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Peter Jackson's Second Interview on the
Lord of the Rings movie -- Second Part
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/lordoftherings2.html
Sunday, August 30, 1998
To the first part!
11. Once again I’m being deluged with questions about scoring, but I
don’t want to waste a question with it, because that’s a decision you’ll
probably make in a couple of years, but if you have any thoughts comment on em,
otherwise get on to question eleven which is really from Underdog:
“Peter, first I want to thank you for being human enough to get down in the
mud and play with us. I’m curious. From what I have read, you started off 4
months ago with two scripts based on a 3 book series. You said that they were
titled “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The War of the Ring”. You also
said that you were going to basically add 30 pages to the total page length of
the scripts when converting from 2 to 3 scripts. What I’m curious about is the
breaks. Obviously when you had it structured as a 2 film story, you felt like
you had a great breaking point. How was it originally going to be broken down,
and how has that changed?"
PJ: The first film in the 2 film version climaxed with the
battle of Helm's Deep.
"Is it now going to be broken up as they were in the books? What was the
most daunting task in turning the 2 scripts into 3?”
PJ: Yes. it's pretty much following the books now, which is
actually a good thing. Ever since we starting working on the trilogy, it has
felt like a much more natural way to tell the story. We also can include most of
the key characters and events in a way that just wasn't possible with the two
films.
The most daunting thing is to shape an ending for "The Fellowship of the
Ring". Our original Part One had the advantage of a victorious battle to
end with, but The Fellowship obviously ends in a very "up in the air"
kinda way. We are not changing anything in the book, but we are trying to pitch
it in a positive way, so it doesn't feel like too much of a bummer. A lot of
this has to do with Frodo's character, and the way we are developing him.
Apart from that, nothing else is daunting about going from 2 films to 3 -
it's a wonderful thing!
12. Ok, here we have a fella that’s willing to let you not show EVERY
character mentioned in the three books, but.... Well Greg, wants to know...
“You've hinted that the first film may move quickly to the Council of
Elrond, showing very little of the hobbit adventures in reaching
Rivendell..which would be fine with me.”
PJ: There's more than you think. The actual council doesn't
start until page 72.
“as a fan of the books, I think I’d prefer the approach, where possible,
of moving a favorite character or scene or relationship "off screen"
rather than watering it down or creating composite characters. In other words,
maybe your film doesn't show me Prince Imrahil...but don't tell me there IS NO
Prince Imrahil.”
PJ: I agree with that. The same goes for Bombadil ... when
the hobbits arrive at Bree without us seeing the Bombadil episode, it doesn't
mean it didn't happen ... it just wasn't shown in the film. You are certainly
welcome to imagine that they have had that experience, and we do nothing to
prevent that.
“As you've whittled away at the characters and storylines to complete your
script, were there any characters or storylines set aside whole, to an extent
that they might themselves serve as a framework for sequel/prequel/parralelquels
for yourself or another film maker if these 3 films prove to be a wild
success.”
PJ: Not really. The key events and characters are all there
- at least in my
mind. Of course the depth of Middle-earth is so great that there are many
imaginative ways to create sequels (beyond the obvious Hobbit prequel).
One idea I've got (if the trilogy is successful) would be to gather the cast
together again and shoot another couple of hours worth of scenes to flesh out
The Lord of the Rings as a more complete "Special Edition". In other
words, we would write and shoot the Tom Bombadil stuff, or scenes involving
Gandalf and Aragorn hunting Gollum, and his capture by Orcs ... and any number
of other bits of business that we can't fit into the 6 hour version. That would
be a really cool way of creating a "sequel" - expanding the existing
The Lord of the Rings from 6 to 8 or 9 hours! It would be the first time that
has ever been done (except for CE3K perhaps).
Anyway - one step at a time!
“for an example..Frodo's adventure reaching Rivendell, Bilbo's HOBBIT story
of course, and Aragorn's adventures in his youth.”
PJ: New Line will definitely make The Hobbit if LotR is a
success.
13. Amongst all the cries and whimpers and screams about Lord of the Rings,
there was a single brave soul that was curious about... Another film.
WHAT? HOW DARE HE!!!
Well, shucks, just to show the voice and question of a single type matters...
well, here ya go Yakkel:
“What's happening with King Kong?”
PJ: Universal sees KING KONG as a valuable future franchise to feed into
their theme parks, etc, so I'm sure at some point they will remake King Kong.
My involvement? That's entirely up to Universal. If they asked me to jump
back onto Kong after The Lord of the Rings, I would say "yes!" in a
nanosecond. It's my favourite movie, and I liked the direction we were taking
our script. WETA have great designs and CG tests that Universal have never even
seen. Whether Universal will ask is the big unknown. Did Godzilla or Mighty Joe
Young do the type of business to inspire a Kong remake? Maybe ...just. I think
it's a safe bet that they will wait and see how The Lord of the Rings turns out
before talking to me about Kong. That's the way the system works.
I'd love to do it ... let's wait and see.
14. Ahhhhh, the sweet locations of New Zealand. So Peter, where on those
beautiful isles of yours will you be shooting? And if someone were to fly down
there... how different will the locations be that their eyes would see in
reality from the filmed versions? Will you use exclusively digital matte
paintings, or will there be any... real Albert Whitlock style matte paintings?
PJ: We are slowly nailing down our locations ... a process that will stretch
on for a few more months. We will have some matte paintings, but they will be
used for subtle enhancements, rather than creating an entire landscape. We have
such great real locations, we don't need to struggle too much to create
Middle-earth.
One interesting approach we are exploring is to digitise the ENTIRE movie
into the computer - every frame - which would allow us to "fiddle"
with all of our shots in some way or another. This would have great impact on
the landscapes, since we could change cloud formations, add sunsets, or forests,
or waterfalls wherever we wanted. It would help enormously to make all those
exterior scenes a little more magical. It has never been done before on the live
action film, and would require a huge data storage system. We are currently
exploring the options.
“Have you settled on sites for principal photography yet? If so, can you
reveal what they might be? This may be of interest mostly to Kiwis or (like me)
those who have visited or lived in Godzone, but it might also give us an idea of
the kind of scenery and look to expect from LOTR. “
PJ: We have a few key locations nailed down. I'm not going to be specific
because I don't want to see photographs appearing on the net! It's no secret
that we will be using elements of the region known as the "Volcanic
Plateau" for Mordor. We have found a great Hobbiton location ... somewhere
in the North Island. We've got a great Weathertop in the Waikato ... a gorgeous
Edoras location in Canterbury. It's looking good ... no cause for panic!
15. Here is an essay question about loyal book readers, vs the heathens that
have never read the books, this one from Steve in Pheonix, Arizona....
“Question for Peter Jackson: Is this movie going to be good? No just
kidding, I have an actual question, but it comes with a bit of background, so
here goes... I was first introduced to these wonderful books when I was in 4th
grade. (I am 28 now) I loved being able to envision all of the awesome places
and people that this story creates. When I first heard about these movies being
made, I was both ecstatic, and worried, as I would assume are many fans of TLOTR.
Do you think that these movies will be able to pull in non fans of the written
word? I mean these are great books, but I am unsure of their potential for the
big screen. There are times (blasphemy I know) when the books tend to drag
somewhat. Are you afraid of alienating hard-core fans at the expense of trying
to make these films more accessible to the non-literary fans? I realize that
this is probably the "real trick" in making these movies, but I am
curious as to how you are planning on pulling it off. I know the logical answer
is "Wait and see," but I figured if we had this opportunity for
questions, I may as well ask the one that seems most pertinent. Sorry for the
essay. I can get a bit wordy at times.... Thank you and good luck. Here is at
least 2 tickets you can count as being sold. ( I will be taking my young son,
who I hope to introduce to the wonderful world of Middle Earth)”
PJ: It's a good question and the answer really boils down
to the tricky tightrope I have to walk. I need to balance the expectations of
the book's fans with making a movie for people that have never read the book. I
have responsibility to both and I don't think it's quite as hard as you might
imagine. We simply don't have time to include everything ... which helps with
your pace concerns. The bottom line is that the characters and storylines are so
wonderful that it should amaze, surprise and delight people that have never read
the books.
Harper Collins told me that they usually sell about 100 copies of The Lord of
the Rings in New Zealand per month ... since the trilogy was announced, sales
have risen to 1000 copies per month! At the end of the day, a half-decent movie
has got to inspire many new readers. It can't do anything else.
16. I really like this question from Brooke, so here ya go PJ:
“Lord of the Rings is a hugely complicated, sophisticated story. Even in
three parts, there's no way that every detail could appear. I imagine that
Jackson will follow some of the themes of the trilogy more strongly than others.
Well, what are the most important themes to him? When all is said and done, and
we can finally see all three films back-to-back (assuming we're all still
*alive* then), what does he want us to come away with (other than awe at the
effects and such, which is inevitable)? What *meaning* will he give the films,
and what themes will he emphasize to do so?”
PJ: Getting to the end of this alive is something that concerns me too!
I'm interested in themes about friendship and self-sacrifice. That Hobbits
would go into hell with little chance of survival is touching, especially since
their sacrifice actually paves the way for the ascent of Mankind. The fact that
The Lord of the Rings actually tells the story of how Humans became the dominant
species on Earth (over Hobbits, Dwarves, Orcs, etc) is an interesting angle that
is easily overlooked.
Questions about Mortality vs Immortality, seen through Aragorn and Arwen's
eyes is intriguing. We are also making use of Tolkien's favourite Nature vs
Machine themes.
“PS -- one quick question, not worth wasting one of your real ones on: Do
people call him "PJ"? Somehow, it's hard to imagine.”
PJ: I don't get called PJ in conversation very often, but it is always used
for written shorthand ... "PJ to attend design meeting at 3pm".
17. I’m pretty sure I know the answer to this question, but I know a lot of
people that are voicing it. It’s a genuine fear that many readers of this site
have given the onslaught of stupidity by Warner Brothers execs and Universal’s
marketing department and... well you all know the guilty.
PJ: The guilty at Universal no longer work there!
Here’s the fear as voiced by Trevor...
“PJ, are you absolutely certain that New Line is going to back your vision
all the way to the end?"
PJ: No ... I'm sure there will be disagreements. There
always is.
"Do you have it in black and white on a contract that the editors aren't
going to have a heyday with your film and make some butchered Bakshi-like piece
of shit that has a total running time of a little under 3 hours?"
PJ: No, I don't have that in my contract, but ultimately contracts are
worthless. New Line is spending so much money that it will do what it feels it
needs to do to protect it's investment ... contract or no contract.
I have a feeling New Line would be making a big mistake by doing that, but
never underestimate the stupidity of the head up the ass execs that exist in the
entertainment industry. Just remember to stand firm on what you know will be
good and tell the naysayers to go to hell.”
PJ: So much of this business is about trust. New Line are
trusting us to make this book into an expensive trilogy of films ... and we are
trusting New Line not to deluge us with bad ideas. The trust factor in this
relationship feels pretty good. Remember that it was Bob Shaye's idea to make a
trilogy - we didn't promote that. The two New Line guys working closely with us
are Mike De Luca and Mark Ordesky - both are huge fans of the book. We were at a
story meeting when Mark starting quoting passages from the book verbatim. Fran's
jaw dropped open in amazement! And I was at a party when Mark's mother told me
how he used to draw Middle-earth maps and make models when he was a kid. De Luca
and Ordesky are the closest thing you get to genuine geeks in the studio system
... they simply want what all of us do - to see a great Lord of the Rings
trilogy made. There is no other agenda.
Sure, they'll be disagreements ... we will probably yell at each other before
this is over, because there's a lot at stake ... but I truly believe that New
Line has it's heart in the right place.
18. Alright, Peter has already stated that Sam and Frodo will not be gay
lovers, and Sam won’t be a woman,but some people still fear the ever-present
platonic love these characters shared as best of friends. Here’s the question
from John...
“How do you plan to handle the relationship between Frodo and Samwise? It
seems to me that filming Sam's attitude toward Frodo exactly as in the books
would be fairly risky, at least for the U.S. audience. For example, times that
Sam holds a weakened Frodo in his arms, stroking his hand and saying how he
loves him, is likely to get more public exposure from intolerant folks than you
really want.”
PJ: We don't have the hand-stroking stuff, but the
relationship is very close to how it is in the book. It's a story of great
friendship ... nothing to be embarrassed about.
19. I’ve had tons of people ask about the look of the films, the
cinematographer, the style, the feel, etc. But what concerns me is this. You say
there will be 5 separate units filming all at the same time for months on end in
and around New Zealand. Have you chosen a DP (director of photography) and how
would he and you really over see all of that filming?
PJ: We haven't chosen a DP yet, but we are looking at very
high tech telecommunication systems. The different units will have direct access
to me via high definition live satellite feeds. I can talk to crew ... direct
actors ... look at camera angles and check takes as if I was actually physically
there. It shouldn't be a problem.
"How do you keep this from looking TV mini-series-ish? If you haven’t
chosen a DP, who are you looking at? I presume every frame is being planned
before you ever set out with your 50 Panavision cameras."
PJ: If we digitise the entire film as I mentioned earlier, then a lot of the
"look" of the movies can be created in post-production, with lighting
and mood adjustments being made on an Inferno suite. It doesn't minimise the
work of a DP, but provides an extra tool to give the films a very special look.
I'm talking subtle here ... nothing that detracts from the reality feel that I
want to create.
20. Alright, here we are at the last question. This will be an easy one
Peter. It’s been 4 months since our last chat. What has happened in regards to
THE LORD OF THE RINGS in the last 4 months? Still on schedule, what is that
schedule?
PJ: Things have progressed very smoothly ... the calmest, most controlled
period in the 22 months that I have been working on the project. New Line have
been very supportive and receptive to our ideas. They love our designs and were
pleased with the first draft of The Fellowship that we delivered.
WETA Workshop are continuing to pump out great designs and huge piles of
weapons and armour. WETA Digital are producing tests that are very exciting. We
saw some stuff just before Christmas that got everybody worked up!
Alan Lee and John Howe are continuing to produce what I think is their most
inspired work. They have now been on the project for a full year and return in a
couple of weeks.
We are talking with New Line about extending our prep and design phase to
enable us to fully work up the scripts, designs and storyboards. We did talk
about shooting in May, but I feel that we would not be fully prepared. I am
determined to keep this project under control in a way that rarely happens with
big budget FX films. It is all about being prepared, and once we start rolling
we are making 3 huge movies in a row. We have to be SO prepared! I would like to
have until August or September to fully finish my storyboards and animatics. New
Line are thinking about that. Contractually, we have to be filming by October,
so don't worry - by this time next year The Fellowship of the Ring at least will
be in the can!
I'm off to get some sleep ... I've enjoyed these questions and I hope my
answers have been useful. If there's anything you want to tell me, fire away - I
will read all of the comments following this.
Let's do it again!
Cheers,
Peter J
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