| Film Quotes |
| On Harry Potter Ian McKellen: "I don't think there's any competition, even though we're coming out so close together and we have certain superficial elements in common. Harry Potter is basically a children's story, funny and witty but, frankly, without the depth and maturity of one of the great classics. So, I hope people who have enjoyed Harry Potter will now go on to see the grown-up version." Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn): "Harry Potter wouldn't exist if Tolkien hadn't preceded it, because it's sort of an abridged, playful spinoff of Lord of the Rings." Sean Astin: "I think the comparisons are inevitable because they're both huge movies in terms of budget and scope. But I don't personally feel a sense of battle. I just want Lord of the Rings to make a lot of money. I feel like our work stands on its own, and it has a totally different tone than Harry Potter. It's more serious--a different type of story altogether." On How it's changed them Elijah Wood: "I knew going into it that it would be as much a life experience as it would be a filmmaking experience. I knew I would be taking a journey that would mirror that of the book. And I knew I would go as a fresh 18-year-old and leave a different person--hopefully a wiser, older, more mature, stronger individual. I lived life as an adult really for the first time. I've had some independence, and I have always felt older than I was. But going to New Zealand and truly getting a taste of what that meant really gave me a new perspective on life." Viggo Mortensen: "I probably won't know for years the effect it has had on me. Lord of the Rings has been such a big part of my life, both professionally and personally, that I'm trying to measure it. The influences are still continuing. Maybe they always will." Sean Bean (Boromir): "You get home, and you're overwhelmed by the reality of normal life. One day you're running around with swords and killing all the Orcs, the next you're loading a dishwasher." Sean Astin: "I don't think I can put simply into words how I've changed. It was just an extraordinary experience. It's the first time I've lived away from my country for a long period of time. I was a father when I started, and my daughter was two. Now she's five. And so, I think as a human being I've grown and changed, mostly for the better." Were they up for the challenge? Sean Bean:"We spent about five weeks rehearsing the swordplay and getting used to the weapons. So, by the time we started, we all had our distinctive styles. Viggo and I had these big, heavy swords, real chopping blades. Occasionally, someone missed a move, and people got bruises and stuff. But if you imagine the amount of battle scenes that we were doing, there's always going to be somebody who gets a clunk." Viggo Mortensen: "As difficult and exhausting as this project was for everyone, there was an element of play, like kids in a game. But I wasn't seven years old in my backyard with a wooden sword pretending I'm in a deep, misty forest with monsters coming at me. I was actually there. I was wet and tired, and there were a hundred guys coming at me full blast. If I didn't remember the choreography, I knew I was really going to get whacked. But I loved it." Elijah Wood: "We had a physical trainer at the beginning. We had about two months of working out in a gym and sword lessons. We had rowing lessons, too. A lot of those kind of things to physically prepare just so we could endure it all. I don't know how, but we managed to get through. Since I've come back home, I haven't been going to the gym. It's terrible. I've just been relaxing like I've never relaxed before." Ian McKellen: "As Gandalf, the Gray Wizard, I had this fight with Saruman, the White Wizard. Christopher Lee, who plays Saruman, points his staff at me, and I twist around on my shoulder with my legs in the air, on the ground. That was me. I achieved that with my legs in the air and a magnet keeping my shoulder on the ground. But just off the view of the camera was a chiropractor, an osteopath and a masseur." Orlando Bloom: "I had to train pretty extensively to get fluidity and the kind of grace and ease of movement that distinguishes an Elf. Training with the bow and arrow was a great way to find my character. I got pretty good. At the end, my archery instructor would throw a paper plate into the air, and I could nail it with an arrow." Liv Tyler: "We all spent a lot of time horseback riding in this really beautiful place, but I had a difficult experience because my horse, Aspheluf, was a stallion, and he was very powerful and jumpy. I've always been a little bit nervous of horses. I like touching and petting them and being around them, but I just don't like being on top of them. Finally, they got me this beautiful, sweet old horse, and it was a completely different experience from that feisty stallion. I became a lot more comfortable, because the horse was really protective. Like if we were cantering or galloping and I started to fall, he would actually shift his weight to help me stay on." |
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