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| BALLS |
One of the biggest no-no's of pop culture is not messing up anything that beloved by a group of nerds. And before I get nailed to a cross, I myself am a nerd and I use that as a term of extreme affection, I mean I married a Harry Potter nerd so I'm entitled to use the term nerd as often as I want. As I digress, directors, writers, and actors have to tread carefully when trying to replicate a favorite fictional character because one bad line utter, one extra action acted upon, or one minor detail too much or too little can lead to the Internet banding together to destroy said director, writer, or actor. It's a tough gig to replicate things that are held in such high regard. Now, back in 2001, a director from New Zealand, more famous for horror and gross-out fare such as "Meet the Feebles" and "Dead Alive" decided he was going to recreate something that everyone said could never be done; that tiny Kiwi, Peter Jackson, was going to recreate Middle Earth from J.R.R. Tolkien's seminal series "The Lord of the Rings." People thought, "The balls on this guy. The closest he'll ever get to a Hobbit would be to look in the mirror!" Well......Jackson did have balls, and with a little help from the Brothers Weinstein, he has able to create Middle Earth, in grand spectacle I might add, in the first of three fantasy epics, starting with "The Fellowship of the Ring," a film that not only changed the way film was made, but the way people thought about fantasy films as a whole.
I keep going back to the word balls. As is in selling real estate, you have to have brass balls to sell an epic three-part series of films to Hollywood executives. If you've ever seen or heard anything about either Bob or Harvey Weinstein, I would be crapping myself before my pitch. Especially if I'm a short New Zealander with only a few films to my name and having never helmed a big-budget film before. Balls......
Needless to say, the series was greenlit, and under the guidance of Jackson, it propelled him to instant fame. Jackson was able to create a lived in world that included The Shire, the Mines of Moria, Rivendale, and the White Tower of Isengard. "Fellowship" is the first part of Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films that tells the story of a Hobbit named Frodo Baggins, who embarks on an epic adventure to destroy a ring of pure evil. With three other Hobbits in tow, Frodo must avoid evil Ring Wraiths hunting for The Ring, and at the same time trying to avoid the temptation of The Ring itself. Deciding that Frodo will need more than his fellow Hobbits to complete his task, a Fellowship is formed that includes a bow-weilding Elf, a stout axe-swinging dwarf, Gandalf the Grey Wizard, and two men, including one who might be the long-lost King of Gondor.
At heart, "Fellowship" is the obligatory opening film from a trilogy that grows in size and scope with every film. You can see Jackson's typical dream-like style plays heavily in the first film that reminded me a lot of "Dead Alive" minus a lawnmower used to plow down dozens of zombies. His action scenes are a little wonky and sometimes the action gets lost in the details, but you can still see the makings of a director still finding his bearings.
The gritty battle scenes of "Fellowship" are a stark contrast to another fantasy series that was also getting underway in 2001; the "Harry Potter" series. While "Potter" was written with a younger demographic in mind, the allegories and vision of Tolkien captured the imagination of a more mature, and older, audience. I'm not here to knock "Potter" heads, but "LotR" has to be considered the more intellectual of the two series', and that's all I'll say before I'm ripped apart by "Potter" fans. But if they want to bring it, I'm here to answer the Horn of Gondor.
What made "Fellowship" such a success was the fact that Jackson made the impossible, possible. He actually created Middle Earth by using New Zealand as the fictitious backdrop of a world of Elves, Hobbits, Orcs, and Trolls. I mean, people travel to New Zealand to visit sets that still stand to this day. The amount of detail still amazes to this day, and Jackson's reliance on practical effects (for the most part) is something that Hollywood is sorely missing in this day and age.
Needless to say, the gamble had paid off for the Weinstein's and New Line Cinema after "Fellowship." Of course there are some nit-picky things I can point out about the film, but it's a fantasy film, and not all things make logical sense in a world filled with non-existent creatures and items. What needs to be concentrated on is how a dream can come try and how one guy, with balls the size of the small island nation he hails from, was able to a film that still dazzles to this day. That film is "The Fellowship of the Rings," a not long required fantasy film to watch, but a necessary FILM to watch.
Fun Fact: 1800 Hobbit feet were made for the production of "The Fellowship of the Ring."
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