Elijah Wood Interviews
Deutsch:
Elijah über die Dreharbeiten zu" Der Herr der Ringe"
14 Stunden haben wir gedreht, meist sechs Tage die Woche. Nach anderthalb Jahren waren wir ziemlich am Ende. Aber wenn alle, ohne zu jammern, mitziehen, will man ja nicht das einzige Weichei sein. Praktisch haben wir in Mittelerde gelebt. Die meisten Sets waren nicht im Studio nachgebaut, sondern echt. Das Dorf der Hobbits hatte man schon ein Jahr zuvor in die Landschaft gebaut, Gärten angelegt und Korn angepflanzt.
Wir vier Hobbits liefen am Set nur unter dem Spitznamen Beatles: tolle Haarschnitte, verrückte Typen. Manchmal hat uns mittags der Helikopter abgeholt und für einen Nachmittagsdreh an einen anderen Set geflogen. Hunderte Meilen weit weg und für eine Szene aus einem ganz anderen Teil der Trilogie. Da saßen wir also am Ende der Welt und entfernten uns immer weiter vom richtigen Leben.
Englisch:
"My name is Elijah Wood and I'm Frodo Baggins." 
Q: What's it like in New Zealand?
EW: I'll tell you what it's like in New Zealand. New Zealand is gorgeous. It's so beautiful and with this project, we've been able to travel around and we're going to continue to travel to various locations and many places that people don't normally get to see, so that's been really great.
Q: How do you think the landscape of New Zealand compares to Middle-earth?
EW: That’s actually the first thing I thought when Peter showed me all the pictures and things of the locations… this is Middle-earth. I mean it has every sort of geographical, geological formation, landscape, it's got everything, you know. So, it's absolutely perfect for New Zealand.
Q: What is it like physically, going by helicopter to locations, etc.? Have you done this before?
EW: There's so many elements to what we do everyday. We fly to locations in helicopters, to the tops of mountains and to remote locations. It's overwhelming, but absolutely brilliant. It's such an adventure. It actually feels in some ways like the adventure that's taking place in the film, because we're working hard and we're going everywhere and there's just all of these magical, magical elements to what we're doing. It's really, really incredible and it's an experience of a lifetime. I'll never have another experience like this. It's truly wonderful.
Q: What was your first meeting like with Peter Jackson?
EW: I met Peter after he had seen my audition tape. I auditioned prior to meeting him and I was so set on meeting him, initially, because I really wanted to just talk to him and sit down. I read first and then he came to Los Angeles and I got to read for him again, for him personally, and I met Fran and Peter and that was just incredible. I had been waiting for that for a while. I mean, I'm a fan of his work. Heavenly Creatures is one of my favorite films.
So I was thrilled in a geeky sort of way, you know. And it was just wonderful. I found him to be really sweet and lovely, both of them. And talking to him about the movie was just wonderful. I mean, he's so, so passionate about the project and he's been working on it for almost three years now. So, really, it's kind of in his blood, you know. And I remember the moment I met him. After I read for him, he actually showed me a lot of the drawings and sketches and pictures of locations to kind of give me an idea of what the vision of the film was and where he was going with it.
But one of the things that I really loved about his ideas for the film was that he really wanted to make the movie realistic because it is a fantasy film and fantasy books. But the thing about these books and what we're doing with the movie is that they are so real that you believe that Frodo existed. You believe that Gandalf existed. There's a certain quality in some fantasy novels that you don't feel as if they really existed. They feel too far away. And one thing he really wanted to covey with this film is the realism.
The Hobbits were to be slightly dirty and the sets and the atmosphere to be lived in and to be realistic and aged, so it didn't have that weird, sort of cheesy fantasy look to it and that was just music to my ears, because that's what I wanted it to be as well. It's just wonderful. The guy is so excited and he never loses energy. And he seems to have this endless energy, you know, constantly has ideas and is thinking and moving forward. It is inspiring.
Q: How does this project, when you know you're going to be on the film for eighteen months, feel differently than other projects you've worked on?
EW: I think that on every film that I've worked on, as a rule the people that you work with become a bit of a second family because you tend to work together for an average of about three, four months, and so you have that family atmosphere. This makes me look at everything else that I've done and realize that because this is a year of my life and a year spent with these people, they will become even more of a second family to me.
It really etches in stone that a lot of these people will end up becoming lifelong friends. And the thing that I realize now is that when the movie is over, it's going to be the most impossible thing to leave because I will have spent so much time with it. And that's when it hit me, on New Years. Usually at New Years, you think, well, what am I going to do this year. I've got so much on my plate and so many things can happen and the only thing that was in my head was, well, I'm doing The Lord Of The Rings, that's all year and that's amazing.
It's really incredible. Three movies at one time over the span of a year. I'm living in New Zealand for a year. It's absolutely overwhelming, but I couldn't ask for a better crew, better cast and the cast I'm working with is just amazing! I'm so blessed and lucky to be a part of this project and to be playing Frodo. It is just the most wonderful, brilliant role and he ends up being a hero, so you can't beat that.
Interview II
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Dec, 2001 Elijah Wood: The Hobbit Who's About To Become A Hollywood Habit.(Brief Article)(Interview)Author/s: Steve Zahn ELIJAH WOOD: Steve! What's up? STEVE ZAHN: What's up, man? EW: It's been way too long. When was the last time I talked to you? It's been over a year. SZ: How long were you overseas in New Zealand shooting your new movie, The Lord of the Rings [: The Fellowship of the Ring)? Are you still an American? EW: [laughs] I was over there for a year-and-a-half. I left in the summer of '99 and I got back in December of 2000. SZ: Damn. Your voice has dropped two octaves. Are you like 6'S" now? EW: [laughs] No, I wish. I only grew an inch. And you've got a kid now! How old is your son? SZ: He's 18 months. He's awesome. So where are you right now? EW: I'm at home in California. Actually, I just left New York yesterday. I was there for four days. SZ: Did you go downtown and have a look at Ground Zero? EW: I did. It definitely puts things into perspective. The mood in New York is incredible--the unity of the people, it's astounding. SZ: It's so true. EW: I think it's the most important thing to come out of what's happened. You know, it's crazy: I actually flew out of New York that same Tuesday morning. My plane took off at about 8:45, which was pretty much the time everything happened. Someone on board said they actually saw smoke coming out of one of the buildings. SZ: Oh, my God. Well, it's good you're home safe and all that. So, have you been chilling out or have you been working since you wrapped Lord of the Rings? EW: Chilling out, mostly. Though I went to New York for about two weeks in the springtime to do an Ed Burns movie called Ash Wednesday. SZ: He's a pretty cool guy, isn't he? EW: He's great. And I've got a lot of respect for his method of filmmaking. It's all about no frills and a little crew getting together and working at a fast pace. It's fantastic. SZ: That's the way. I love that. Was it shot in 35 [mm] or on digital video? EW: It was 35. SZ: I did one of those digital things with Ethan Hawke directing. It's called Chelsea Walls, and it comes out this spring. We did a 15-day shoot. It was unreal. EW: I bet. It's all about acting and the simplicity of the film and yet, within that process, nothing is compromised. It shows you can make a great movie for little to no money. SZ: Which must have been weird for you coming from playing the lead in Lord of the Rings. You look at big, high-tech movies and, for the most part, they lose the human quality. The characters aren't developed. Obviously there are plenty of independent movies with characters that suck, too, but that's beside the point. So tell me: What's the story with Lord of the Rings? EW: It's been built up as something of a blockbuster, but it's a human story more than it is a special effects movie. It's steeped in literature and Tolkien's books have been around for almost 50 years. There are characters, like mine, Frodo, whose struggles are told throughout the story. So if it can be a compelling, character-driven story, and entertaining on a visual level, then I think it'll be great. |
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SZ: The cool thing about Lord of the Rings is that it's this classic story. I mean, who didn't read those books? Everybody had a vision of those characters, and their incredible, fanciful land. But that must have made doing the movie hard, too. EW: Yeah, that made it a real challenge. I think one of my initial fears was trying to live up to people's interpretation of my character. Every time you read a book it's your own journey, and millions of people have read these books, so I had that pressure on me. "Is my Frodo going to live up to people's expectations?" SZ: I can't think of anybody more perfect to play him, though. EW: Oh, thanks. SZ: You must've gotten tight with so many people over there in New Zealand. EW: That was one of the by-products of the experience. I made some of the best friends of my life. Think of it this way--you and me, our experience together on Chain of Fools, working on that for three months, we became incredible friends. Compare that with a year and a half on Lord of the Rings; I mean, the bonding was incredible. SZ: I bet. And you had a really good bunch of people on that set. EW: Oh, my God. Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee...It was a dream come true. SZ: But tell me, you had some freak-outs putting on the makeup, didn't you? [Wood laughs) How long were you in the chair? EW: I had prosthetic feet, and to get those on took about an hour-and-a-half. And then to put the wig and the ears on, it was about an hour. So all in all, the makeup took two, two-and-a-half hours. SZ: And what were your call times? EW: On average, about five in the morning. SZ: Wow. You know how guitar players are so cautious with their guitars, and treat them like a part of their body? EW: Yeah. SZ: Were you like that with your feet? EW: [laughs] No way. I so badly wanted to get out of wearing the feet, because it would mean an extra hour of sleep. I would always go up to the first assistant director and say, "Are you sure you're going to need me in the feet tomorrow?" And he'd say, "Well, Pete [Jackson, the film's director] doesn't know, but I think so." And I'm like, You're not going to see them [in the shot]." And, of course, I'd be right. SZ: [laughs] Tell me a little bit about Peter Jackson--is he a cool director? EW: He's incredible. He's done some really cool films like Heavenly Creatures [1994] and The Frighteners [1996]. Have you seen any of his work? SZ: I don't get out. I live on a farm. I watch Elmo with my kid. EW: I've got to come up to the farm one of these days. You know, Steve, it's so good to talk to you. I can't tell you how much I've missed you. And I feel really bad for not getting back in contact. I'm terrible with that. SZ: Don't. That's the great thing about our business: The relationships you build, they're always there. If you don't call someone for six months it's still cool, you just pick up where you left off. That kind of gypsy life is awesome. EW: It's one of the most incredible things about doing what we do. I'm glad that we could do this. And I'm glad everything's going well with you. |
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SZ: Yeah, likewise. EW: All right. You take care. |
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