|
| British actor Orlando Bloom, 24, co-stars as Legolas Greenleaf, an elf warrior and one of the "Fellowship of the Ring" sworn to protect Frodo Baggins. In his first major film role, Bloom, who will appear in director Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down early next year, is poised on the edge of super-stardom. WW spoke briefly with Bloom about his involvement in a film that seems destined to change the face of modern cinema.
Willamette Week: How does it feel to be part of something that is going to make cinematic history?
It's really hard to gauge how this movie is going to go down. Obviously it's being responded to fantastically. But it's hard to know how to handle what could happen in terms of being part of that. I feel privileged, and I feel blessed to be a part of this project. I loved the movie. I've seen it a couple of times now, and I just feel so proud of it. I feel like if I do nothing else, at least I've done Lord of the Rings.
What was it like working with director Peter Jackson?
Orlando Bloom: Amazing. He is a genius. He's got the heart of a hobbit, he's cool like an elf, he's mad like a wizard, and he's got the fighting spirit of one of those humans. He's all of the characters, and he really just brought the troops forward. He wasn't afraid. He never lost his cool. I never questioned his ability to put the effects in or to get the right reaction, or to make sure that what he got was what he needed.
How did you feel when you first saw the completed film?
Everything that is in that movie is real. It is as genuine to the books as it could be. The only thing that [Jackson] couldn't do was fit it all in. So some things had to be left out, because you can't get all of that information in. But he's created a fantastic film with the best parts of the book, to make it as real as possible. He's a fan of the books--everyone on set was a fan of the books. It was a movie made by the fans for the fans. It was such a labor of love--it really was--and if we put that much energy into it, and that much positive, loving energy, then you hope that the fans are going to respond with the same.
What would you tell fans of Tolkien's books to address any concerns they might have?
The attention to detail was to the extreme. The way that this movie was made was to be as real as possible. And the fans know that although this is fantasy, Tolkien created a world that you can really believe in, because it's so detailed, it's layered with so much history. And Pete was aware of that. Pete said, 'I want the fans to imagine that they're buying a first-class ticket to Middle Earth.' |
|
|