journey in the audition tape so what made you
think of this idea for auditioning for the role and how was the process like to make it because
you may not have you may not even have landed this iconic role if you hadn't even done your audition
like this it's a good point I don't know that I would have um yeah it it just occurred to me
because listen everyone was auditioning for Lord of the Rings and I wanted to do something that
stood out a little bit and could articulate my passion for it u
m in a way that would be notable
because the only other option I had at my disposal was to go to a local casting office in Los Angeles
Victoria buroughs was the United States casting director and basically he put on tape in in a
room in an office probably with a white background relatively benol and very common like that's just
kind of how it's done unless you're meeting the director or producers or whatever you're you're
often just put on tape in a a sort of standard non-descript room and
I just thought oh man like I
this isn't going to be the great it'll be fine and it's very common place but I want to do something
that isn't just simply going into this casting office and I thought well I could just make my own
tape and you know get costume and kind of shoot it like a scene and so I told my agent like I'm not
going to go to the office to to um I'm not going to go to the casting office I'm going to make my
own tape and she's like uh okay like you better do it and I was like
I'm going to do it don't
worry so I went I went about that process and I just went and um I went to a dialect coach for
the accent uh got a book on Hobbits and and kind of just with various sort of artistic renderings
of what Hobbits look like um and I obviously had an idea in my head from having read The Hobbit
and went to Western costume got a costume which is not dissimilar from the way that I looked at
the movie um and yeah when part one scene was in bag ends we shot that at my house wi
th a friend
of mine and then we shot two scenes in Griffith Park um and each one was sort of a different stage
on Frodo's Journey the last being kind of from the the basically Mountain Doom so yeah and then
my my friend who who shot the whole thing and we shot it from variety of angles really kind of
like you would traditionally shoot scenes he cut them together at the mirax offices that night and
then I took the VHS tape cuz it was output to VHS not DVD uh I I took the VHS tape to the cast
ing
office and then they shipped it they um fedexed it to Peter who I think was in London at the time
so yeah that sort of it got my foot in the door so to speak and then when Peter and Fran came through
Los Angeles to meet folks that they had seen tapes of that they liked I then met them and and and re
and auditioned for them in person um the whole the whole experience was really gratifying um I I
certainly wouldn't change it you know I agree I don't know that I would have gotten the rule
had
it not been for that yeah CU I read that Peter Jackson he he called you personally he did right
afterwards not right after I think right after he received it well no so he I spoke to him I met him
in La auditioned again so did a couple of scenes and then a couple months later I was at home and
my agent called and she said stay by your phone someone's calling soon we're like oh [ __ ] and I
had a feeling because there was only you we were waiting for a response you know and then they wer
e
casting this movie and it was all starting to come together so I I knew it was it was hanging in
The Ether whether I did or didn't get the role so that there was a call coming in felt like it
was momentous that it could be meaningful and I had a feeling it could be about that but I didn't
know and so then I the phone rang I picked up the phone and it was Jan who was Peter's assistant at
the time and said could you hold on the line for Peter Jackson and I just you know my life like
flashe
d before my eyes wow and then Peter was on the other end of the call and they said Hello
Elijah you know I'd love I'd love for you to come down and play froto do you want to come down and
do that like yeah yeah I do and and also it was like accepting a journey you know it was it was
really the the thing that's important to impart to people and I'm sure all of you who have watch
the movies and certainly watch the appendices and and know kind of the the basic production and the
Herculean effo
rt was to to bring these movies to life accepting that role was so unlike any other
opportunity any of us had ever had because it it was beyond it was a commitment Way Beyond what
we had had before or since really in the sense that you were going down to a a country very
far from your home for 16 months of principal photography she all three of these movies back
to back or or simultaneously it was huge it was like accepting a Life Adventure and it was it was
it was like I mean it was akin t
o you know Bilbo sort of going like yeah to the dwarfs you know
like okay sign me up thank you so much for your question we're going to move on over here sorry
I I I was a long answer took up a lot of time I apolog hello um my name is Rebecca hi Rebecca hi
hey hi thank you so much for being here this is absolutely like incredible um I I really love
photo bag and some more of the Rings and it just means so much to me um something else
about me is that I love theater and I love acting so I ju
st wanted to hear about like your
perspective on acting and like what draws you to it and what like has kept you in that industry
like through all these years oh wow well it's I mean I it's different every time what what draws
me to it I I I think now more than maybe when I was younger as a kid I just love film making I
love the process I love the creative process I love a group of people gathering around an idea
that they're all a part of facilitating that idea together creatively and that
's such a fun
feeling it's such a it's such a great feeling to be involved in a team of creative people bringing
something to life and so that's what I really get out of it I I love acting it's my entry point
it's what I have done my whole life so that's the kind of that's my way to participate in
that process um but and I also love that I love figuring out how to play a character who a
character is the putting on the Wardrobe being in the context of an environment and having all
of that i
nform on that performance and what it is that I do working with other actors being
inspired by all of that it's it's really fun it's really fun um and yeah I think I as I said
I think it's different every time which keeps it consistently interesting and fascinating and
and keeps you on your toes i i i a feeling I'm always learning um I I always get really
anxious before the first day of shooting like it's the first day of school still I go through
it every time no matter how long I've been
doing this um so it's still a thrill you know and and
I love seeing it all come to life I I just love film making which is why I started a production
company cuz I want to be a part of every aspect perspective it I just I enjoy that process
and I love movies you know thank you so much yeah go ahead over here Hi Elijah hi my name
is Erica hi Erica um I wanted to ask you now that you're more of an experienced actor
if you could go back in time and film any of froto scenes what scene would it
be and how would you make it differ oh I wouldn't Endeavor to change anything cuz
here's the thing like hello here's the thing I might be more I'm certainly more experience
now just simply based on time right and my own life experience and the wisdom that comes with
that and my Collective life experience now is certainly I think makes me a better actor than
now right I think it does I'd like to hope it does but the idea of stepping back into a role
you've done I wouldn't want to change any
thing cuz that's who I was then and my Collective My
collected experiences and and the environment we were in which was so new and fresh and exciting
and the way that films were made then pre I mean there's so many variables right that lent to
those performances and those films turning out to be the way that they are I wouldn't want to
touch it it it yeah I wouldn't I would love to look I would love to go back and make the movies
again just simply because I want the experience again like I
would love to go back and live in
New Zealand for 16 months and just [ __ ] be in the Wilds of New Zealand and and create with
those wonderful people give me that over and over and over again but the the responsibility
now it actually gives me anxiety to think like I don't want to touch it I I'm proud of the
work it it is an alchemical element of so many combin combined variables I wouldn't
want to touch it that's a wonderful answer thanks you can just tell people that you would
just take
the Eagles to Mordor what that say that oh yeah yeah yeah yeah exactly how many times
you get asked that many times yeah go ahead over here hi um my name is Emily and I'm actually
a film student here in Vancouver oh right and probably the biggest reason that I got into film
was The Lord of the Rings DVDs that I had as a kid all the behind the scenes I would watch that
religiously so my question for you was what was the most challenging scene for you to film in
The Lord of wings Trilogy quic
k question the appendices in those DVDs are extraordinary I mean
it's almost like Film School in terms of the level of detail of the process that they they showed
people I love those so much and I've heard I've heard your I've heard your story so many times
and people who have have sought out or and who now work in film as a result of being so inspired
by by those DVDs so that's that's amazing to hear um wait I lost what your question was what was
it um it was I was just wondering what was
the most challenging oh the most challenging scene
yeah I mean I think the most challenging for me was probably the side of Mount Doom as Frodo
is no longer really froto anymore and and and emotionally getting emotionally physically getting
that right um for it to be harrowing for it to be um upsetting to watch your character that you've
watched go through this journey fall apart like that and and kind of not almost not make it um
just wanting to like the feeling really feeling the sense of
responsibility to deliver that that
very important kind of climactic aspect of what the character was going through so I remember
Sean and I both really feeling that um so yeah easily easily the hardest to just get right you
know thank you so much yeah thank you go ahead over here go ahead hi uh my name is toer and just
wanted to start your work with Spectre Vision has been a huge influence on me oh right thanks dude
but I wanted to ask about Maniac yeah because when it came out the big st
ory was you demanded
to be on set every day and obviously that was a huge influence on how the movie turned out so I
was wondering if you would tell about what that experience with sure um yeah so I I didn't quite
demand more just sort of suggested that it would be a good idea but it's funny like from their
perspective they you know they were offering me effectively like two weeks of it'll be two weeks
of work for all of your all of the bits that are on camera right that's how it was pitche
d to me
like we're remaking this movie we're doing it almost entirely from the POV of of the Killer and
he sees himself in reflection so we only need to film you in your reflection and then everything
else is going to be voice over I was like okay and I love the script I was in apprehensive
at first just the idea of remakes is always a little tricky but that they were doing something
so different from the original was separated in a way that felt like it was its own thing um and
so it just
became apparent really quickly like I probably need to be there every day because
choices need to be made from the the standpoint of the actor to inform the DP where to move the
camera at a block a scene so that I I you know the the actor should be a part of that process
even if the actor's not on screen and it ended up being so fun I'm so grateful that I got the
opportunity to do it and that I have that it all worked out for me to be there the whole
time but it was essential like we would
block every scene out in a really traditional way and
the maxim cinematographer and also the operator would then like work out how he was going to fit
into that sequence of blocking and and we would do this together and it was kind of this amazing
dance and then I would I would find new ways to interject and break frame with a hand or an arm
and so it was kind of a discovery process every day that we wouldn't have they wouldn't have had
um but it was it it was yeah anyways to it wasn't a d
emand of mine it was just kind of I think all
of us collectively were like oh we we need to do this together we can't just have you come in
and do these little bits um so it's really fun really fun it was it was kind of a part played in
three parts because there's the bits that you see of him on screen and then there's these kind of
ways that he breaks frame and then there's the voice over and so it was these kind of different
elements and the character really came together at the very end
in the in the vo stage cuz I was
able to re-record all of the dialogue and then interject breaths and do things that I I wasn't
able to do in the day it was that cool thank you so much yeah thank you go ahead over here oh
Elijah hello how are you I'm very well how are you great I found you you're in um yellow Jacks
did you film in BCIT in Burnaby I believe we did oh yeah because I'm a journalism student there
you probably film on actually in the building on the other side when you were film
ing okay cool man
yeah oh yeah so um I know last year was a big year for comebacks with like let's say with um Brenan
Fraser and K N like witing Academy Awards do you think you'll have that moment at some point for
me yeah me award oh all right um oh I don't know maybe yeah I don't know uh it would be it would be
quite an honor but the these things I don't know I I certainly don't I'll put it this way I don't
I don't make any choices based on that being a a sort of achievable goal um but if
if that were
to be something that could would come into my life it would be amazing thank you very much
yeah yeah thank thank you go ahead over here uh Hi Elijah I'm Derek hi I'm big fan of Flo
of the Rings and froto uh I'm just wondering uh are you more of a a second breakfast kind
of guy or an 11 SE kind of guy put me in the elies I tend to eat breakfast quite late me
too yeah and sometimes I skip it all together good question food questions are always fun
go ahead over here um hi um my
name is Callie hello Callie hi um oh my gosh sorry um to sing
and sometimes not know we were getting to sing on the day it was really fun um the cast was so
great it was the first time I got to work with Melanie Linsky who I'm a huge fan of she works
she's in yellow jackets if you know um yeah and I just I love the animation style I mean that's
what drew me to it to begin with was getting the offer to play work um in what was initially a
short a short that you can see online it wasn't a pa
rt of the it was called T of the unknown um
and then it became the miniseries but I was just in love with the world that they were creating
um so yeah no like specific favorite part but I I'm I'm really grateful to have been a part
of it and I love how it turned out and it's one of my favorite things that I've gotten to work
on awesome thank you so much have a great day go ahead hi my name is Chris Elijah hi okay so I'm
a big fan of your hor movies uh Independent films uh is there any um ad
vice you would give to a hor
movie director try to get the film off the ground oh man advice to a horror film director to get
their film off the ground oh uh in general yes well look I mean the beautiful thing about horror
is it tends to be relatively easy to finance um because there's always a market for horror movies
it'll never not be uh a s you know it's also the the genre where in some ways you don't necessarily
have to have quote unquote star power or whatever for a movie to be succes
sful because it can kind
of survive on on the elements that make it scary um so horror will always be consistent I mean
I don't know I think to get your film off the ground look it's really hard to get movies
off the ground in general it's hard to get movies financed um but with horror having a novel
idea something that feels unique that hasn't been done before tends to have a have an easier shot
you know um and also a script that that like is budgeted properly so that it's it's within its
means you know it's probably my advice thank you so much yeah um because you played fro and so nice
like ridiculous and then you you played some scary characters like Kevin in Sin City still gives me
nightmares anybody else seriously what what movie scares you I don't really get scared by movies
but there's a few that I find very disturbing cuz I find yeah I don't get scared by movies
but I'm disturbed by movies there's a couple um I think the original Michael hanii funny games
is really d
isturbing I love it but [ __ ] man um what else there's a great movie called begotten
by a filmmaker called Elias marriage that I find very disturbing um it's virtually wordless uh
it's black and white but like heavily degraded film you can't quite make out what you're seeing
which makes it all the more disturbing um yeah and I find uh violence like real violence
towards people and to like children to be really upsetting um horror is so Fantastical most
of the time uh so that that doesn't i
t feels that there's a degree of separation but with with
you know movies where it feels real uh it's I find those to be much harder to watch thank you
for that yeah go ahead over here hello hi um my name's Danielle and I was wondering how close you
were to the other actors in The Lord of the Ring yeah pretty I mean close the hobbits currently
have and have had for a couple years now a text thread going that we text each other every day
generally it's like New York Times mini crossword scor
es and like our world scores um and that
could be days of that without anything else and then you know something else will be texted so
yeah we're and and the others we are connected um it it's just we all live in different
countries and and get busy so occasionally there'll be an email or something or other
here but um you know when you when you go through something like that when you would when
you work with people that closely over such a a a long period of time it four years of Our
Liv
es um you're kind of linked forever and I love them all so much and and we are you know
a family thank yeah go ahead hi my name is Kean hello and question is when you got the call
from Peter Jackson about playing fro and you signed up for that Adventure what excited
or terrified you the most about it at that time um well I was 18 at the time so it I was
embarking on what would what I knew to be the The Greatest Adventure of my life like I I
had never lived away from home on my own for that
length of time um prior to that I think
I've been away from home for a month and you know on my own so or a couple months so this
was like I was going away for a long time to another country uh halfway around the world and
so that was really significant but at the same time my memory is that I was just like super up
for it like super J and and seemingly very ready um which I I kind of Marvel at now thinking about
it um but that's kind of who I was and I suppose who I am like I just sort of
jump into things with
enthusiasm you know I think the only thing I would have been thinking about which is something that
happens still to this day there's always like a a a couple of days of transition from traveling
from home to a new place um getting acclimated meeting the people in production and kind of
finding my comfort zone it's still something I go through now it's always a period of acclamation
because it's new it's a new place it's a new home it's new people and I remember knowin
g that I was
going to encounter that getting to Wellington and I remember feeling that very first day getting
to Wellington you land in Auckland at like 6: in the morning 5:30 6 in the morning and then
by the time you get to Wellington it's like 9 a.m. and I got picked up and then driven around
Wellington and like halfway through that drive I was like oh [ __ ] I feel great I like I I kind
of instantly felt at home which is it was notable I remember feeling that like oh man this is going
t
o be good it feels great so like getting I knew I had to get over that and I got over that so
fast um and then everybody that I met was just so wonderful F and it just the the sort of family
quickly unfolded and the reality of the of of what that Adventure was going to be kind of was every
day becoming more and more excited um but yeah I don't know I I it was it was the biggest thing
I'd ever been a part of but weirdly thinking back on it I wasn't freaked out I I was just stoved
thank you a
nd I just want to say you bow to no one go ahead over here all right um so I have a
question and it's uh it's on behalf of my friend Esther okay so if you can say hi Esther cool
awesome thank you so much okay so the question that she has is um do you relate to froto at all
and if so in what way I mean yeah I think I do um gosh in what way I really admire Frodo you know
for Hobbit he obviously grew up under Bilbo who who Bilbo is quite unique for a hobbit in that
Hobbits don't Adventure They
Don't Stray outside of the Shire it's not what they do but he really
grew up underneath his uncle with this sort of admiration for adventure and the stories that he
heard and so he had this kind of Wonder lust built into him I totally relate to that but then I also
relate to the hob The Hobbit side of him you know the the the comfort of home uh a warm Hearth you
know a great meal with friends connection to the Earth and to the land and animals like all of
those things um and then I guess I
don't know his sense of his sense of courage and not knowing
quite where he's getting it from I think I relate to that to a little bit um yeah but ad admire
him admire him for his wisdom for his ability his selflessness you know to take something on that
he kind of knew was going to be much bigger than him and was ultimately going to be a sacrifice uh
and doing that without really thinking about it is really admirable and Beautiful You yeah thank
you so much we really appreciate your answe
rs oh thanks go ahead over here hi I'd like to say I'm
a huge fan of over the Gard wall I can see that um I was just wondering what's your favorite part
on working on a smaller Niche but beloved um show such as Over the Garden w i mean you don't
really contextualize anything while you're making it based on its size but getting to work
on anything that feels pure you know and feels unique it's what drives me I I just simply want
to move from one Unique Piece of expression to the next it you
know so that's what was so special
about being a part of Over the Garden Wall was you know voicing a character that I really love with
this really beautiful dynamic between these two brothers in this animated world that was so
vibrant and evoked kind of vintage animation and these old feelings from you know kind of
old spooky ephemera and old storytelling uh of you know what happens when you get lost in
the woods all these things that I just loved so yeah getting getting to be in that world
for a
minute is just a a joy and and that is reflected in you know most of what I get to do I just love
popping from one you know interesting creative Universe to the next whether it's Lord of the
Rings on a giant scale or Over the Garden Wall and something much smaller they all have something
in common which is that they're all really unique pure artistic Expressions you know um yeah thank
you yeah go ahead over here it's your turn uh hi Elijah hello uh I have a very burning question
for
you oh [ __ ] I hope I have the answer do you wear wings I mean I I have and I certainly
will again but have you worn Wings yes will you wear weights I definitely will and can you say
the yeah can you say the word ooo can I say the word what ooo oooo yes what is that uh it's
a it's a meme it's a meme yeah of course it is I'm glad to have a woo you thank you that
was great hey has anyone seen Carol in the end of the world yet okay y'all it's on Netflix it's
[ __ ] incredible it's so good it
's so good it's so funny I had nothing to do with it I'm just
telling you it's I'm a big fan of animation and I think what I what I'm thrilled by with carollyn
the end of the world so you'll see it um is that it deals like animation tends to be for the
most part especially in the United States and North America tends to to deal in like family and
kids which is a great space and and even Over the Garden Wall to a degree um but carollyn the end
of the world is an adult story and it's a it's a
n existential experience of this girl dealing with
uh her impending doom well all of our impending doom there is a giant planet that's going to
crash and collide with Earth but it's really just about these characters dealing with that
in their own little way it's so good anyway I just finished it it's awesome this whole room is
probably going to watch it please it's so good it's so special and really funny I think it's
your turn over here right no you over here yes yes we're over here uh he
llo Mr wood hello I'm
very nervous and um my native language is not English that's why I'm so formal well you sound
great where is what is your native language uh I'm Russian um so I grew up in a tiny village far
from English speaking world and just like you traveled here when I was 18 like it's a huge
Adventure right yeah so your work has been a win into to a large exciting world of Wonder and
art and acting and I'm happy to be able to bring part of this Wonder through my art and finally
live in a fighting City I love Vancouver it's a beautiful City fued with passion to Fantasy
I got education in software um engineering and particularly project management and my question
is how a project manager can transition to production well I mean listen production is
it's not altogether different I know it's not it's it's uh it's problem solving it's uh you
know it's various people in their Department facilitating their Department's needs you know
it's sort of project managing to a de
gree is almost like producing I would have thought um
yeah what would be potential pathway right that's that's the tricky bit um I don't know I honestly
like Ping On a film it's a great way to get your start it's it's quite unless you have a specific
like um vocation in mind or or skill right so like camera or sound um or art Department whatever that
that you might have a specific interest in which case I would say either inter for that specific
department or assist in that department you c
an also PA General production assistant um and a lot
of people PA as a means of just getting their foot in the door and you can work on a film and see
how everybody works and how a film set works and it's such a valuable ground for learning is just
being on a film set and like the day-to-day of how that machine and system operates so I would
definitely itely look into ping or like I said trying to find some sort of uh either intern or
assistant job in a specific Department that you're inter
ested in this is amazing thank you so much
cool well yeah good luck so I have good and bad news for everybody we only have time for two more
questions but the good news is your photo up is at 150 right over here so you can get a picture with
Elijah Wood so we're going to go one over here and then one over go ahead just just did Under The
Wire hi Elijah and John hello welcome back to Vancouver I I first I wanted to Echo Kevin is
the reason I still can't watch Sin City today oh that's the tru
th can't go back I no offense
I just can't are there any surprises among the list of suspects down in New Zealand when you
were there who were the troublemakers on set and did you participate there really weren't um I
mean I would say the most mischievous there was a trailer that had the most the collection of the
most mischievous characters and that would have been um vgo and Orlando cap lanch shared
that trailer um who else was in there uh yeah who else anyway I think was Sean Bean I
thi
nk was in that trailer as well it was it was known as the seago on the call sheet cuz they it
was a dirty word that they didn't want to print on the call sheet c n t y is that word and uh
they were they were rap scallions uh of the of the best order they were amazing and and it was
there was just something about that particular like makeup trailer it's where the booze was um
they definitely would have like a glass of wine at the end of the day it was lovely was all quite
um above board uh b
ut they were hilarious and vgo he he cuz everybody has their own mirror right so
they have their seat in front of their mirror and the then the hair and makeup department has
a mirror to look at to put on your hair and makeup he over the course of the film just kept
putting photos on that mirror so at the end it was completely covered in his makeup artist had no
reference but just to have him like turn around um but yeah I mean look there wasn't a lot of there
was a lot of laughter and a lo
t of silliness and goofiness all the time cuz it was we were all
kind of in the same age ranges for the most part I think that the oldest clearly was Christopher
Lee um and and and perhaps Ian but for the most part it was like a spread between mid to late 20s
to early 40s um a lot of people just also on this crazy adventure together um so I mean was there
pranks and stuff I guess not really but there's a lot of laughter and silliness all the time
that's great thank you very much yeah all ri
ght last question no pressure at all um hi I'm Ginger
hi um I want to know what your favorite scene to film in Lord of the Rings was and why my favorite
which scene scene oh right um favorite scene to film um honestly I loved shooting in B end it's so
iconic and it felt so real and the set design was so extraordinary that any of those scenes I really
enjoyed I just loved being in that environment there's something about the the rounded walls that
just felt so cozy and it was so hoby and so
real I mean our sets were extraordinary but I really
loved be end a lot so all of those scenes working with Ian um that scene at the table in Bend when
he sort of describes what the is and that kind of incredible back and forth as we're having tea and
sort of he's explaining to me about the ring that was an amazing thing to shoot cuz we shot it on
this kind of motion control camera and he Ian Ian was there and I was there he was sat at one kind
of one portion of the table and I sat at anoth
er portion of the table and with forc perspective it
looked like we were sitting opposite one another with him really big and me quite small that
was like that kind of oldfashioned tricker was really fun so yeah and then anytime we got
to shoot sequences with all of the fellowship um I loved being around Billy and Dom and and for
all four of the Hobbits to be together it was always pretty joyful and hilarious thank you
can you also say hi to my mom yeah hi hi your mom you're welcome thank y
ou so much and thank
you so much for spending time with your fans and w
Comments
Thank you SO much for each and every one of your Fan Expo uploads!!