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An Interview With Director
Elijah Wood
 When
did you finish shooting and how did you feel?
Elijah: Oh, God.
I mean, you know, you can imagine the emotion tied into the last
sort of bit of filming. That's the last, 'cause a lot of people
are asking it now, if at this very moment with the last film,
and the last tour and the fact that we're all together again and
we're releasing it finally, if we're going through the emotion
now. But I think we really went through the sort of end of the
experience with the pick-ups of the last film, because that's
when we really had to say goodbye to the experience of the character,
to the crew, to the trailer, to the whole all-encompassing experience
of working on these movies.
Was it in July?
Elijah: That
was in June. Different actors were sort of spanned out over a
period of time but, God, it was, it's difficult to actually articulate
how we felt. I mean, me personally, I couldn't really come to
terms with it. I couldn't believe it after four years, that it
was all coming to an end. My last day, I was completely drained.
I had knots in my stomach all day, and it came time to do my last
shot, and Peter, the last shot was actually very, it was too perfect.
Actually, because the last shot was one of the last scenes in
the movie, where Frodo is in Bag-End before he goes to the gray
haven. So there's a shot where he's writing the last bit of the
book and Sam comes and says, 'It's all over,' and Frodo says 'No,
there's room for a little more,' and it had this whole meaning
tied into it. That's the last shot! Hearing me say the line knowing
it's my last shot and also the symbolism of the scene and I'm
like, 'oh fuckin' hell!' And everybody came on to see it, and
I remember we did five or six takes, I don't know how many we
did, and they checked the gate, and Peter came over to me and
broke down, like gave me a hug and broke down on my shoulder.
It was so, so sad--everybody was crying.
Were you a fellowship?
Elijah: Well,
I mean it's, you shoot a film for an average of three to four
months normally, when you shoot a movie. This was shot over sixteen
months, all three of them in New Zealand and consequently every
year since we've gone back. So the bonds made were much more profound
than I've ever felt in my life. We all knew at the end of it that
we'd made lifelong bonds, that we may or may not be together all
the time, it may be a year before I see these people again, but
I know that when I do see them, it will be like no time has passed.
There is a special significance and a certain air of profundity
to the relationships and to ending a journey such as this because
it is so unlike anything we've ever experienced, that we were
so close making it. So that last day, and that last sort of couple
of weeks was very difficult for all of us. And they gave us each
a farewell after our last day, so every actor had a farewell party
where Peter would give a speech to the crew, the whole crew, which
was fuckin' amazing, and so emotional. The whole crew would stand
around and each actor was given the last clapper for the last
take of the last shot they were in, and they were given gifts
like each was given their signature weapons. I was given sting
and the last pair of feet that I wore, and I bet they smell like
shit now. I haven't opened the box in quite some time.
Where is sting?
Elijah: Sting,
I've not actually been properly given it yet. It may still be
in New Zealand. They have yet to ship it out to me. And then each
actor is then given an opportunity to give a speech and I just,
I was so overwhelmed and so many of the other actors had articulated
their feelings so beautifully. Dom [Monaghan] and myself and Andy
[Serkis] actually wrapped on the same day and Dom gave his speech
before mine and he said some beautiful things and it came to me
and I was just like, I don't know what to say to you guys! My
heart was just so filled with emotion, but it was amazing. I think
I've given a long answer to something that I should have answered
very simply.
 Do
you get lost in the movie when you see it?
Elijah: Oh yeah.
I think there's a subconscious remembrance of all of those things,
you know, in terms of the filming, but when you see the movie
you kind of forget about all of that. You kind of let go. The
beauty of the way that the movies transpire, the way that they
sort of play out, is that it's such a massive movie-each one in
its scope, and my character is only one amongst a massive group
of other actors so my journey is a small part or one part of three
or four journeys. So in seeing it there's a lot of material that
I'm so unfamiliar with because I was so focused on my journey,
so in some ways it's like watching a movie, two thirds of it that
I'm not even a part of.
Can you describe your
sense of completion?
Elijah: I don't
know if I did feel the sense of completion, there yet mainly because
there's so much left to be done in terms of the promotion and
I was so exhausted and slightly ill.
Is it difficult to
get perspective?
Elijah: Yeah,
it really is, actually.
Sense of the history
the films are making?
Elijah: The fact
that it will live on, certainly…the fact that it has broken
a lot of ground, the fact that it has somehow managed to eek itself
into pop culture immediately, which is unbelievable. You know,
there's already political cartoons using characters from the movie--I
mean that's, oh, it's amazing. I've been affected by the effect
that it's had. In terms of where it will go in the next ten or
twenty years, one can only kind of guess and assume, but it is,
it's wild. It's kind of amazing to be a part of something that
has become so massive.
How did you keep up
your intensity level and are there any funny behind-the-scenes
stuff?
Elijah: There's
a million things--there were constantly funny things happening
so to try and pick out one story actually would be kind of difficult.
But in terms of the intensity, all of it was shot out of sequence.
Sort of scenes were shot as a whole, but in terms of the end those
were all separate scenes separated so I mean they were shot over
different periods of time. The Gray Haven sequence was shot I
think midway through production. The same with the Mount Doom
sequence on the side of the mountain with Sam, and then there's
a lot of stuff that was inside the Crack of Doom that was shot
in a studio, and then on the rock outside was in a studio. I mean,
it's all kind of all over the place but in terms of that, those
moments, it was just about each time that we would approach that
particular scene it was just about keeping the intensity of what
was going on.
How have you changed
as an actor and the star power you’ve been elevated to?
Elijah: Clearly
being a part of something that is so massive and so huge and so
loved by millions of people on a world stage, you're suddenly
propelled. I'm more recognizable than I've ever been in my life,
which certainly makes it easier to continue doing what I do in
the sense that it opens doors professionally because more people
know who I am. In terms of what I've learned as an actor, I think
you learn through life as well, and I think Lord of the Rings
was a life experience as much as it was simply making a movie.
I think I learned a lot just simply about myself and I've grown
a lot as a human being. I mean, I grew up on that film. I was
eighteen when I went out there and I'm about to be 23, so I've
done a lot of growing personally and I think that life is what
really informs upon you as an actor more than anything. I mean,
I'm sure I've taken things away from the other actors that I've
worked with and was constantly inspired and constantly humbled
by the actors that I worked with in this movie. Ian McKellen,
Ian Holm, you know Viggo was constantly inspiring, it's difficult
to articulate specifically what I've learned, but I think through
every experience you've had in your life you take things from
it.
 Do
you think it’ll Peter Jackson’s year at the Oscars?
Elijah: Firstly,
I hope it is, in terms of the Oscar. For me, it would be a shame
if he wasn't acknowledged, be it the Oscars or any other awards
simply for the accomplishment he's made. It's pretty extraordinary
and no one has ever done anything quite like this before in cinema.
To simply adapt those books and make them into films in and of
itself is an incredibly difficult thing and an incredible accomplishment
in and of itself, but to have done it so well and having sort
of retold these stories in such a beautiful way is amazing. So
I do hope that he's acknowledged for his effort. It's certainly
unprecedented.
What was it like to
work with Peter?
Elijah: Just
constantly inspired by him, by his enthusiasm, by his ability
to have the sort of undying energy and undying passion and devotion
and focus along the way. I mean, he never really lost it. It was
a very, very difficult journey over the last four years and he's
remained a rock to constantly be relied on, and his work ethic
and the way that he works is so enjoyable and he's always finding
some end in comedy in kind of everything and that was always a
relief. He never took things too seriously and he's got a brilliant
sense of humor so he's always delightful to work around and work
with. The thing about him that's amazing is that he creates a
creative environment that is very collaborative with everyone,
and I've never felt more welcome to the full fabric of a film
in my life. And that was a great honor.
If you have any questions, or
comments, you can write me at jax@latinoreviw.com.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE RETURN OF THE KING OPENS DEC 17
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