Harry here... This one goes out to all you LORD OF THE RINGS lovers out there that just need a bit of extra affection and teasing... As you sit there and ache, just think 17 days to TWO TOWER footage in theaters.. 17 days..... 17 days.....
Hey Harry I love the site, keep up the great work. I just got back from seeing Costa Botes’ LotR documentary here in Norman, Oklahoma. Some time after noon today my father and I found ourselves in the parking lot of Oklahoma University. As my father got out of the car I could tell he had that feeling we all get when thinking about LotR. That little halo of geeky sixth sense. That ripple in the force that tells us that coolness is lurking about and waiting for us to find it. I sat waiting, hoping that he would get the tickets. TICKETSES WE MUST HAVE OUR TICKETSES PRRRRRECIOUS...
After a very long five minutes he returned with those beautiful little papers in hand. The LAST two. We drove around for the next couple of hours knowing that the gods had smiled on us. After some time had passed and our stomachs were full of rice and egg rolls, we hit the road and fought our way back through some rush hour traffic. We entered the building and found ourselves some second row seats right next to a suspicious looking microphone. Within 30 minutes the place was packed with eager people chatting excitedly. Then Costa Botes and this little announcer guy came in. The little announcer guy introduced Botes which garnered a lot of applause. He seemed a little nervous, I am guessing because this was the premiere of his documentary. He explained some of his goals and personal experiences with Peter Jackson and how we were his guinea pigs. "This is a work in progress" he said. "This might be the only time this footage will ever be seen". Awesome! He walked offstage and the lights dimmed.
The first shot we see is Gandalf slowly riding through a gorgeous green field against a strong wind. Suddenly his hat comes off and flies out behind him. A good beginning.
Many different segments stand out in my mind. Some very interesting examples of how the different races height ratios were filmed. From midgets with hobbit masks, to people in giant suits with workable hands, it was amazing how much attention was paid to just one effect. The result of this work was a visually flawless transition from character to character. It was just fantastic. There was also a long segment on the creation of the cave troll. Some motion capture, and PJ wearing a VR viewer and filming some of the scenes in a virtual environment. Someone who I assume was the lead special effects guy mentioned that he had at first thought having Legolas run up the chain on to the cave troll’s back was a "Stupid idea", But PJ just would not give up. I am glad he didn’t give in since it was a great example of elvish agility.
There was one part I hope to god they include in the final documentary. A hilarious scene between Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan where whenever one of them would leave, the other two would call him names. This went on for several minutes to great effect. One part featured an alternate version of the meeting of Arwen and Aragorn after weathertop in which they acted out the entire scene speaking elivsh. Some other sections showed some fantastic miniature work on Orthanc and Isengard, and a poor stuntman dressed as Gandalf who had to be flung into a wall repeatedly while filming the wizard duel. There were some great moments where we saw some Black Riders walking around with bright blue umbrellas in some early morning rain, and Christopher Lee reading the "One ring to rule them all" poem. You have not heard the power of those words until you have heard Christopher Lee recite them.
The documentary ended with PJ saying that making this movie is going to be the hardest thing he has ever done. The lights came back on and Costa walked out to a thunderous ovation. He answered some questions and then the little announcer guy invited us down to talk with him a little before he left. Naturally my father and I bolted as fast as possible to the stage where we shook his hand and then went on our way. His sweat is still dried on my hand... Cool. I can’t wait for his documentary to be released. Someone mentioned him having over 1500 hours of footage. That person may have been grossly misinformed, but he didn’t correct her so it is either true, or he ignored her ignorance. I feel very privileged to have seen this footage, and I hope that many others will as well.
Your friendly film geek: Mr. Quick
