Published at: May 14, 2000, 6:45 a.m. CST by staff
Many site are reporting a story from The Daily Express that claims to have talked with Ethan Hawke a mere 48 hours after returning from a long ass flight from New Zealand where he allegedly had just wrapped up discussion to play a part in RETURN OF THE KING. Well, quite some time ago I had a chance to talk to Ethan Hawke about Faramir and performing in LORD OF THE RINGS, he seemed fairly up to do it, saying that he was looking forward to it. But in no NEW LINE Press Releases or notes in VARIETY or HOLLYWOOD REPORTER ever followed up on this. So in the article when it began talking about how Peter Jackson was going crazy "like talking to Coppola on APOCALYPSE NOW" and how the film was behind schedule and was over budget.... Well, that didn't seem to jibe with what I know, but being concerned I contacted folks in New Zealand and over at New Line.
Shooting will wrap as planned Christmas 2000. Ethan Hawke is not cast in any chapter of LORD OF THE RINGS, and has not been down in New Zealand meeting with Peter Jackson. As for the budget stuff, everything seems quite within reality. Of course on a film like this, you could always use extra dinero to make it go... just that much further. But NEW LINE is very much on top of it and isn't going to penny pinch the production. Thanks to the interest in the LOTR online Trailer debut.... they have a very positive attitude towards production, plus with the footage they are getting back, they've been very happy.
As a matter of fact there was a top secret screening of 35 minutes of footage from the production screened at CANNES yesterday, and we are very much looking for folks that might have seen that footage. ARE YOU OUT THERE? Are you capable of speech or operating of a keyboard after seeing it? Write in and let's hear it!
