14th OCTOBER 1999
So the journey has begun without me. On Monday 11th October, Elijah Wood et
al gathered in Hobbiton — and I hear they are behaving themselves! I have been in
Toronto, masquerading as Magneto, the master of magnetism, on the set of Bryan Singer's
"X-Men." I have just sent Peter Jackson an
e-mail of good luck. I don't expect an immediate reply — directing a film is totally
time-consuming.
Meanwhile, Tolkien aficionados are mailing to the "Grey Book."
From teenagers and readers old as wizards come the advice, the demands, the warnings -
united by the hope that the film's Gandalf will match their own individual interpretations
of the Lord of the Rings. I take comfort from the general assurance that they approve of
the casting (not just of me but of all the other actors so far announced - thrilling news
that Cate Blanchett is joining us.) Yet how can I satisfy everyone's imagined Gandalf?
Simply, I can't.
I recognise the responsibility of course. It's not as if LOTR were a play
that could be revived over and over, each new cast adding to the discoveries that their
predecessors have made. The Jackson trilogy will be unique. It is, after all, unlikely
that there will be a re-make any time soon - although there have already been the cartoon
"Hobbit" (which I have yet to see) and the BBC's radio LOTR (with Ian Holm as
Frodo). But some of my correspondents seem to think that actors are essayists or critics
who analyse a character's complexities and then parade them, like sticking on a false
beard. It's just not like that.
It bears repeating that, as with Richard III or James Whale or Magneto, I
must discover Gandalf somewhere inside myself - and that process depends on absorbing the
words of the script and its story, listening to the reactions of the director and
responding to the performances of the rest of the cast. So now, still 3 months away from
shooting (for me), my Gandalf doesn't exist, not even in my mind. He will only come to
life as the camera turns and discoveries are made in the very moment. Even when I am in
the thick of it, in costume and make-up and speaking Tolkien's words, I'm not sure I will
be able to describe the character to you. Actors don't describe - they inhabit.
So these Grey Book notes may be more about me than about Gandalf and may
disappoint the experts who will have to be patient and wait for the finished movies. I'm
sorry if 2001 seems a long way off.
———-0———-
I do know a few things of interest however.
I've tried on some preliminary costumes from Ngila Dickson's designs and
had my head measured by Peter Owen whose workshops in Bristol UK are in charge of wigs. He
came to my home in London just after I was back in August from a visit to Wellington,
where the LOTR studios are.
It is fortunate that there are so few illustrations of the novels that have
impinged on the readers' eyes. Otherwise we might get trapped into simply copying them. A
2-dimensional, painted Gandalf who looks good on a book-cover might be impossible for a
flesh-and-blood actor to reproduce. Rather, Ngila, Peter and I have started as Tolkien
does with "a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak and a silver scarf: a long
white beard" but how tall is "tall", how long is "long" and how
practical in a high New Zealand wind, are "bushy eyebrows that stick out beyond the
brim of his hat" ?
Answering these and weightier puzzles is the responsibility of the
designers and their craftspeople who have been in training for 2 years at the WETA
workshops in Wellington. I have seen the results of their deliberations - and been
overwhelmed. Their work on masks, armoury, weapons is almost complete and it is
complementary to that of the visual effects experts who will enhance the New Zealand
landscapes. They have solved how to make the Hobbits appear to be the right size, in any
number of ways, most too complicated for me to understand. They know whether Gollum be an
actor or a puppet or a computer effect or all three. They have designed Hobbiton and built
it — a year ago so it has weathered — and allowed the vegetation to grow round about.
As a child I was fascinated by books about theatre and cinema magic, so I
sympathise with those who want advance information from the LOTR magicians. It will be up
to Peter Jackson to decide if and when the secrets are made public. — Ian McKellen,
Toronto, 14 October 1999
Next:
|
