In this interview from the North American Premiere of "The Return of the King," Peter Jackson recalls his time spent on the project and responds to one of the most commonly asked questions, "Will he direct 'The Hobbit?'" Richard Taylor also fondly remembers his experiences working on the trilogy.
DIRECTOR PETER JACKSON:
Are you ever prepared for this reception – this phenomenon?
No, it’s exceeded our wildest expectations. When we started this - seven years ago I started it – you never dream that this is what’s going to be the end result. You hope that you’re making films that people are going to like. You hope they’re going to do okay, enough to justify the investment that New Line put in, but this has obviously exceeded that.
Can you describe the bond formed by working on these movies for so long?
Well, the bond is just one of friendship – whatever that word means. It means trusting each other, it means understanding each other. Going through hell together, really, because it was tough making the movies. And the bond just is much stronger, I think, if you’ve gone through the stress of filmmaking. We’d all love to work with each other again in the future.
What will you miss most about the trilogy?
I will just miss working with my friends because that’s what we ended up doing. We were buddies making a film together. And it was very emotional this year saying good-bye to them all. We shot some scenes for “Return of the King” in May and June. We shot the last day with the actors in their costumes and we really felt we reached a significant point in our lives. We were putting this behind us and going into whatever lies ahead.
Any chance you’ll do “The Hobbit?”
Everybody is asking me about “The Hobbit.” They only thing I know is that New Line doesn’t really have the rights to it at this stage. The rights are sort of shared with another studio. There’d have to be a lot of legal stuff happens before we could do it, but nobody has talked to me about it.
Are you ready to do it?
If they ask me, I think it would be a good idea. I’d like to do it. I’d feel weird if somebody else did it. It would seem a bit strange.
Special effects-wise, what can we expect from “The Return of the King?”
“The Return of the King” is, I think, the most emotional of the three. It’s my favorite one of the three. It has conclusion; it finishes the story. I think it’s so conclusive that I think it really justifies the existence of the first two. I mean, if you make a trilogy, the whole point of it is to get to that third chapter.
What was the most challenging thing to do?
It was the juggling of the epic storytelling with all its spectacle, with the intimate emotional story – of getting that balance right.
Richard Taylor (Head of WETA Workshop):
Is it sad finishing up “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy?
It’s very mixed emotions. We’re actually very pleased at some level because we’re filmmakers, not Middle Earth-makers, and we’ve been on it seven years. But the saddest thing is that we may lose contact with the actors and we’ve grown very fond and very close with the actors, as you would after this many years. The crew we’ll always see because Peter’s very loyal, but the actors, it would be sad to lose contact.
Speaking of being loyal, are you going to be working on “King Kong?”
Yep, we’ve been on that for about a year now.
What have you done so far?
Oh, good stuff (laughing). It’s all secret. Unfortunately I’ve got to honor our client so… but good fun though.
What was the most difficult challenge for you on “The Lord of the Rings?”
Well there’s so many but really the biggest challenge was really just empowering that incredible group of young New Zealanders. Only a scattering had ever worked on a TV show or film before at the WETA Workshop, and gaining their trust that we could go on a seven-year journey and bring Tolkien’s written word to the screen. There was been doubt around the world and you can’t let that rub off on the people who want to make the films. Getting them to focus on the final product, that they’re adding brush strokes to the canvas of the film, and the wonders unfolded.
More interviews from the North American Premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King:"
Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom and Liv Tyler, Dominic Monaghan, and David Wenham and John Noble, Viggo Mortensen, and John Rhys-Davies and Bernard Hill
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" Premiere Photos
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" Production Photos
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” Trailer, Credits, Interviews, and Movie News
