B2MEM of the movie sort
While watching the FOTR and TTT EE last week, films, commentaries and extras, I got to thinking about the degree to which PJ allowed his actors to improvise, trusting that as the movie progressed, they would learn more about their characters. It was the actors' initiatives and assertions, after all, that made it possible for us to see Dom biting an apple nervously as he walked away from Gandalf's cart, or Orlando looking shocked in Dimrill Dale and sledding on a shield down the stairs of Helm's Deep.
But I also noticed David Wenham saying that after he read the book and noted the differences between book and movie Faramir, he made inquiries to Fran and Philippa as to why Faramir is written so out of character, so to speak. I don't think he mentioned whether he minded the way his character deviates from the book, or whether he made any suggestions as to how to salvage movie!Faramir's character without necessarily weakening the Denethor-Faramir issues which in the movie seem to underlie many of Faramir's decisions, but if he did, it didn't seem as though there was any alteration in movie!Faramir's character. Also, Miranda Otto mentioned a couple of times how she wished Eowyn would be portrayed as more willful and tomboyish, and how her suggestions to this effect were more or less turned down, and how she disliked the inclusion of the no-cook-am-I scene because it doesn't quite reflect her own idea of Eowyn.
I finally came to the conclusion that PJ tolerated, and perhaps even encouraged such additions to the characters' outward behavior and actions, as long as those improvisations stay within the scope delineated and required by the script. So Dom biting an apple is OK because it doesn't detract from Merry's additional role as part of the comic relief duo of the movie, and skaterboy!Legolas is OK because movie!Legolas is required to kick ass, and anything that might improve on this hero image is welcome. If Dom had insisted on the rather weighty dialog between Merry and Pippin in the Houses of Healing, for instance, or if Orli had pushed the issue of Legolas cracking jokes up on the snow-clad top of Caradhras, I'm sure PJ would instantly veto their suggestions.
Now what I'm wondering is, did Elijah ever ask why Fran and Philippa stripped movie!Frodo of some of the quiet strength of book!Frodo, why he seemed to be a lot more defenseless against the Ring's wiles there, why he seemed more pitiful than stoical in the movies? I'm sure Elijah read the book and he must have found that Frodo didn't fall over all that often, and that he fought extremely hard to defy the Ring; he didn't merely "take the Ring to Mordor," he restrained It, wrangled It, the way a lion-tamer curbs the violent nature of his charge, so that in a sense he kept the Ring from doing any harm to others, at his own expense if necessary. He was the Ring-bearer in more sense than one, because to bear the Ring also means enduring and confining Its malice.
I wonder if Elijah ever made a point of reminding the writers or PJ that Frodo wouldn't have succumbed to the Ring simply because the Nazguls were rending the sky with their fell-beasts, that Frodo wouldn't even dream of hurting Sam, let alone sending him home, no matter how strong the Ring had grown to be as It neared the place of Its birth. I am guilty of making my hobbits shed tears a little too easily in my fics, but movie!Frodo was a veritable fountain of saline, and I wonder if Elijah ever put it forward that book!Frodo didn't weep in Galadriel's presence or with Sam on the boat to the other side of the Anduin. Didn't he care about this? Somehow I think it isn't likely, knowing the pains he took to ensure he caught PJ's attention with his "audition tape." Or had he made these points and both the writers and PJ turned down his suggestions because they didn't conform with their idea of movie!Frodo? Did Elijah made a single improvisation to Fran and Philippa's version of Frodo, or was his character, due to its importance, was drawn a lot more rigidly than the others, leaving him with no room for experimentation? Or had he put an unquestioning trust on the writers and PJ's interpretation of Frodo, and did his role with uncomplaining professionalism?
Aside from these questions, watching the entire DVD once again made me noticed a few other things.
One, I find Christopher Lee's pronunciation of the names and places in Middle-earth singularly authentic. I like the way he said Car-a-dhras, and Bar-a-hir, rather than Care-a-dhras and Bear-a-hir, rolling all his r's perfectly, for instance when he said Minas Morgul. The same was true with Ian McKellen, who amazed me so much with the difference between his soft normal speaking voice with the powerful and commanding voice of Gandalf.
Billy did say that Elijah (and also Sean, I guess) rarely had any days off, and that explained why he took every opportunity to fall asleep on set (though late night carousing might add another explanation, I think), but it still made my heart ache to see him yawn (or try to stifle a yawn) on at least four different occasions throughout the entire extra material. Awww, the poor boy.
And lastly, many, many apologies to fans of Sean Astin, but a lot of times when I listened to the commentaries I found myself shouting "Oh, for heaven's sake, Astin, shut up already! Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! I want to hear Elijah speak, or Andy Serkis, or any of the other actors! And it's nice to know you appreciate ancient maps and murals and whatnot, and it's good to know you're very intelligent and you know a lot, but do you absolutely have to bring that up in the commentaries when I am much more interested in what PJ said to Elijah so that he looked that breakable on screen? And honestly, I don't need to hear you went on and on about PJ's superb directing (and bringing your dad into the picture, too); I can arrive at that conclusion on my own, thank you very much. And do you really have to keep interrupting each time Elijah says something? Do you really have to assert your own opinion about everything? Is it absolutely necessary for you to try quite so hard?" To be bluntly honest, I think Sean sounded wonderful as Sam, but when he speaks, his voice grates in my ears a bit, and I couldn't help but compare it to Karl Urban's, or David Wenham's deeper, but softer voices. *ducks flying pots and pans*
But I also noticed David Wenham saying that after he read the book and noted the differences between book and movie Faramir, he made inquiries to Fran and Philippa as to why Faramir is written so out of character, so to speak. I don't think he mentioned whether he minded the way his character deviates from the book, or whether he made any suggestions as to how to salvage movie!Faramir's character without necessarily weakening the Denethor-Faramir issues which in the movie seem to underlie many of Faramir's decisions, but if he did, it didn't seem as though there was any alteration in movie!Faramir's character. Also, Miranda Otto mentioned a couple of times how she wished Eowyn would be portrayed as more willful and tomboyish, and how her suggestions to this effect were more or less turned down, and how she disliked the inclusion of the no-cook-am-I scene because it doesn't quite reflect her own idea of Eowyn.
I finally came to the conclusion that PJ tolerated, and perhaps even encouraged such additions to the characters' outward behavior and actions, as long as those improvisations stay within the scope delineated and required by the script. So Dom biting an apple is OK because it doesn't detract from Merry's additional role as part of the comic relief duo of the movie, and skaterboy!Legolas is OK because movie!Legolas is required to kick ass, and anything that might improve on this hero image is welcome. If Dom had insisted on the rather weighty dialog between Merry and Pippin in the Houses of Healing, for instance, or if Orli had pushed the issue of Legolas cracking jokes up on the snow-clad top of Caradhras, I'm sure PJ would instantly veto their suggestions.
Now what I'm wondering is, did Elijah ever ask why Fran and Philippa stripped movie!Frodo of some of the quiet strength of book!Frodo, why he seemed to be a lot more defenseless against the Ring's wiles there, why he seemed more pitiful than stoical in the movies? I'm sure Elijah read the book and he must have found that Frodo didn't fall over all that often, and that he fought extremely hard to defy the Ring; he didn't merely "take the Ring to Mordor," he restrained It, wrangled It, the way a lion-tamer curbs the violent nature of his charge, so that in a sense he kept the Ring from doing any harm to others, at his own expense if necessary. He was the Ring-bearer in more sense than one, because to bear the Ring also means enduring and confining Its malice.
I wonder if Elijah ever made a point of reminding the writers or PJ that Frodo wouldn't have succumbed to the Ring simply because the Nazguls were rending the sky with their fell-beasts, that Frodo wouldn't even dream of hurting Sam, let alone sending him home, no matter how strong the Ring had grown to be as It neared the place of Its birth. I am guilty of making my hobbits shed tears a little too easily in my fics, but movie!Frodo was a veritable fountain of saline, and I wonder if Elijah ever put it forward that book!Frodo didn't weep in Galadriel's presence or with Sam on the boat to the other side of the Anduin. Didn't he care about this? Somehow I think it isn't likely, knowing the pains he took to ensure he caught PJ's attention with his "audition tape." Or had he made these points and both the writers and PJ turned down his suggestions because they didn't conform with their idea of movie!Frodo? Did Elijah made a single improvisation to Fran and Philippa's version of Frodo, or was his character, due to its importance, was drawn a lot more rigidly than the others, leaving him with no room for experimentation? Or had he put an unquestioning trust on the writers and PJ's interpretation of Frodo, and did his role with uncomplaining professionalism?
Aside from these questions, watching the entire DVD once again made me noticed a few other things.
One, I find Christopher Lee's pronunciation of the names and places in Middle-earth singularly authentic. I like the way he said Car-a-dhras, and Bar-a-hir, rather than Care-a-dhras and Bear-a-hir, rolling all his r's perfectly, for instance when he said Minas Morgul. The same was true with Ian McKellen, who amazed me so much with the difference between his soft normal speaking voice with the powerful and commanding voice of Gandalf.
Billy did say that Elijah (and also Sean, I guess) rarely had any days off, and that explained why he took every opportunity to fall asleep on set (though late night carousing might add another explanation, I think), but it still made my heart ache to see him yawn (or try to stifle a yawn) on at least four different occasions throughout the entire extra material. Awww, the poor boy.
And lastly, many, many apologies to fans of Sean Astin, but a lot of times when I listened to the commentaries I found myself shouting "Oh, for heaven's sake, Astin, shut up already! Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! I want to hear Elijah speak, or Andy Serkis, or any of the other actors! And it's nice to know you appreciate ancient maps and murals and whatnot, and it's good to know you're very intelligent and you know a lot, but do you absolutely have to bring that up in the commentaries when I am much more interested in what PJ said to Elijah so that he looked that breakable on screen? And honestly, I don't need to hear you went on and on about PJ's superb directing (and bringing your dad into the picture, too); I can arrive at that conclusion on my own, thank you very much. And do you really have to keep interrupting each time Elijah says something? Do you really have to assert your own opinion about everything? Is it absolutely necessary for you to try quite so hard?" To be bluntly honest, I think Sean sounded wonderful as Sam, but when he speaks, his voice grates in my ears a bit, and I couldn't help but compare it to Karl Urban's, or David Wenham's deeper, but softer voices. *ducks flying pots and pans*