The Age (Australia)
13 May 2001
Lord of the Rings film trilogy
By STEPHANIE BUNBURY
Legions of Hobbitophiles can breathe easy. Just 26 minutes of
the year's most breathlessly awaited film, New Zealand director
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, was released to the
world's press in Cannes early yesterday and, everyone agreed,
it looked wonderful - good enough even for J.R.R. Tolkien's millions
of obsessive fans.
"It's a movie by fans," Jackson said later. "We
were just lucky enough to be fans who also got to make the movie.
We have respect for those people because we are them."
The media at Cannes was shown Ian McKellen as Gandalf visiting
Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins in his little hobbit house in Middle
Earth - in fact, recognisably the country around Wellington -
and the Breughel-like festivities for Bilbo's 111th birthday party.
They saw Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring battle the spectacularly
reptilian Orcs, and Hugo Weaving as elf lord Elrond.
In the most spectacular sequence, the band of hobbits and elves
leap for their lives across a crumbling bridge in the mines of
Moria. There were more gasps from the audience as our mythical
heroes faced down a lumbering cave troll wielding a battle-axe.
Coming out of the cinema, back to the real world of Cannes cafes,
the same line was repeated everywhere: "I can't wait to see
more."
There has never been a movie project like Lord of the Rings. Jackson
filmed all three feature-length films of the trilogy at once -
a mammoth undertaking that took 15 months. They will be released,
however, at yearly intervals, to allow adequate time for post-production.
The first, The Fellowship of the Ring, will open for the Christmas
season this year.
The project was backed by Hollywood production company New Line,
with a budget of $US274 million ($A525 million), putting it firmly
in the major blockbuster category. This is a huge investment,
especially in a director who has never had a big hit. Even more
remarkably, Jackson was able to shoot the whole thing in his hometown
of Wellington, New Zealand, using a largely Kiwi crew.
In the year it was running full pelt, Lord of the Rings was one
of New Zealand's biggest employers. "It was always assumed
I would make it in New Zealand," Jackson said. "There
were budget advantages and, more than that, location advantages.
We were able to find everything we wanted in Middle Earth in New
Zealand and you're never more than two hours from anywhere."
It also helped to keep the cast united in a long and often physically
gruelling shoot. "We felt like a family," said Orlando
Bloom, who plays Legolas, an elf. "We were on an island,
so far from the rest of the world." When they had a break,
the four actors playing hobbits went on a holiday to Australia
together. "You'd think we'd want a break from each other,
but we didn't," said Sean Astin, who plays Merry.
Jackson said he treated Lord of the Rings like a historical epic
rather than a fantasy, paying attention to every detail. Vocal
coaches taught them the Elvish language, one of 14 languages Tolkien
made up as part of his mythical world.
"Some days I can't remember my own name," said Liv Tyler,
who plays Arwen. "But I can remember all my Elvish lines."
She repeated one; it sounded like Welsh.
Cate Blanchett plays the powerful elf Galadriel, but was unable
to be in Cannes.
Tyler said they also had to practise swordplay and learn to ride;
Viggo Mortensen, who plays Aragorn, took up riding bareback. Mortensen
shrugs this off and smiles when Sean Bean, who plays Boromir,
recalls that he once found him fishing at 4am. "I enjoy being
in the woods," he said, "and I had to look as if I were
good at it."
In some ways, said Sir Ian McKellen, they all fell in love with
it. He had not read the books before he took the part. "I
scarcely knew who Gandalf was, but I rapidly learned there are
millions who do. I'm a late believer. But Tolkien is dealing,
so imaginatively, with issues that are so central to human life
that I think it's the most important job I've had."
Jackson's previous films include Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners
and schlock-horror films Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles and Braindead.
Shooting films with melting zombies, often for almost no money,
gave Jackson and his team a thorough grounding in devising special
effects and prosthetics. It also gave him a cult following, a
ready-made audience for Lord of the Rings.
Christopher Lee, the legendary Hammer horror star, appears both
in Lord of the Rings - as the evil Sauron - and in the next episode
in the Star Wars series. But while they're both fantasy projects
and have huge fan followings, he sees them as nothing alike. "They're
not remotely alike except that they're major productions,"
he said. "Star Wars is more clinical, in a way, whereas Tolkien's
story is full of so much love. Star Wars is more science than
fiction, if you know what I mean."
Whatever they do at the box office, the Lord of the Rings films
will have a long life on DVD and a booming souvenir toy market.
Mark Ordesky, the executive producer from New Line, tried to play
down the commercial side, evidently fearing a press backlash.
"It is too elegant and cherished to be hyped; this is a classic,"
he said solemnly. "Three generations have read this book,
with a fourth coming up."
Jackson chipped in: "But the toys are pretty cool."
New Line chose a Cannes chateau, complete with crenellations and
a faux portcullis, for the press launch. Hung with watered silk
banners and crossed pikes, with underground hobbit houses installed
as follies in the grounds, it will be the scene of a lavish launch
party tonight.
For the cast in Cannes, it will be a reunion. "I miss it,"
said Bean. "I just want to return to where we filmed. When
you finish, it's a strange feeling. You're there doing the laundry,
with no sword and no surrounding elves."
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