecting what you say, because I wondered what it was like to come back from war. And I realised actually for the first time in my life – I hadn’t even thought about it – that the reason why the RSA, the Returned Servicemen’s Association, was formed. All around the world you had these Returned Servicemen’s Associations and they were formed after World War I.
“And I realised that these guys came back from some horrific, traumatic experience and they’re back in their families, and they’ve got their wives or girlfriends, children, mothers and fathers. And they can’t talk to them about what it was like. You can’t start to talk about dismemberment and lice and rats and mud in the trenches and killing people. You just can’t talk to anyone else about it. You had to be able to sit with other people who had shared the experience, not having to talk about it, but just other people who understood. So there’s this sense of understanding and everyone else doesn’t really understand.
“I wanted to have this scene in the pub, The Green Dragon Inn, that showed that. That these four guys all knew what they’d gone through, that they didn’t have to talk about it. They just had to look each other in the eye. And why they went through it was for this pumpkin next door! Everyone’s admiring the big pumpkin – and that’s what they did what they did for: to preserve that lifestyle, to preserve he simplicity of being proud of the pumpkin.”
That really summed it up.
So to young actors and movie makers from New Zealand, you’ve proved that New Zealanders can do it. What advice do you have for them?
PJ: “I think the best thing to do is obviously, as you could imagine, I get a huge amount of mail from young filmmakers from all around the world. More often than not, or just about always in fact, it’s simply from people who like the idea of being a filmmaker. They say, ‘oh I love films and can I apprentice with you?’ That’s what they usually ask: can I be your assistant and can I come and watch onset when you’re filming. I love the idea of making a movie. That approach doesn’t really work; just out of experience. What I respond to, and what anyone responds to, are films. To me today, I grew up making movies when I was a kid on Super8 which wasn’t a particularly helpful thing to use. You didn’t have sound and you couldn’t really cut it together very easily. But today, there’s such great home video equipment that I just feel that before writing any letters or approaching me or before anybody asks, go out and make films and figure it out. I think, if you can’t make a reasonably good film at whatever age you are, and can’t take it through to its completion to something you’re proud of, then you probably haven’t got what it actually takes to go ahead and be a filmmaker. So get to that point first and figure out whether you have an aptitude for it, and then by all means, send them in. It’s much better to have a film to look than just a letter saying I like the idea of becoming a filmmaker.”
You shouldn’t have said that. You’ll be inundated with 10,000 tapes!
PJ: “Oh Lord [laughs].”
[Question courtesy of Ruth McHugh, Austereo Sydney] How much did the creation of Shelob the giant spider tap into your infamous arachnophobia?
PJ: “[laughs] I know some people love them coz they eat other insects but I hate them. There was a particularly nasty spider that used to live at the back of our house when I was younger, and I used to go out in the back with my matchbox cars when I was six-years old and dig away – and come across these stubby little tunnel web spiders. They scared the hell out of me. They’re these pudgy, little, fat spiders with red backs and two horrible fangs up the front. They’re nasty and they look like it too.
“And so this year, when we commenced design work on Shelob, I said to the Weta Workshop that Shelob had to be based on the tunnel web: the spider that freaks me out the most. One of the guys brought one into the workshop the next day, in a glass jar, and it terrified me.
“So she’s inspired by a real spider. Whenever I’ve seen movie spiders before, they’ve always been based on tarantulas which are filmed in slow motion so they look lumbering and move slowly. I wanted Shelob to move fast. One of the scariest things about spiders is the way they scuttle and freeze, then scuttle and freeze again with this stop-start thing. They keep their legs reared up in the air and that’s just horrible [laughs].
“We used every fear I have about spiders for the Shelob sequence. When I watched it for the first time, my stomach tightened up and I felt sick so I thought, ‘well good! This is working.’ Because it got to me.”
How did you stay sane throughout?
PJ: “With a project like this, it’s just as important to have fun. I was very much aware that, for my own sanity at the beginning, there was no way I was going to get through 18 months of shooting and then the subsequent three years if we weren’t enjoying ourselves. So that’s the attitude that I went with. And we were fortunate to have such a great team around us. If they realise it was supposed to be fun, they all join in.”
You seem to have a knack for picking people who work well together and people who fit in to their roles. Is that something you were constantly aware of?
PJ: “Films are such strange things. Often on films, not all the time, you end up working with strangers, with people you hadn’t met prior to the experience. I was very much aware that, as a long project, if we ended up working with people that didn’t get on with each other or didn’t like it, it would make it a very difficult project. Normally a film shoot is eight or 12 weeks and this was 15-16 months of principal shooting. When we were casting the movie or talking to crew members for instance, we did think of two things. One was the skill or quality of the person. Secondly, we met with just about everybody beforehand, and just wanted to make sure they were nice people – and I know that sounds rather simple and rather naïve, but it was very important to us to work with nice people for that length of time. Basically the answer is yes, we did have to take that into account and also take it very seriously.”
A BIG thank you to Kelinmiriel for getting this down for us!
Orlando Bloom was on “Real Access: Hot 24 in 2004” (same channel). He was #12 of their “young stars to watch in the upcoming year”. I doubt many of your readers saw this one, so here is a transcript. Orlando was sitting by himself for some of the clips; others were from public appearances doing photos and autographs for a lot of screaming fans with a reporter following who asked him occasional questions. The hostess of Real Access was providing a voice over talking to the TV audience, not to Orlando.
RA: Some of you think he’s the hottest elf around. Some of you think he’s the hottest pirate around. And Kate Bosworth, his reported girlfriend, probably thinks he’s both. At Number Twelve, it’s Orlando Bloom.
Orlando (alone): I don’t know, I just think — I can’t put myself there, it’s a bit of a dream, do you know what I mean?
RA (voice over): Don’t worry, Orlando, we understand. Making it all the way to Number Twelve on our Hot List, is quite an honor. But, you had to have known you’d be here. After all, your fans are REALLY dedicated!
Orlando (to reporter, on the red carpet): I get all these crazy fan mails from girls who are just like, pouring their hearts out, and I’m-
RA: Did we say dedicated? We meant LOUD! [as he hugs a fan across the rope, and they all scream]
Orlando (to reporter): Does anyone know how to deal with this stuff? Because I’d love to speak to him!
RA: Oh — And here’s a hint: If you dig the accent, and want an autograph from this handsome British lad, [brief clip of him making a face] you don’t have to yell. Just bring along your little sister.
Orlando (on the red carpet, being pulled away from fans by the reporter, turns around and goes back to sign an autograph for a girl of about six, on someone’s shoulders): Oh, look at that little girl! How can you–?
RA: With the overnight success of “Pirates of the Caribbean”, and everyone drooling over the last chapter of The Lord of the Rings, Orlando has suddenly become one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. [shots of him with Liv Tyler, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek] The weird thing is though, the more well-known he becomes, the less he wants to talk about his private life.
Orlando (alone): It’s hard enough as it is, dealing with the new overwhelming aspect of becoming somebody who’s really in the public eye, and I figure, if I keep certain elements of my life, you know, my family, my friends, and my relationships separate, then hopefully it won’t draw too much attention to it.
RA: And Orlando says, that’s the way he manages to stay sane while girls like this are going crazy. It’s all part of the Bloom Philosophy. [more pictures of him with Liv]
Orlando (red carpet): Stay true to yourself. You know why you got into the business. You know, you love the work, you love the acting side of it, and don’t get distracted by the rest of the stuff that comes along with it.
PS: Orlando Bloom is scheduled to be on “Real Access” (episode title: “Foreign Invasion”), the weekend of Friday, January 23, through Sunday, January 25. Check cable/satellite listings for “the-n” or “Noggin” for station. [More]
TheOneRing’s MrCere interviewed Andy Serkis Monday as part of his tour promoting his new book. Here is a transcript of the conversation that includes a bit on the Hobbit and the Academy Awards!
Greetings and hello’s are exchanged. TORn explains that this phone call will be for a newspaper interview and a story for TheOneRing.net as well – two interviews at once. A bit of small talk and then down to business.
SERKIS: For three days, from Wednesday on, it is really going to be dedicated to promoting the book. Which I don’t know if you have had a chance to look at it. Have you?
TORn: Oh yes. I received it three or four weeks ago and I read it all at once. I just sat down and read the whole thing.
SERKIS: Oh cool, how did you get on with it?
TORn: I enjoyed it very much. From the commentaries on DVD I thought, ‘We are probably going to know most of this’ but I was surprised how much we didn’t know and how much more detail you got in the book.’
SERKIS: For me it was important to really put in a personal perspective on how Gollum was affected by personal events by global events which I really couldn’t get – I mean the processes people know about and they understand from stuff throughout all the DVDs. They are kind of explained. It was really for people – I wrote it because well for one I wanted people to get an all-around understanding of all the influences that went into making the character that go beyond technology. I mean I have had to spend so much time in all of these interviews just talking about technology just to get those processes across. It was a good way of getting them all in but amongst the personal viewpoints. I wanted to take the reader on a journey of what it was like playing one character for four and a half years.
TORn: You may not be done I guess with ‘The Hobbit.’ I know that is not official but there is a good chance you could do that again.
SERKIS: Well, I mean if it ever came about I would love to do it. Gollum, obviously, in ‘The Hobbit’ is great and ‘Riddles In The Dark’ is a great chapter and Gollum is a fantastic part of that. I would definitely do it again. Obviously the rights situation is a problem and weather Pete (Peter Jackson) would want to do it again I don’t know. He has talked about it. I think he thinks structurally it is more difficult in a way than ‘Lord of the Rings’ because in ‘Lord of the Rings’ there are so many story lines you could cut to and really you are able to control the pace of the story where as ‘The Hobbit’ it is much more linear. The structure is more difficult.
TORn: In the book you talk about when you decided ‘Wow, this would be interesting to write a book about’. Did you approach the publishers or did they come to you? How did that come from being a good idea to becoming a book?
SERKIS: I started writing notes very early on because I was aware this was going to be a fascinating acting challenge and it was something that was unprecedented. Apart from the fact that Gollum was such a great character in the books, it was obviously going to be an unusual acting job for me so I started making notes. Then at a certain stage which was post-production on ‘The Two Towers’ Fran Walsh and I were talking about various little things I had written down and she said ‘You should really put this into a book. It would be an interesting thing to do.’ So from then on and that was about a year and a half ago I started making more comprehensive notes and that is how it built up really. I then approached Harper Collins who are the publishers (in the UK). What actually happened is, they asked me to write an afterward for the ‘Art Of The Two Towers’ which I did and then I said, ‘And actually I’ve had an idea for a while to write a book about Gollum’ and they got very interested and so we set about doing that.
TORn: How involved were you with how the book was going to look? You go to them with an idea and they say, ‘Oh this looks interesting’ but how do you decide what format the book actually ends up in?
SERKIS: The actual design of the book wasn’t so much what I had to do but Pete and I sat down and he approved photographs that I wanted to use. I went through all the production shots and obviously I was able to use my own personal photographs and stuff like that. What I wanted to do was because Gollum was a collaborative effort I wanted to – in the same way that I as actor was the emotional guardian of the character and the template and the blueprint and the impetus of the character – I felt it would be appropriate to have all of things that affected my playing of the role drive the book. But it is a collaborative effort so then I had anybody who wanted to chip in; like the animators, the motion capture, everyone involved in the process have a say as well so there is a more rounded view of it. I then talked to the different departments and various people volunteered to write something or contribute in some way. In a way the book reflects the way that Gollum was created.
TORn: In the book you talked about how you were an artist or a painter and then became an actor and now you are an author. You are a kind of a renaissance man it seems.
SERKIS: I guess as I get older I fell less like just an actor. You know I have started directing and I have written projects, you know feature films scripts and I have directed short films and so on. I think I see myself as more of an all-around artist and that is, well in the UK that is sort of frowned upon. In the states people understand that more. They are much much more willing to have an actor do different things. I think they cope with it better but in the UK it is still a bit of a stigma. You have to do one thing I suppose. It sort of fits with me now. I have ideas and projects that I want to create. I think that is partly why I enjoyed working on Lord of the Rings so much because there was such a sense of being involved in it.
The whole playing of Gollum involved sort of a – you know – an all around approach in the way I embraced the technology and so on. At times I was part director in a sense. I was choreographing myself back into scenes using the motion capture in a way that was almost like painting myself or animating myself back into the plates we had shot. I suppose what I am talking about is an all around sense that stayed with me since I was an art student.
TORn: So your background in those things were definitely beneficial to you as an actor.
SERKIS: When I started acting when I was at college I designed sets and I designed lighting and posters for shows and all sorts of things so I had a strong visual sense of stuff and that certainly helped in the playing of Gollum.
TORn: Was there anyone else who said they would like to help you write this or was it always you that was in charge of the content?
SERKIS: Originally I think I was going to write it with Brian Sibley. You know Brian who has written some of the other books but in fact he got very involved in some other projects and he couldn’t do it. I sort of took the bull by the horns and said, ‘Well, I have written other material. I’ve not written a book before certainly but I think I will have a go myself.’
Certainly with Harper Collins, they felt after I had written the ‘Art of The Two Towers’ afterwards they said, ‘You should definitely carry on yourself and if you run into problems we will sort it out then.’ I had kind of written bullet points all the way along and it just wasn’t too difficult. It just sort of came naturally. I really sat down during “Return of the King” (Andy’s post-production work) and it really took me about two months I guess back in New Zealand.
TORn: So what was the writing process like? Was it you going over notes and organizing?
SERKIS: Yea, and structuring it. Structuring the order of it and noting all the little twists and turns and changes and influences and you know, the personal events and so on. Really, as I say in the preface to the book, you know here we were. We started shooting these films in back in the end of ’99 and now the world had changed. The world had become a different place by the end of it. That was the umbrella really for writing the book. The world had changed and therefore my playing and my understanding of Gollum had changed as a result.
TORn: Did Harper Collins have an editor assigned to you did they just allow you to do it and turn in the finished product?
SERKIS: Yes, they edited some of it. There are quite a few paragraphs here and there which were trimmed but on the whole I would say it is 90 percent there. Gary Russell who had also edited some of the other books in the series, he did some of the interviews with some of the staff.
TORn: So when I turn to a page that has a long say, maybe a Gino Acevedo quote, that is Gary?
SERKIS: That could be but I think it was just Gino. I think I asked Gino directly for that. Certain people I asked directly to write for the book and certain people Gary approached because at the time I was still filming so I couldn’t get around to everybody.
TORn: What was the hardest thing about writing? It doesn’t sound like it was that difficult but was there something that was harder than the rest?
SERKIS: Uhm, I think just getting the balance really. As I said at the beginning, the book represents the acting contribution of the role and everything that has to do with that and everything that has to do with the informing of the part from an acting point of view. Yet I did want it to be equal and non-biased in the sense that I did want everybody to have their fair shout. So I think it was getting the balance right but it (was) being told from a single view. It had to be. It is like writing a movie with a central character you know. I had to be the central character and actual story line so it was just getting the balance right I think so that everybody felt it was their representation.
TORn: Have you had feedback from those folks? Do they feel like you have accomplished that?
SERKIS: I think so. I mean yea, I have spoken to a few people and they said, ‘Great job’ and Richard Taylor said that of all the ‘making-of’ books that one was the most personal and you know a great read and it was infused with life. It had a life to it and it wasn’t so academic which I was really pleased about.
TORn: One thing Andy, that I loved about the book, you know the technology was clear and in depth but the parts of the book I loved the most were reading about your children or your trip down the river. Was it scary at all to put so much of your own self out there?
SERKIS: No. The thing is I promised myself that if I was going to write this book I wanted to be honest about – as honest as I could be – about all my experiences and influences and everything that affected (the role). In the same way that Lord of the Rings is at the end of the day back towards Frodo’s story, everything that affected the way I played the role, it had to be about that.
So I never felt like I was over-exposing say…my children, I just felt it was important to be honest about the things that really affected how I played Gollum. I can imagine that maybe people think it is a bit sentimental at times because I do mention my children quite a lot but they did really effect how I played the Smeagol part of Gollum, you know a lot. I felt it very necessary to say that.
TORn: To me that was the best part of the book – to find out about Andy Serkis the actor but now Andy Serkis the person and what makes him the actor.
SERKIS: Well that’s good then.
TORn: As you started to write, was it pretty easy to edit down what you were going to include?
SERKIS: It kind of flowed. There were certain sections where I would play with it and I would hit a bump and I would think ‘How do I best encapsulate this or these feelings or these emotions or these times’ but on the whole I think for most of it, since I had made a lot of bullet points early on, I had a structure. The structure was there and I would just wait for the memories. The early stuff was like, ‘Oh it was a long time ago!’ Some stories came back much quicker than others but on the whole it did flow.
TORn: Did you feel like you were writing for a specific audience or were you just recording the story?
SERKIS: That is a good question actually. I think when I first wrote it I was just getting down what I wanted to get down but then I realized it was quite important to try and make it as broad as possible. I didn’t want to be exclusive because I wanted kids of a certain age – you know an age where they could appreciate – be able to read it. What I did want to do was to make it not exclusive in any way or make it just about acting in a sort of exclusive way. I wanted to make it open and accessible and take people on a journey that was going to be interesting. Do you know what I mean by exclusive?
TORn: I do. It makes perfect sense to me.
SERKIS: So I guess I did modify at times. The thing is when I write I write from the heart really and its like there is some bad language in there which I had to take out. (Laughing) I had to, you know, clean it up a little bit. (More laughing).
TORn: For kids you mean?
SERKIS: Yea and also there were some things, some political and philosophical things which I was encouraged by the editors to hold back on. I suppose there came a point where I felt like I was making statements. When I originally wrote it I felt like I was making statements about my beliefs about certain things which unless they were absolutely, directly necessary and again, informed the character, they shouldn’t be there so they got brought out. They were edited.
TORn: Was the writing similar to acting in any way for you?
SERKIS: I think so. In the same way that writing a script is about storytelling. You know it’s a good old fashioned beginning, middle and end and taking audiences through moments of crisis and moments of joy, moments of excitement, despair, so you do that in any role that you play – if it’s a well written role, or you try to find ways of playing it even if the role isn’t well written. (Laughing).
I was aware if I just talked about motion capture it wouldn’t be that interesting after a while so I suppose its the juxtaposition of real life, of family, of technology, of getting inside the character’s head – that is acting I suppose.
TORn: What haven’t we talked about that you would like to talk about regarding the book or anything else?
SERKIS: We have covered most things. There are two things. One, it was great because it allowed me to have closure on a character. One thing that was, more than anything, most difficult for me it was – which I do mention in the book – that sense of the character never ending. I couldn’t at the end of every day’s filming ever feel like I had done a definitive performance. It was always the next stage the next phase, the motion capture, working with animators and da da da and it would keep going on and on and it would last years. For me it was important whist I was still doing that to actually somehow have some closure on the character in order to be able to move on. I knew that when we got to the end of the filming it was going to be tough! It was going to be tough to say goodbye to the character. So that is one thing.
The other thing is that I certainly wouldn’t have written this book if had played any other character. The only reason this book was written is because it was an extraordinary – you know I wouldn’t do it again, it was a complete one-off. There is no sense I would ever write another book about another character I don’t think. Well, I guess you never say never but it was purely because it was a very, very unusual acting experience. I don’t necessarily like or would wish to break down every acting performance that I did in this way. I just wouldn’t seek to do that. I think performances should speak for themselves but this just was very special and the film was special and the whole event was special and it was very much a one-off.
TORn: I do have a last question. This was a funny detail but when are biting into that fish are those your teeth and lips (SERKIS:Oh yea) and is that a real fish?
SERKIS: Actually it was a gelatin fish. They made a few gelatin models which I had to bite into which actually in all honesty tasted more disgusting than biting into a raw fish. I would rather have eaten a raw fish.
TORn: It was uh, you know there was a lot of violence in the movies but that was particularly disturbing.
SERKIS: It is isn’t it. It is extraordinary how, with all the battles and everything but just the action of doing that is quite brutal isn’t it.
TORn: Andy that is really all I have – well it isn’t all I have – I could ask and ask but we have used the time that was given. I really appreciate your time and your help.
SERKIS: It was lovely to speak to you.
TORn: This isn’t part of the interview but with New Line pushing you for best supporting actor how do you deal with that? It seems hard to get your hopes up.
SERKIS: It is such a peculiar one really. I have had so many people say ‘What about the Oscars’ and I can only say to them that I am delighted that the debate is there, that people are recognizing the performance – an acted performance and in some way acknowledging that yes it is a combination and a hybrid between acting and animation but that it is driven by a performance. So the fact that the debate is there is most rewarding.
TORn: That is a great quote I wished I had asked you that during the interview.
SERKIS: You can put that down. At some point in time actors will be recognized for characters in CG roles. Maybe this isn’t the time but the Academy (of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) is an evolving thing. What I think has happened with this role is that a new precedent has been set for a new kind of acting – a new language in cinema.
It goes without saying that Peter Jackson’s attention to details sets all three installments of “The Lord of the Rings” towering above any other movie I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. However, being one of the ‘horsey’ set myself, I found myself especially drawn to the lovely horse-symbols and carvings in The Golden Hall of Rohan, and of the stables in particular. Watching “The Two Towers” (25 times!), I happened to notice the gorgeous banners hung on the wall behind Theoden’s throne and thought to myself, how hard would could it be to make one of those? Well, eight months later–and a lot of sweat, swearing and tears–here’s the end result of my efforts. I gave it to my sister for a Christmas present. Needless to say, it was very well received!
