Elijah the Unreader
 

Can anyone confirm these reports that Elijah Wood hasn't read LotR?<BR>While I can easily believe he might not have read the books before he got the part, I find it nigh-unbelievable that he wouldn't have had the intellectual curiousity not to read the books during the course of the shoot. <BR>Can anyone clear this up?

This is a quote from elijah himself.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I have a terribly uninteresting story associated with the book, to be honest. I read The Hobbit when I was young and I owned Lord Of The Rings for years without reading them. They sat on my shelf and I guess I attribute that to laziness. I certainly know of the stories and was definitely familiar with it enough that I got really excited when I heard that they were making films. But I didn't actually pick them up until I got to New Zealand. <P> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thank you very much for that info elanor. So, we can assume that he *did* read the books once he'd got the part. There have been stories of him still not having read LotR, I am relieved to hear they're not true.

They all read the books once they got the part. I mean that would be incredably stupid not to, but they did.

Not that you would need to, with actualy LIVING it...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> They all read the books once they got the part. I mean that would be incredably stupid not to, but they did. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>It's great that these guys cared as much about the book as they did, but many a great actor have played rolls based on books and never read them. Some have even made a point not to, wanting to make the roll their own.<P>There was obviously a sense of responsibility to the book that was impressed upon these actors, but I wouldn't have called them stupid if any of them choose not to read the book.<P>H.C.

I'd certainly call them completely lacking in intellectual curiousity. <BR>Which some might say was synonymous with stupidity.

Not everyone enjoys fantasy literature and not everyone is into novels at all. It doesn't make someone stupid if they are not interested in the same things you are.<P>Last Christmas I greatly enjoyed reading The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, a book on cosmology and modern subatomic physics. I can use the same argument to say anyone who doesn't want to read this book is lacking in "intelectual curiosity".<P>H.C.

Of course not everyone is interested in the same things. <BR>But, let us take an example. I personally have a total aversion to the works of DH Lawrence. BUT, if I were an actress, and had landed a plum role in a production of Women in Love, (probably after being bullied by my agent ) I would grit my teeth and read the damn thing just so I would get a better perspective on my character. Its not a question of being into something or not, its just basic research for your job.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I would grit my teeth and read the damn thing just so I would get a better perspective on my character. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I know there are great actors that would disagree with you. That was the point I was trying to make in the first place. I think they know their job.<P>Editted to add: I don't think we should pretend to know how to prepare for their job better than they do. As many have noted, Frodo's character in the movie is somewhat different than that in the book. That is because he is not taking his biggest cues from the book. He would be taking them from the director, secondly the script, thirdly his interplay with other actors and his own experiences and personality. I know many people don't like this, but the book is down the list.<P>H.C.<p>[ March 19, 2003: Message edited by: HCIsland ]

I think Christopher Lee might have been the only one with significant LOTR knowledge. I think a couple other of the actors might have read it before landing the role but I am not sure.

I know Viggo Mortenson never read the books before taking the role but his son did. In fact, when his son found out he was being asked to play Aragorn he played a big part in convincing him to do it.<P>H.C.

I don't know if Sir Ian McKellen knew the books well before he took the role, but after he got it, he made damn sure he knew the books back to front. So much so, that he often challenged PJ on some of his interpretation.<BR>Now I personally think Sir Ian's performance was tremendous. I also think that Elijah's was rather one-dimensional, lacking depth, variation and, yes, intelligence. <BR>Could acquaintance with the work in hand, or lack of it, have any bearing on this?<P>Oh, and HC, which actors do you have in mind who don't read the books before the roles? I'm not casting doubt on your assertion at all, I'm interested to know.

i dont think he has read them. i am i really big fan of his but i think he could at least read the books after being in a film that so many people wanted to be in cos they were such big fans. christopher lee is a really big fan of the books and a great actor, so he definatley deserved the part. although elijah is a great actor, he should read the books!

I know I've read a couple quotes from Elijah regarding his reading (or not) of LOTR. I finally found one of them. This is from the Jan. issue of YM:<P> **********<P>When you first started the film, you hadn't read the book — have you gone back now to compare how true it is to the book?<P>It's embarrassing, but I'm still in the middle of [reading the books] — I think a lot of that has to do with how close I am to them. When I was making the movie, I didn't consult the books because I was constantly surrounded by all things Middle-earth anyway. And then, after it was done, I wanted to take a break from thinking about Lord of the Rings, so I didn't want to read it.<P> *************<P>I find it a little disappointing to learn that he never finished reading the books during filming. There is so much depth in the books that he could have brought the the films. Don't get me wrong, I personally like Elijah's Frodo (Elijah's Frodo is responsible for my introduction to Tolkien for which I will always be grateful.) but I just wonder how a thorough reading of the books could have enhanced his performance even more. <P>Leigh

Orlando Bloom never finished reading them either, or hadn't when an interview with him was posted a month or two ago. He said pretty much the same thing as Elijah Wood, and that he got quite a bit distracted, but found the books 'interesting'.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Oh, and HC, which actors do you have in mind who don't read the books before the roles? I'm not casting doubt on your assertion at all, I'm interested to know. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I don't remember names. I'm one of these people that loves watching things and reading about the making of movies and everytime an actor plays a role from a novel, they get the question as to whether they've read the book. Many say no and I know I've heard a least a couple of times about folks saying they make a point not to.<P>H.C.

Heck, as long as they play an entertaining part, I'm happy.<P>I was (and still am) quite pleased with the actors' performances, and as long as they're consistently excellent, then I'm happy.<P>It just goes along the same line of Arwen's role, lack of Tom Bombadil, etc. - may not be true to the book, but if it works - it works.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I know many people don't like this, but the book is down the list.<BR> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>And that is hugely unfortunate since the director made such a point of telling all Tolkien fans that these movies were made for them and that he was staying faithful to Tolkien. What we seem to have ended up with is Peter Jackson's personal fan fiction set to screen.<P>Don't jump on me - I liked the movies. Well, I liked some parts of the movies. But I would have liked them a whole lot better if they followed Tolkien's storyline and if the actors were more faithful to their literary counterparts. <P>H.C., you know I love ya, but I must agree here with Lalaith. If you are to be starring in a film based upon a well-loved piece of literature and the director is spouting to anyone who will listen about how faithful to the literature his film will be, I think it's your <I>responsibility</I> to read the book. I think it's conceited, selfish and unfair to bend any of these characters to your own interpretation because you think you're "honing your craft." In my opinion, any other approach is ignorant and deliberately uneducated.

HC I agree with you - put aside LotR for a minute and you'll see that the majority of 'adapted screenplays' are not much like their source material at all. Movies like The Bourne Identity, Notting Hill, A Beautiful Mind, About a Boy, etc. all spring to mind. Would it really benefit the actor to know what the movie "should" have been like?<P>This applies to PJ's LotR too to some degree, since so much is different in PJ's world, but the key is in the lead character in my opinion, they cannot falter or the movies crumble. Thankfully LotR has a number of main charactes so they don't all crumble at once, if you know what I mean. For LotR Aragorn, Gandalf, Sam, Frodo, Gollum, Pippin & Merry (if their parts in RotK aren't cut down) and Saruman should all have read ALL the books. Others like Boromir, Elrond, Galadriel, Legolas, Gimli, Faramir, Eowyn, Theodred, Eomer, etc. really only needed to brush up on their own character's history and read their parts.<P>On another note, I don't believe Elijah when he says he didn't have the time. They had tons of downtime - and it wasn't about "being surrounded by ME anyway", it is about character development, of which movie Frodo is SORELY lacking.<p>[ March 20, 2003: Message edited by: Tar-Palantir ]