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Sir Ian McKellen removes the beard and conjures up a behind-the-scenes view of
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
There is, as yet, no Academy award specifically for casting. Which is a great
shame for casting directors Jon Hubbard and Victoria Burrows, who would surely
have accompanied their peers as Oscar shoe-ins for their work on The Lord of
the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
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From the bright eyed Elijah Wood as Frodo and Orlando Bloom's ever-elegant elf
Legolas to Christopher Lee's wonderfully disturbing Sauron, almost every member
of the cast seem born for their roles. The pick of the bunch, however, is
unarguably Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey (to give him his full name).
Even out-of-character and in relaxed conversation about the making of this
amazing movie, the film and theatre veteran retains all the gravity and stature
of the on-screen wizard. Although McKellen is quick to claim that the character
is most definitely left on set. "After a long day on the set I was only too
happy to revert to normality. Gandalf was always with me, inside me I suppose,
but when I was out of make-up and costume I had no problems setting aside 'The
Lord of the Rings' consciously." McKellen describes his vision of Gandalf as
"an archetypal wizard - related to Merlin and maybe even Prospero". Yet he had
strong views from the start about certain fantasy stereotypes. "Gandalf's magic
I see as being subtle. I hate seeing fantasy movies where wizards are portrayed
having lightning bolts coming out of their fingertips."
Not that McKellen's wizard rests on his laurels by any means, as McKellen
continues: "When the journey begins and great things are at stake, he makes a
real contribution to The Fellowship. He shows his stuff as a warrior."
Indeed, Gandalf is often called upon to show his stuff, leading the
fellowship's charge against a variety of Orcs, Trolls and otherworldly foes -
enough action to make the actor content he was not doing his own stunts. As
McKellen explains: "Generally if some action is potentially dangerous, I am
happy to let others take over, knowing that in the completed film, no one will
be the wiser.
Looking to the Future, McKellen is suitably philosophical about the risks of
stereotyping that the trilogy's success could bring, "There are worse fates
than to be permanently associated with a great literary icon, should that come
about!"
THE MAKING OF MIDDLE-EARTH
Breathtaking. There really is no other way to describe the achievement of Peter
Jackson and his team in bringing Tolkien's fantasy masterpiece to the big
screen. Over 120 technicians were employed to physically create the world and
special effects, while 20,602 extra man days helped to populate it over the 274
days shooting. The result served to transfix the actors as much as the viewers,
with Christopher Lee summing it up best: "This is the outright creation of an
entire world," he said. "It brings together history and languages and cultures
and makes a dreamscape come true."
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