I guess it just reinforced the things that I believe in, or in my good moments, I adhere to, which is what you’re talking about, you know the idea of compassion, the idea of looking out for other people, especially people that can’t maybe look out for themselves at times. But beyond that, just being open to the points of view or the personal difficulties of people that you furiously might disagree with, or that you might feel that you’re quite different from. I think that for anybody or any nation, that’s a good thing, to at least be open to that. It starts with thinking about the affects of what you say and what you do on other people. And before you start to think you should go solve the contradictions and the behavior of others, or other countries or whatever, you should solve the contradictions in yourself.
I think that one of the lessons from the story is that we always have to be somewhat vigilant. Even as it ends, it has sort of a bittersweet ending like the book. It’s obvious that there have been scars, not just physical, but emotional scars, that some have been lost along the way, beginning with Boramir and Gandalf the Grey, and elves, and many people have suffered or lost their lives for this. But even those who have survived are all maybe a little wiser for it, but they’re definitely a little bit damaged, you know? There’s a peaceful feeling at the end, but there’s a price. You know what I mean? And I think that if there’s one thing that everyone’s realized, whether it be Sam back at the Shire, or Aragorn now inaugurating the Age of Men - the 4th Age, Middle Earth and all that - is that there’s always going to be work to do. You can have fun and celebrate the victories and all that, but what the Ring represents, the Ring in itself was not an evil, it’s not an evil object in and of itself, it just represents the possibility that you can take the wrong path at any given time.
It starts at home. It starts with your friends. You saw in the relationship with Sam and Frodo, or Merry and Pippin, or Aragorn or Arwen, the union of the characters. I think the lesson is is it’s more important than their individual existences. How you connect with others and how you relate to the world around you is what really is the hope of people and mankind. It’s the same thing in our world. And when you ignore that fact and you think, “Well, what can I get out of this for myself?” That’s when you’re starting to go down the wrong trail. I don’t know where the question was in there, but I hope you got something you can use (laughing).
PAGE 3: Photography, Poetry, and Philosophy
Additional “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” Press Junket Interviews:
John Rhys-Davies, Sean Astin, Bernard Hill, David Wenham/John Noble, and Richard Taylor/Barrie M. Osborne
“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” Premiere Coverage:
Orlando Bloom/Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood/Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, David Wenham/John Noble, John Rhys Davies/Bernard Hill, and Peter Jackson/Richard Taylor
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” Photo Gallery
"Return of the King” Trailer, Credits, Soundtrack Info and Movie News
