Lord Of The Rings - My Little Empire
With the Amazon series upon us, here are my favourite memories from the time I spent covering Peter Jackson's finest 11-and-three-quarter hours.
Though I was living and working in Australia while the Lord Of The Rings were being made and released, I didn’t have much to do with covering the production process. The reason for this was simple: though I was working for the Australian version of Empire, it was the mother ship magazine that had forged impressively strong links with Peter Jackson. The first periodical to put The Fellowship Of The Ring on its front cover, to fully appreciate the extent to which the British Empire had become a fixture in New Zealand, I urge you to check out Ian Nathan’s Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson And The Making Of Middle-earth, perhaps the only essential text on the first major movie phenomenon of the 21st century.
As the situation was fully understood, so we at Empire (Australia) still got to do some pretty fun things. The Two Towers junket gave me the opportunity to meet David Wenham, Miranda Otto and DP Andrew Lesnie. And at the premiere after party, I had a chat with Chris Isaak, which was nice.
However, the undisputed high point for me when I was asked - either by Ian or Mark Dinning; I’m not entirely sure - to contribute to The Lord Of The Rings - A Celebration; a special mini-issue of Empire released to mark the saga’s end.
Featuring the principal cast and crew answering pretty much all the same questions, my being in Oz meant I was able to get hold of the aforementioned David Wenham. And as for Hugo Weaving - who’ve I’ve been a fan of since his stint as the dastardly Douglas Jardine in Bodyline - I was actually present at the photo shoot; chatting to our man in between set-ups.
The interviews in question are reprinted below. Sure, as contributions go, mine was pretty pygmic. To be involved, however, was quite the thrill, as was the first time the lights went down in the cinema and that famous theme music played…
Hugo Weaving
Elrond
Sydney, Australia, October, 2003
What are your memories of first getting the role of Elrond?
I’d worked with Barrie Osborne on The Matrix and he asked whether I’d be interested in playing Elrond, which came as a surprise to me as I thought the films had already been cast. Anyway, he said, ‘Come over to New Zealand’, so I went and visited Peter and Fran and they showed me 20 minutes of footage, and no sooner was it over than I’d said ‘Yes!’
What’s your character’s defining moment?
In the whole series, I’d say it’s the scene with the council at Rivendell where the Fellowship are brought together. In Return Of The King, there’s a sequence where Elrond challenges Aragorn to live up to his responsibilities and take on the mantle as a leader of men. That’s also a defining moment.
Describe Peter Jackson in three words.
Intelligent, child-like Hobbit.
Why do you think Rings has been so successful?
In a word, Peter. I think there was always an audience for the trilogy but he had the vision to turn a dream into a remarkable series of films.
What’s your fondest memory of New Zealand?
We’d been shooting in the mountains for about a week-and-a-half and we got up early one morning to find the landscape covered in snow. So there we were, an army in Elvish costume, with snow on the ground and a beautiful mist coming over - it was just amazing.
What is your favourite piece of LOTR memorabilia?
I was given an Elven sword as a parting gift. It’s a beautifully-made weapon. It epitomises the attention to detail on these films that is what really sets them apart. God knows what I’d going to do with it, mind.
What was the toughest thing you had to do?
I’d have to say learning reams and reams of dialogue at the last minute. And because Viggo and I were keen to have as much Elvish in the films as possible, we were often not only having to learn new lines, but having to learn them in Elvish.
How does it feel to say goodbye?
I don’t feel that I have said goodbye to it, actually. I keep thinking I’m done and then I have to come back and do something else. Perhaps after the world premiere, I’ll finally feel that this chapter of my life is over.
David Wenham
Faramir
Melbourne, Australia, October, 2003
What are you memories of first getting the role of Faramir?
My abiding memoryis of feeling incredibly lucky - very, very lucky indeed. I really had to pinch muyself. It was amazing.
What’s your fondest memory of New Zealand?
There were so many incredible moments. As mush as I loved the country, it’s the camaraderie I’ll always remember - the sense that we were working on something very special, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Describe Peter Jackson in three words.
A brilliant genius.
Are your Rings colleagues gong to be friends for life?
A lot of people assume I must be great firneds with Sean Bean, seeing as how I played his brother -they think we must have spent weeks together to make the relationship convincing. But the truth of the matter is, I didn’t actually meet Sean until after filing The Two Towers had wrapped. I met him at a party and we had a good chat. But while I didn’t get to meet him on set until we did the reshoots, I was lucky enough to have access to rushes of his work as Boromir, so I was able to observe his performance and pick up the odd mannerism.
Why do you think Rings has been so successful?
Tolkien invented a universe. He treated his audience with respect, and so do the films.
Which of the other roles would you like to have played?
Gollum would have been fun, but I don’t think anywhere near as good as Andy Serkis. Andy’s work in the films is incredible. That voice will haunt me forever. The probelm with Faramir as a character is that, in The Two Towers at least, he’s a pretty dead character, dramatically. It says a lot for the screenwriters that they wer able to give me so much to get my teeth into.
What was the toughest thing you had to do?
I found the horses very unpredictable performers because I gre up in a suburb in Sdyney. I didn’t grow up surrounded by horses, so it’s a skill I had to learn. You have to know that very few people ride horse in Australia. Most of them live in cities. But when an Australia rides a horse, he’s unbelievable.
How does it feel to say goodbye?
A great shame. I know I won’t do anything like this ever again.