Calling all filmmakers...

[Elotareth]

As an aspiring director/filmmaker, I was awestruck by the skill of the actors and direction, the camera work and editing, and the visual effects of LotR. Besides the obvious, (Orlando Bloom was sooo hot; it was just really good; etc.) what specific elements do you think has made these movies so powerful and such a great cinematic masterpiece?

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

The story itself. I mean, when you take away all the history and the rich languages, it's just another story about good and evil. However, with all that is surrounding it, the story is so beautiful and well thought-out. And the characters; there is such a variety of them that most of the audience can find someone to relate to, thus making the experience that much more flavorful and the transition from reality to fantasy so much easier.

[Arathiriel]

LOTR is just a timeless story <B>period</B>! I mean when J.R.R. Tolkien wrote this book he wrote one that will be read and loved for a <B>long</B> time to come because of it's powerful, timeless tale of less than perfect heroes overcoming a great evil in their world!<P>And as someone has already stated, there is such a magnificent cast of characters in these books/movies that you have no trouble finding someone to identify with - and personally I love so many of the characters!<P>Also Middle-Earth is such a vivid place full of wonders and horrors not to mention the fact the books have just <I>enough</I> history in them to make this world seem real, like you could almost be dropped in the middle of it and you would actually believe the reality you now find youself in...<P>Oh yes, Tolkien wrote/created a <B>rare</B> jewel when he wrote LOTR!

[Niluial]

I agree the story itself! I would also say the affects, the sound, the actors/actresses, the surroundings and …. Actually the everything!

[Tigerlily Gamgee]

The acting was a big, big part of it. Many actors could've screwed up and played it totally unbelieveable... but these actors didn't. They believed what they were doing, so we did too. They didn't make it ridiculous, because it could've easily gone that way had the wrong person been cast.<BR>Overall, the passion that went into these films is really what made them... I don't think that there was one person in cast or crew that didn't give their heart and soul to it.

[Birdland]

Three words: Location. Location. Location. New Zealand has such a remarkable variety of microcosms in a relatively small area. You might find such pristine locations in the U.S., but would have to travel thousands of miles to find them. Europe, unfortunately, is so settled that it would be hard to find "untouched" locations that would not immediately be filled by curious tourists or the sound of commercial aircraft, trains, etc. <P>Also, you have a friendly, cooperative government eager to encourage the economic benefits of the film industry, plus a multicultural variety of citizens and creative artists to use for local talent.<P>OK, it's not as romantic a notion as hot actors and an amazing story, but a film maker has to think of the "nuts and bolts" aspects of putting a story on screen. Local-boy-made-good Peter Jackson tapped an undiscovered goldmine when he used his home turf to bring Tolkien's world to life. Short of Africa, I don't think there is another country where you could find such a variety of locations to duplicate Middle Earth.<P>I mean, could you picture "The Lord of the Rings" being created totally on a sound stage? They could never have done it justice.<p>[ April 05, 2003: Message edited by: Birdland ]

[Meela]

So much work has gone into Lotr, and it shows. Thats partly why it is so believable. For example, Viggo slept in the wild in his costume, apparently slept with his horse at one point if I'm correct, and took his sword home every night. No wonder he's such a convincing Aragorn.<P>The wide variety of characters was great. And like Viggo, they all got into the part pretty darn well.<P>The locations were spectacular, and also contributed to making it so real. I mean, they built the whole of Edoras from scratch! Not everyone would go to the trouble of building such amazing sets, especially as there are so many locations.

[Carorëiel]

Perhaps this is only tangentally related to this thread, but this seems as good a place as any to mention it.<P>Did anyone else think the cast interview bit (The Fellowship of the Cast) on the extended DVD was beautifully edited? I've seen it five or six times now, (if I mention it in conversation, invariabley someone pipes up with, "Hey, cool--can I come over and watch it?" I don't mind. ) and every time I see it I end up annoying everyone else in the room with things like, "Look at that! Look how they're piecing the story together with different points of view blah blah blah." <P>Of course, this method of interviewing a group is anything but new (Behind the Music, Biography, et cetera), but it just seemed excellently done. I'm thinking, for instance, of the the description of the splinter incident, in particular.

[HCIsland]

I agree with what people have said above, but to give PJ credit he didn't pull any punches when it came to the emotional content of the film. It would have been easy (and many another film maker would have done this) to turn this more into a wiz-bang, popcorn and bubble-gum adventure which doesn't allow you to get close to the characters. PJ forces us down with these characters making us feel there pains and fears. <P>Many a mega-budget action pic was afraid to do this.<P>H.C.

[Elotareth]

Oh yay, people replied! <BR>Yeah, I really wish that the big studios would give directors as much free reign as PJ had on a regular basis. I think the blinding success of the project really had to do with the fact that everyone felt so connected to the wonderful story that they spent valuable time and assets working on things that were basically guaranteed never to be caught on camera. Like for instance, the inside of Theoden's breastplate had the crest of Rohan engraved on it for the sole purpose of inspiring the actor to feel as though he actually WAS the King of Rohan! And of course, the by now legendary acting abilities of all the cast are quite important, but they were supported so much by the amazing crew. They were truely given the freedom to totally bond with their characters.

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

I'm sorry to suddenly go off in a nother direction, and I <I>have</I> thought a lot about the stuff you have mentioned- but you also have to think about how much money was spent on this film. <B>Every single</B> piece of armor or weaponry was real, and cost quite a bit. If PJ (and New Line) was willing to spend that much on the movies, obviously they cared something about how it turned out.

[Elotareth]

No kidding, and thats what makes it have such an epic feel that most other films lack.

[Birdland]

While we're at it, let's give it up for the editors. I just finished watching a fantasy action film which cost $95M to make, but made $45M in box office. <P>The effects were incredible, the actors talented, but the story line itself, though it was fairly simple, still felt choppy and confusing. There was no building of suspense, no feeling that you were seeing the "whole story", and no sympathy for the plight of the characters. And all of these faults I felt could be blamed on the editing of the final film. <P>P.J. and company were able to take an infinitely more complex story and draw the audience in from the very first frame. You felt as if you were standing and witnessing the events. Exposition was natural, and blessedly rare. The story line flowed naturally, and even with the many cuts you never had the sense that you were missing pieces of the picture, (missed scenes from the book aside. )<P>Editing raw film is a fine art, and no matter how much money you spend on talent, writing, and effects, a poorly edited film can turn a sure fire hit into a messy "miss".

[NinjaFerret]

Ok, first and foremost, Jackson stayed true to the story. As the other posters have said, Tolkein was a literary genius.<P>He did not simply write a record like a historian, he forged his own society. He wrote the history, culture, tradition, and races in such a timeless manner, as long as anyoen stayed true to his epic, they were bound to produce a hit.<P>As far as other things... Jackson picked exactly who would be good for the job. Namely, he didn't have a "star-studded" cast. He had the people who would perform the best. Jackson brought in his own audience, he didn't rely on names to do it for him.<P>Hollywood hates people who do that. I love Jackson for that very reason. (Anyone else notice that LOTR got hardly any of the hype this year at the box office??? It all went to these crappy movies about stupid things... (Heh heh, I'm really making inteligent remarks here...)<P>Hmm... What else... Don't forget, Jackson had the equivalent of a huge budget. He had his own effects people, an incredibly intelligent crowd. His writer was his wife. I doubt it would have happened if he had to rely on outside funding for this. <P>Also, Jackson has passion. Real, true passion. He has already crossed so many boundaries (see Heavenly Creatures, rather twisted, frightening, and off the beaten path) that this was mainstream for him.<P>But the most striking thing about Jackson as a director is that he gets the feeling of "keeping it real" across. Even though he takes these little detours, he takes them in all the right places. I believe he has the ability to step back from what he is doing and see the bigger picture. He notices what it is he's creating and he's able to see what's there from the points of view of the diehard "I-read-the-trilogy-at-least-once-a-year" and the random person whose boy/girlfriend dragged them along to see it.<P>Hope that helps. Good luck; film-making is a very hard field to break into.

[HCIsland]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> as long as anyoen stayed true to his epic, they were bound to produce a hit. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I'm sorry, but I can't agree with this part. If this were true these films would have been made a long time ago. The animated LoTR stayed true to the story (in many ways much more than Jackson did) but was certainly anything but a hit. LoTR has largely been considered unfilmable and with good reason. These films represented a big risk on the part of the studios and were anything but a sure hit.<P>In fact, I would say it was Jackson's willingness to play somewhat with plot and character while staying true to the themes in the books that is a big part of the success of these films.<P>H.C.

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

I would like to add an opinion. I think that it was good that PJ found exactly the right measure of staying true to the story and making it a film, not a book illustration. Of course, we all grumble about the changes, and about the whole thing with Aragorn falling, and the romance part, but, without it, the movie wouldn't have any appeal to us, We could just read the books instead. I like that PJ puts his own images into the movie, and not a sort of neutral half tranparent idea that each of us can transform into our own mental images from the book. *deep breath...breathe in, breathe out...* Okay, I'm done ranting now.

[Elotareth]

I definately have to agree with the "star-studded cast" point. In many cases, especially Jackson's, casting immensely talented no-name actors can be a wonderful thing, as LotR is a testament to. Often, it is difficult to publicize a film like this, but LotR obviously is such a cultural phenomena that it will draw its own audience even if they are only coming out of sheer curiosity to see if it was possible to make a good movie out of Tolkien's epic. <BR>A slightly less "successful" example of no-name casting can be seen in the new Star Wars. I put successful in quotations because it is certainly a box office hit, but the acting is very lukewarm. (Can something be <I>very</I> lukewarm?) Star Wars (of which, I should add, I still remain a big fan of regardless) has its strength in the special effects department and Lucas has done no-name casting, it seems, just because he can and still get a large draw from the film's other elements. So I guess my point is that no-name casting can be a brilliant tool or something that totally drags the movie down. Jackson has, in my opinion, used it to the best of it's advantage.<BR>Oh, and thanks for the encouragement. I am well aware of the competition in the business and will do my very best to do my part in helping the industry along in getting more movies made at the quality level of LotR (even if they will never live up to the story )

[Everdawn]

I would have to say, the scale issue and how it was dealt with- (superbly) and the Digital Grading, remarkable! it was soo good!

I am accepted to the college were peopel graduated from there that did lord of the rings and star wars i gonna be doing computer animation. i gonnna do explosions and the characters and i gonna be having fun like were water turns into horse heads. i gonna be having fun. The movie had awsome animations i can even tell u how all the stuff was done but it woudl ruin it. I also speak elvish dwarven and black speech. i like elvish do any of u want to here it oh well here goes.<P><BR>`Quel re. Elen sila lumenn omentilmo. lle naa belegohtar. Mellon en amin. Quel fara. <P>i could keep going but i am in school doing this forum and most teachers dont care but i think this one does so i gonna go if any one wants to learn elvish i can help. the book silmarillion comes before the hobbit i have not found and read but there are other book like the return of the shadow and so on. well talk to u guys later u guys are cool talk to u guys later.

[Elotareth]

I'm glad <I>you gonna be </I> having fun! Do they use the software program Maya on LotR? I know they did to an extent on Star Wars.