Newsgroup: it.arti.cinema
Titolo: [Trovato] Il signore degli anelli

 for the
     official press release, and a link to an in-depth article from today's
     Los Angeles Times!
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E, da ZENtertainment...
           NEW LINE CINEMA has announced filmmaker Peter Jackson
           (Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners) will make a live-action
           LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy for the studio, which will be shot
           back-to-back over about a year, with a combined budget of
           over $130 million. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING is being
           considered for a Christmas 2000 release, followed by THE
           TWO TOWERS in the summer of 2001, and THE RETURN OF THE KING
           at Christmas 2001. Jackson will direct, co-write, and
           co-produce the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, with Saul Zaentz
           (The English Patient) and MIRAMAX's Bob and Harvey Weinstein
           as executive producers. Production on the film, which does
           not yet have a cast, will begin next year, in New Zealand.
           NEW LINE has also acquired the rights to THE HOBBIT,
           and the worldwide merchandising rights to consumer products
           based on the film property.
 
http://www.newline.com
Alberto
------------------------------------------------------
Chi e' Robert K. Weiss?
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     FOR ACCLAIMED DIRECTOR PETER JACKSON
FINALMENTE!!!!!!!
Grazie Alberto!
Ciao
Nicola

Speriamo solo che si tratti di un serio programma di lavoro, pensare
di realizzare un opera cosi' importante credo sia una bella scommessa;
per parte mia mi piacerebbe vederla portata a termine perche' ho un
pessimo ricordo di quanto e' stato fatto con la prima trasposizione
(ok, forse la tecnica di animazione era intressante pero' il fatto che
la storia sia stata troncata in quel modo....c'e' chi dice che la
seconda parte fosse in programma e non sia stata mai realizzata per
motivi di budget...resta il fatto che la mia delusione nel vedere
quello "scempio" fu grande).
PS
Questa estate mi e' capitato di vedere la prima mondiale di un opera
jazz dal titolo "Hobbit Hobbit" , ovvero la ricostruzione in musica
dell' epopea di Frodo e compagni...beh spero proprio che la nuova
trasposizione cinematografica sia realizzata con la medesima bravura.
Srin...@wema.com
"...any integer number is one of my favourite friends..."

 Speriamo solo che si tratti di un serio programma di lavoro, 
Beh, l'intervista a Peter Jackson suona benissimo.
Me la sono scaricata ma non l'ho postata perche' 
lunghissima... se ti interessa...

lunghissima... se ti interessa...
A me sě, e pure molto...magari per email... :-)

Certo che mi farebbe piacere leggerla ! 
Se vuoi mi faresti un favore mandandomela via email,
Tante grazie anticipatamente ;-)


 Certo che mi farebbe piacere leggerla !
Siete gia' in due... io la posto e chi s'e' visto s'e' visto.
Peter Jackson Answers 20 Questions About Lord Of The Rings!!!
                        Well this will spur discussion for the next 3
                        months. Here's the answers to the questions you
                        all sent in. Many of the questions are blendings
                        of several questions into long-winded multi-part
                        questions. Why'd I do this? Well, I received
                        over 14,000 questions. You may have noticed
                        Father Geek doing a lot of updating recently...
                        well this was to facilitate me editing, blending
                        and trying to get in front of Peter the most
                        questions within a 20 question format. When I
                        sent it to him, a response came back almost
                        immediately with... "Jesus... give me a day or
                        two." I really have enjoyed this little
                        experiment of Peter's, and I'm sure that most of
                        you out there would agree we should do it again.
                        Also, with the 2 to 3 month intervals... well
                        that allows Peter the time to get the scripts
                        written, more work at the art department level,
                        a production manager to begin mapping out the
                        process, the hiring of crew members, talks with
                        actors, etc etc.. So next time we'll learn even
                        more. Thanks to Peter for sitting still for
                        this, though it was his suggestion, now Peter
                        enough questions go make our kick ass movies!!!
                        Before I get started, I'd like to thank all the
                        folk who sent questions in. If the 20 that Harry
                        has picked are representative, then you have
                        thought hard about the difficulties of adapting
                        this book. A lot of the concerns you raise focus
                        on the same areas that we are currently
                        grappling with.
                        I also must thank Harry for allowing me to
                        commandeer his site. It's a bit like a scene in
                        a war movie when a French family gets booted out
                        of their farm house because the Allied Forces
                        need to set up a command post! Using Harry's
                        site was the only way I could imagine reaching
                        all of you in an efficient way. I very much
                        appreciate his co-operation and hard work in
                        compiling 20 questions from the 14,000 he
                        received.
                        After this brief warm shower together, Harry and
                        I return to our different sides of the line - us
                        trying to maintain secrecy ... and he using his
                        low-life methods to publish it all on the net.
                        I hope this Q&A addresses some of your immediate
                        questions and concerns, but please don't send
                        Harry any more questions. I have to go to ground
                        and do some writing. If you want to do this
                        again, and Harry agrees to it, then it will be
                        in 2 or 3 months time and I am sure you'll get
                        plenty of warning.
                        Here we go ...
                        1. It seems that a ton of readers are concerned
                        about the physical portrayal of the main
                        characters within the 'Fellowship'. Specifically
                        the following: The use or lack of use of 'small
                        people' to accomplish Hobbits, and the decision
                        to use CGI to shrink folks. Then there is the
                        'pointy eared' elf thing. Not to mention
                        whatever Gandalf is, how you plan to deliver
                        dwarves. Basically the question is how do you
                        plan on delivering the different types that make
                        up the 'company'? And why you decided to go in
                        that direction, and is it 'faithful' to the look
                        that's been established by the cartoons,
                        illustrators, etc?
                        As everyone has read, we have made a decision to
                        portray hobbits by reducing "normal" sized
                        actors. This decision was made for several
                        reasons:
                        1/ It seems to be what Tolkien had in his mind,
                        from the way he described hobbits.
                        2/ It gives us the greatest pool of actors to
                        choose from.
                        3/ The hobbits are our chief heroes, who we must
                        totally connect with over the course of 3
                        movies. That ruled out the use of CGI hobbits as
                        I felt any artificial method of creating a
                        character would be an impediment to our bonding
                        with them. They would be a gimmick, rather than
                        a real character.
                        Dwarfs like Gimli will either be a real little
                        person, or a normal height actor reduced like
                        the hobbits. A decision has yet to be made.
                        Elves will be actors, but with a certain "Elven"
                        look.
                        Hobbits, Dwarfs and Elves will probably all have
                        subtle prosthetics, but these tests have not yet
                        been done. I know that battle rages over pointy
                        ears. We have yet to decide on the final looks
                        for all these different races.
                        I do want to make them "real" ... not too
                        fantasy-like or cartoony. They must be
                        believable. My favourite illustration of a
                        hobbit is in the edition of THE FELLOWSHIP OF
                        THE RING with Alan Lee's illustrations. Look at
                        the picture of Frodo and Gandalf sitting in Bag
                        End. That's not just a good guide for how I
                        imagine a hobbit - it's also a good reference
                        for the tone or atmosphere I'm aiming for in the
                        films.
                        2. Another major question that fans have had,
                        has to do with the decision to make "THE LORD OF
                        THE RINGS" prior to "THE HOBBIT". Describe what
                        made you decide to go with the trilogy first,
                        what made you step over 'THE HOBBIT' and do you
                        think that after your filmic journeys into
                        Middle Earth with this trilogy, do you think you
                        will want to visit Bilbo and his adventures from
                        the first book?
                        United Artists have owned the US distribution
                        rights to THE HOBBIT for many years (but not the
                        right to actually make it). I know that Miramax
                        approached UA a couple of years ago about doing
                        some kind of partnership, but was not
                        successful. That made up Miramax's mind to do
                        THE LORD OF THE RINGS first.
                        I am happy to be doing the trilogy first, since
                        it is much more complex and interesting than THE
                        HOBBIT. THE HOBBIT has a very simple story with
                        very little character development. It would
                        actually be harder to adapt into a satisfying
                        movie than THE LORD OF THE RINGS (and that has
                        not been easy!).
                        New Line Cinema have the right to make THE
                        HOBBIT (UA still owns the distribution rights),
                        and have every intention of doing it following
                        the trilogy. I don't know if I would be
                        involved. It depends on my mental condition in 3
                        years!
                        3. There seems to be quite a bit of doubt about
                        'only' having $130 million to make the trilogy.
                        How do you plan to stretch that money out, while
                        still giving these films the rich world that
                        Tolkien envisioned? I.E... Cite examples of
                        enhancing New Zealand locales with CGI, How much
                        practical effects work vs CGI, and what will you
                        try to do practical and what will you try to do
                        CGI?
                        This is a very understandable concern. Let me
                        explain:
                        Dollar for dollar, New Zealand is a cheaper
                        place to make movies than the US. A camera that
                        costs US$3000 per week to rent in the States may
                        only cost NZ$2000 here. Add to that, the
                        exchange rate savings ($US1 = $NZ2) and that
                        camera in New Zealand only costs $US1000 to rent
                        - a third of the price. Following me?
                        It basically means that the $US130m will buy 3
                        movies that have the screen value of closer to
                        $350m. It is only this economy that has made THE
                        LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy affordable. Believe
                        me, nobody in Hollywood would commit $350m to
                        make 3 movies back-to-back. It would never
                        happen. These books have been "unfilmable" for
                        45 years, and would continue to be unfilmable.
                        But please don't be concerned about the
                        "quality" of these movies. It is enough money to
                        make 3 mind-blowing films! There will be money
                        on screen to compare to anything that has ever
                        been made.
                        4. This one comes from Julian of Sydney...
                        Though he plays a massive underlying role in the
                        books (he is the Lord of the Rings after
                        all...), the character of Sauron's appearance
                        (the Dark Lord) is never described in any detail
                        (except for his catlike, yellow eyes [windows
                        into nothingness] and his burning hot, black
                        skin - black as in not african american black,
                        but jet black). Also there is no direct dialogue
                        with Sauron in the book, only flashbacks to
                        historical events ie. his interrogation of
                        Gollum, his fight with Isildur when the One Ring
                        is taken along with his mind-communication
                        through the Isenguard Palantir orb. So, my
                        question is - how will Peter depict Sauron
                        visually in the movie, and what will his voice
                        sound like? I think part of the reason why
                        Sauron was so intriguing and impressive as a
                        character in the books, was very much because
                        his presence was always felt, rather than
                        personified as one being - the reader was left
                        pretty much to imagine what he may have looked
                        like. I can see that Peter will probably have to
                        portray him in the movies, but I just hope he
                        doesn't make him into a stereotypical cinematic
                        villain. After all Sauron's power and historical
                        descent from goodness to hellish evil, makes
                        Satan look like a cute little puppy dog... And
                        remember one of the biggest and most powerful
                        cinematic scenes will inevitably be the party's
                        confrontation with the Balrog in Moria - but the
                        Balrog was a mere servant of Morgoth and then
                        Sauron.
                        This is a great question, and one that we have
                        been grappling with for 18 months. We still
                        don't have a definitive answer. The Sauron of
                        the books is sketchy at best, which makes it
                        hard to turn him into a screen villain to carry
                        3 movies. Imagine not really seeing Darth Vader
                        for all 3 Star Wars films. You just can't do it.
                        We obviously have Sauron's various emissaries to
                        represent him, but just how Sauron himself
                        appears is still a puzzle we are trying to
                        solve. I agree that you can't reduce him to
                        being a big guy striding around in black armour
                        - but he cannot be limited to a flaming eye
                        either. It's tough. We'll keep working on it.
                        5. Lots of people wrote in with this one, so
                        I'll summarize it on up. You mentioned in your
                        statement that you want to make movies that you
                        think Professor Tolkien would be proud of. What
                        about the Tolkien estate? How closely are you
                        working with Christopher Tolkien and what is
                        your relationship with him going to be during
                        this project? If you have talked with him about
                        the project, what has he thought thus far?
                        We are dealing with the "estate", rather than
                        Christopher personally. They have made their
                        position very clear: While they are in no way
                        opposed to a film(s) being made, they do not
                        want to be involved.
                        The reason is basically simple: if they had any
                        involvement, then the films would become
                        "official" - in other words, they would be seen
                        as being endorsed by the estate. This is a
                        situation that the estate does not want, as they
                        consider themselves to be protectors of
                        Tolkien's written word, not film makers. I don't
                        think the estate will be reading scripts or
                        commenting on the movies. We keep them informed
                        on progress, which they appreciate, but they
                        want their involvement to be very arms length.
                        I said something here in NZ in an interview,
                        which is worth repeating: You shouldn't think of
                        these movies as being "THE LORD OF THE RINGS".
                        THE LORD OF THE RINGS is, and always will be, a
                        wonderful book - one of the greatest ever
                        written. Any films will only ever be an
                        INTERPRETATION of the book. In this case my
                        interpretation. The Tolkien estate has no reason
                        to want to get involved in somebody else's
                        interpretation of the Professor's work.
                        6. Here's one of the chief fears from fans, and
                        lots of them are curious about what you think.
                        Fantasy film has been with us straight from the
                        beginning. It has been mined by Korda,
                        Fairbanks, Harryhausen, Pal, etc. At that time
                        their films were quite successful. But in the
                        last twenty years the fantasy film has
                        nose-dived into granite. What is wrong with the
                        modern fantasy film, what is missing, and how is
                        this going to be any different from the parade
                        of fantasy duds that have been kicking sand in
                        the face of fantasy lovers for a generation now?
                        One of my chief reasons for wanting to spend
                        nearly 5 years of my life making these films has
                        been that I don't think that fantasy has been
                        well served by cinema. So I agree with your
                        comments. I can't get into a deep debate about
                        the last 20 years of fantasy, but I have been
                        disappointed by the films as well. Either the
                        style has been wrong, or often the scripts have
                        been terrible. Starting out with strong scripts
                        (and we are obviously dealing with great
                        material) will put us ahead of a lot of other
                        fantasy films. Not making the movies
                        self-consciously fantasy will help too.
                        7. This comes in from Chyren, and is echoed by a
good 40 others.
                        "Given that the books in LOTR are long and
                        deeply indebted to Tolkien's technique of
                        creating 'Literary Depth' by having a complex
                        backstory, how can this be even slightly
                        presented in a film version? In other words,
                        LOTR was the end-tale of a huge three-millennium
                        history of Middle-Earth. How can you allude to
                        this on screen without just creating another
                        Sword & Sorcery style crappy Willow film that is
                        just plain confusing?
                        A good comment, and one that we feel strongly
                        about too. As we have written drafts of THE LORD
                        OF THE RINGS, we have layered in more and more
                        depth with each subsequent draft. Some of it is
                        important to the story (Isildur, Elendil, etc)
                        and some is not. However, it creates the feeling
                        of a real world. No movie can ever go into the
                        depth than Tolkien did obviously, but we are
                        going to use prologues, flashbacks and narration
                        to paint a picture of Middle-earth that will
                        hopefully be more than superficial.
                        Not being confusing is vital. That has been a
                        fault of many fantasy films. We have to make
                        movies that both readers and non-readers can
                        enjoy and understand (I know the concept of
                        having to cater to non-readers is frustrating,
                        but it is important. Don't worry - we won't
                        allow it to "dumb-down" the material). There are
                        ways of doing that, and I am confident we will
                        get there, without compromising the integrity of
                        the work too much. It's a huge help to have 3
                        films to work with.
                        "AND..the books themselves are not structured to
                        easily equate to a screenplay. Most of the first
                        book is a gentle stretch of journey and masses
                        of exposition (which occurs mainly when the
                        Hobbits reach Elrond's House). There not much
                        full-on action or even interesting stuff until
                        the end of the second and third books. How much
                        junk are you going to have to cut out? How much
                        of the books will ACTUALLY reach the screen?"
                        It is true that most of the cuts will come out
                        of the first book. We have to reach Rivendell a
                        little quicker than the book does, as that is
                        the point that the story picks up. I don't agree
                        that there's not much interesting stuff in THE
                        FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, but it does lack a
                        urgency. That is one of the biggest problems
                        with adapting the books - Tolkien gave his
                        characters a fairly leisurely journey - I don't
                        mean the length of the journey, but rather the
                        lack of dramatic tension, especially
                        pre-Rivendell. For the movies, we will have to
                        make motivations a little tighter and more
                        urgent. We have to focus on The Ring, Sauron and
                        the threat to Middle-earth. There is not much
                        room for other stuff that is not directly
                        connected to this narrative spine.
                        "Chyren comments: I realize that movie making is
                        totally different from the art of a book, and
                        that books can't be translated onto the screen
                        totally. That's me, I know these things. You do
                        realize, don't you, that whatever you do, some
                        percentage of rabid Tolkien fans are always
                        gonna attack you for 'butchering' their bible?
                        I'm in no doubt about that. Remember ... it's
                        just my interpretation.
                        God, I wouldn't be in your shoes for quids,
                        mate! Still, as long as it's better than that
                        Ralph Bakshi debacle, I personally don't mind
                        what you do!"
                        Making it better than the Bakshi version would
                        be good.
                        8. Probably the most asked question, even though
                        you asked not to ask about it, is about Casting.
                        So this question won't be "Who is Gandalf" "Who
                        is Aragorn?" Instead I'm going to try to weasel
                        some info out of you that will stir the debate
                        pot a bit. What is your casting philosophy going
                        to be with this series of films. For example,
                        while I was on THE FACULTY set, Elijah Wood
                        often talked to me about this project. He cited
                        over and over about how much he loved the books,
                        and how he'd love to be anything in it. This is
                        most likely a feeling that a lot of talent in
                        Hollywood will have. Will you, if talent lowers
                        it's wages, cast big name actors in smaller
                        parts? (ie Sam Jackson in Star Wars Episode One)
                        Or do you plan on avoiding the Where's Waldo
                        style of casting?
                        The basic philosophy is to cast unknowns as the
                        hobbits and use better known actors for the
                        smaller roles, i.e. Elrond, Theoden, Denethor,
                        etc. I would be happy casting unknowns for all
                        roles, as fresh faces will bring a sense of
                        reality to the films, however I'm sure New Line
                        will want some names. We won't be able to afford
                        huge stars. Sean Connery won't be Gandalf (one
                        of the most enduring pieces of net mythology).
                        We couldn't afford him, he wouldn't live in NZ
                        for a year, and I don't think he's right for the
                        role. I love Connery, but I want Gandalf to be
                        fresher than that. I like the Patrick McGoohan
                        idea somebody mentioned ... that type of
                        thinking is the right way to go. We have a
                        couple of other strong ideas for Gandalf (I
                        won't say who, but I've never seen their names
                        on the net). We will no doubt audition a 100
                        actors to find the ideal Gandalf.
                        The idea of "stars" stepping forward and
                        declaring themselves Tolkien fans is interesting
                        ... let's see what happens.
                        Depending on the answer, is this because of a
                        sound you want to the dialogue? And speaking of
                        dialogue will it be in Tolkien's tongue?
                        We have written the scripts in a reasonable
                        "Tolkien" style ... on occasions using his
                        dialogue verbatim. The older characters, i.e.
                        Gandalf, Theoden, Denethor are pure Tolkien in
                        their dialogue style. The younger hobbit
                        characters slightly less so, but still not hip
                        or modern. Sam will be pure Sam, and Gollum will
                        be pure Gollum in style.
                        We will use other languages, particularly
                        Elvish, on occasion, with English sub-titles.
                        9. Another major vein of curiosity has been the
                        scale of these films. Using terms that will
                        light our imagination and paint a picture for
                        us, how big will these films be? This involves
                        the scale of battles, vistas, creatures.
                        They will be very epic in scale - but one of the
                        great things about THE LORD OF THE RINGS is the
                        fact that they are very grounded in character
                        and relationship. So imagine a tight personal,
                        very emotional story set against sweeping
                        vistas, huge cities and vast armies.
                        The battles will be the biggest you have ever
                        seen (I promise).
                        We have two wonderful artists working for us on
                        conceptual designs ... Alan Lee and John Howe.
                        Both have done many Tolkien paintings before,
                        and I loved their interpretation of the
                        characters and places. We are creating original
                        designs, not copying their earlier art, but a
                        look at the previous work of Alan and John's
                        will give you a strong sense of the visual style
                        I am aiming for.
                        It also deals with the texture of the film, the
                        aspect ratio and the score. What are your
                        thoughts on how you'll bring this to screen?
                        We will shoot in Super 35, giving us a 2.35
                        ratio. We have flirted with the idea of 70mm,
                        but the problems with CG effects at that
                        resolution are too daunting.
                        The score will be classical sounding. I'd like a
                        create a Celtic feel without being Celtic if you
                        get what I mean ... something non-cliched. No
                        composers have been considered yet. There are no
                        plans to use any of the existing
                        Tolkien-inspired music.
                        10. Jason out of Australia had this question for
                        ya: "Will any of the poetry/songs in Tolkien's
                        work be kept in the films?" And to follow up on
                        it, if you do keep them how will you portray
                        them?
                        There will be a little of it, but not much. A
                        little on screen, a little on the soundtrack.
                        It's a difficult thing to work into a dramatic
                        telling of the story.
                        11. Given the massive following these books
                        have, and the fact that this is the number one
                        most inquired question, and the fact you've
                        stated that you'll need 15,000 extras for
                        certain scenes, I've chosen Mike of Finland to
                        ask the question. "Where and when will the
                        casting take place?
                        It will start in October in LA, London,
                        Australia and New Zealand.
                        What should I do to appear in the film?
                        You would need to audition and be the very best
                        person for that particular role, out of the 100
                        - 200 actors that we will test for each
                        character.
                        Do I need an agent to be considered for a
                        speaking role? Do you hire only professionals
                        for the major parts or do qualified amateurs
                        have a chance as well?
                        There are no rules, but you would have to
                        connect your nearest casting director and
                        convince them you were good enough.
                        What requirements do you have for the extras?"
                        Of course I have to admit that just about
                        everyone I know wants to be an orc, it's akin to
                        being a stormtrooper. The surest way to increase
                        tourism to New Zealand is to announce a desire
                        for extras, and there will be fans booking
                        flights instantly.
                        We will find our extras in the New Year. They
                        will be cast in New Zealand and will have to be
                        precise physical types depending on if it's for
                        Orcs, Elves, Men, etc. It is possible that we
                        may approach the army for most of our extras.
                        12. This question comes from Ryan of New
                        Zealand: "A lot of things are not described
                        explicitly in the books, but hinted at or told
                        second hand, and I'd like to know how you will
                        go about showing us show us those things.
                        Some of the "second hand" stories will be told
                        on-screen in a more straightforward chronology.
                        Others will be left as narration. You will
                        definitely be seeing a lot of things dramatised
                        on film that Tolkien related as expositionary
                        dialogue.
                        Please tell me whether the Balrog will be a
                        solid creature or a shadowy one, and whether it
                        will be winged,
                        We are still working on the Balrog designs. He
                        will be a real creature, but we will try very
                        hard to capture the feel that Tolkien describes
                        in this sequence. Our designs have wings at the
                        moment, but that can be changed if it is not
                        correct.
                        whether Legolas - who is never really described
                        - will have blond hair and pointy ears like all
                        those Dungeons and Dragons freaks out there
                        picture him,
                        Don't know yet. It will start with casting an
                        actor and working from there on his final look.
                        and whether we will get to see - perhaps in a
                        flashback - the combat of Gandalf and the Balrog
                        after they fall from the bridge in Moria,
                        I don't think so.
                        and likewise if there will be visual flashbacks
                        of the ent's storming of Isengard,
                        Yes, that will be seen.
                        and of the history of Middle-earth as related in
                        various parts of the story by Gandalf, Elrond,
                        and Aragorn?
                        Most of the Middle-earth history we show will be
                        related to events important to our immediate
                        story, i.e. Isildur's death, defeat of Sauron
                        during the Second Age and the history of Gollum
                        and the Ring.
                        We will be detailing some of the Elven history
                        as well as a sense of the Numenorians and the
                        rise, and decline, of Gondor. That will mostly
                        be in narration and not on-screen.
                        13. This comes from Sir Etch-a-Sketch: "Describe
                        the tone that you will be using to tell this
                        story. You've stated that you don't see it as a
                        Fantasy Film, but as telling a true story. What
                        do you mean by that, and cite examples."
                        It might be clearer if I described it as an
                        historical film. Something very different to
                        Dark Crystal or Labyrinth. Imagine something
                        like BRAVEHEART, but with a little of the visual
                        magic of LEGEND. (LEGEND had a lackluster script
                        in my view. It looked great, but the visual
                        style was too unreal, overwhelming and not
                        suitable for this story).
                        It should have the historical authority of
                        BRAVEHEART, rather than the meaningless fantasy
                        mumbo-jumbo of WILLOW.
                        14. Jacob of W. Virginia asked this one, which
                        is echoed by about 20 others. "What types
                        departures will you be taking with the telling
                        of the story and how did they come about?"
                        This is the 64 thousand dollar question I guess!
                        I'm not going to answer this in huge detail, as
                        we are still working on the scripts. We have
                        about 300 pages written as 2 long movies. We now
                        have to convert them into 3 scripts of maybe 110
                        pages each - so we do have a little more room to
                        explore new ideas.
                        Our philosophy is simple. We don't want to make
                        any radical changes to the basic events or
                        characters in the books. So Sam will NOT become
                        a girl (another piece of rumour-mill bullshit
                        that's been floating around for a year), or have
                        a gay relationship with Frodo, or anything silly
                        like that.
                        We will have to remove certain events or
                        characters, but they will be clean lifts. As
                        somebody pointed out earlier, THE FELLOWSHIP OF
                        THE RING will need the greatest pruning.
                        Any changes that we do make will be centered on
                        developing characters or events in the spirit
                        that Tolkien created them, but maybe taking them
                        further than he did. For example, the
                        Aragorn/Arwen romance is a lovely part of the
                        story ... but if it was filmed exactly as
                        Tolkien wrote it, they would have maybe 10
                        minutes screentime together over 6 hours of
                        film. So we have to find a way to include Arwen
                        in more of the story, to have a chance at
                        creating a meaningful screen romance. However,
                        we won't do anything radical like adding her to
                        the Fellowship, as that would be departing too
                        much from what we all know and love. It's a fine
                        line that we walk.
                        15. To gore or not to gore. There are gigantic
                        battles in this film, how will you film these
                        and what is the threshold of gore for the films?
                        These films will be PG13, but I would like them
                        to be a hard PG13. The battles can't be
                        BRAVEHEART violent, but we could maybe think
                        about a slightly "harder" version for laserdisc
                        release.
                        16. In getting New Line to sign on the dotted
                        line, it has been said that their faith came
                        from the script and the reel of tests that you
                        and WETA showed them. What was on this reel, and
                        what work has Weta and the 50 some odd people
                        that have been laboring away come up with?
                        When we talked to studios about getting
                        involved, we screened a 36 minute video
                        documentary we made very quickly before we left.
                        This documentary style video had interviews with
                        key crew and design people and lots of footage
                        of design paintings, models, armour and CG
                        tests.
                        Cool stuff included on the tape: An Uruk-Hai in
                        full armour and prosthetics, and Orc make-up
                        test, models of Helm's Deep and Rivendell,
                        marquettes of Elven armour and weapons, Gollum
                        marquettes, a Cave Troll and a Balrog concept.
                        CG tests included a CG Troll and a couple of
                        huge Helm's Deep battle shots using a piece of
                        WETA software called MASSIVE that has been
                        developed over the last 2 years expressly to
                        achieve huge battle scenes for THE LORD OF THE
                        RINGS. MASSIVE allows us to have 200,000 CG
                        extras that we don't animate, but they use a
                        complex form of Artificial Intelligence to fight
                        each other. You basically press a button, sit
                        back and watch these huge battles unfold before
                        your eyes. It's amazing and a little frightening
                        as it ushers in a new era in CG effects.
                        Bob Shaye watched the tape in total silence and
                        then declared that he wanted to make 3 movies.
                        Bob deserves the credit for making a trilogy ...
                        it was his idea.
                        The 36 min tape would be a great addition on a
                        laserdisc box set.
                        17. What made you go, "Peter Jackson needs to
                        make THE LORD OF THE RINGS"? What are you most
                        excited about this project?
                        It gives me a chance to break new ground in the
                        movies. Every film genre has been done well over
                        the last 100 years, but not this type of fantasy
                        story. If we get it right, it will be the first
                        time. No film maker could ask for a greater
                        challenge than that.
                        18. How open will this project be? Meaning what
                        types of things will you be showing us fans in
                        the years leading up to this film.
                        It will be like the SW Trilogy I suppose. Expect
                        the same level of secrecy/revelations. I will
                        try and kept a steady stream of information
                        flowing. I know how frustrating it is.
                        How quickly do we get to see designs, models,
                        sketches, stills, trailers, toys, a rough cut,
                        etc...
                        I don't know the answers to that ... a trailer?
                        That seems a million years away to me right now.
                        New Line will control all of this and our
                        relationship with them is only just beginning.
                        19. Richard of New York asks: "Will the films be
                        titled "Fellowship of the Rings" "Two Towers"
                        and "Return of the King" or will you go with
                        LOTR1, LOTR 2, LOTR 3? What do you theorize the
                        running time to be?"
                        I assume that we will use the book titles,
                        probably with THE LORD OF THE RINGS kinda of a
                        wrap around title, like STAR WARS.
                        For those who are interested, when we were
                        making 2 movies with Miramax, we were thinking
                        of calling them THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING and
                        THE WAR OF THE RING.
                        I imagine the films will have an approx 6 hour
                        running time.
                        20. What gets you shaking like a kid on
                        Christmas Morning on this project? In
                        otherwords, when you look at the films, what are
                        you dying to capture on film, and how will you
                        do it?
                        These types of intangible questions are the
                        toughest. I guess I'm lucky to have only one!
                        I want to take movie-goers into Middle-earth, in
                        a way that is believable and powerful.
                        Imagine this: 7000 years has gone by. We take a
                        filmcrew to Helm's Deep ... it's now looking a
                        little older, but still impresses as a mighty
                        fortress. The Art Dept set to work, patching up
                        holes and removing tourist signs. The current
                        owner strikes a hard bargain, but New Line money
                        finally gets us permission to film there for 6
                        weeks. Rohan heraldry is studied and faithfully
                        reproduced. Theoden's original saddle is in a
                        museum - far too valuable to use in the movie,
                        but an exact copy is made. Archeological
                        expeditions have unearthed an incredibly
                        preserved mummified Uruk-hai carcass. We make
                        exact prothestic copies of these viscous killers
                        ... use CG to give us a 10,000 strong army. We
                        have cast actors who look like Aragorn and
                        Theoden. In an amazing casting coup, Legolas has
                        agreed to return from Valinor with Gimli to
                        recreate their part in this cinematic retelling
                        of the events at the end of the Third Age. They
                        stand on the battlements of the Deeping Wall,
                        wind blowing in their hair, leading a group of
                        extras proudly portraying the brave garrison of
                        Rohan soldiers ... Uruk drums roll up the valley
                        ... huge lighting rigs flash simulated
                        lightening ... rain towers send gallons of water
                        into the air ... on an assistant director's
                        signal, twenty 35mm cameras start rolling
                        simultaneously ... the battle of Helm's Deep is
                        about to be captured on film.
                        Sure, it's not really THE LORD OF THE RINGS ...
                        but it could still be a pretty damn cool movie.
                        Cheers, Peter J