As portrayed by Andy Serkis, Gollum was a major step forward in the art of both visual effects created within the computer and performance capture acting, which dominated the next twenty years. This evil ring warped his mind, twisted his thinking, and defiled him as a living creature, altering his appearance into something ugly. And the advancement of computer-generated images and performance? Astonishing throughout but especially in the creation of the evil, treacherous creature Gollum, once a Hobbit, but corrupted and warped by the power of the ring he once held as his own. In a single screening, the films became legends. The soaring, twisting cinematography was majestic, the production design and costumes swept us into Middle Earth easily, the score was astonishing, the visual effects, make-up and sound perfection, and the performances immediately iconic. Watching the film for the first time I was struck by the love and care that went into making the movies. The stunning performances of the actors took the film beyond the realm of mere fantasy, as we emerged from that first film genuinely caring for them, deeply concerned with what would happen in the subsequent movies. ![]() His thinking was spot on, we do not notice the absence at all. He decided to merge Bombadill’s character and actions with other characters in the book, making the entire narrative more streamlined and effective. If there was any real criticism with the film it was the absence of Tom Bombadill, a major character in the books which Jackson explained easily. The balance of the cast was chosen from around the world and many of the actors would emerge as stars. Sean Astin was chosen as Sam, the best friend of Frodo, who would be played by Elijah Wood. For the plum role of Aragorn, the rightful King, Jackson was forced to replace Stuart Townsend with American actor Viggo Mortensen, which turned out to be genius and fortunate for both the film and Mortensen. Jackson took risks with some of his casting choosing actors who were not all that well known and mixing them up with brilliant actors such as Ian McKellen as the wizard Gandalf, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, and Liv Tyler as Arwen, an elf in love with a human. Merging fantasy with adventure and a sweeping narrative arc, the films were lavish productions, with startling cinematography, wildly imaginative production designs and costumes, dazzling visual effects, a magnificent regal score and perhaps the biggest surprise of all, superb performances that drew the audience into the story effortlessly. The countdown to the release of the film began and by the time it opened to rabid fans, it was a pop culture event. Suddenly New Line looked like the smartest people in the business. The footage screamed BLOCKBUSTER! And the fact that there were three films, each a year apart, meant potentially billions at the box office. Audiences, critics and industry folk lost their collective minds. He first permitted footage to be seen at the Cannes Film Festival 2001, where he screened about 15 minutes of the first film. Treated well by Bob Shaye, Jackson was left alone to make the films in New Zealand, using a cast of international actors, some well known, some not. He moved the entire project to New Line, making it one of the greatest blunders of Weinstein’s career. Turned down by all the major studios, he found himself at New Line where Bob Shaye watched the presentations, the cgi effects and then wondered aloud with marketing genius and vision, “Are there not three books? Why not make all three films releasing one a year? It offers built-in marketing value.” But Miramax chairman Harvey Weinstein got cold feet and withdrew funding, giving Jackson near impossible odds to take the series elsewhere. Tolkien, was now transposed to the big screen.įor years talk of a movie version had swept through Hollywood and it very nearly happened at Miramax, where two films were going to be created based on the books. ![]() Middle earth, borne in the imagination of author J.R.R. 31 Academy Award nominations, 17 Academy Awards and a New York Film Critics Award had been awarded by the time the final chapter ‘The Return of the King’ (2003) was launched. New Zealand director Peter Jackson maintained that awe and wonder for the course of the three years. Has it truly been more than two decades since the first chapter of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ first thundered across the screen? ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ (2001) was easily the greatest fantasy film of its generation.
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