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WOOD: Exactly! Exactly.<br />
BOXOFFICE: How much of the first<br />
film have you seen?<br />
WOOD: Early on, we saw edited<br />
scenes put together, and that was an<br />
hour or so of footage, and then I've seen<br />
this last 25-minute cut.<br />
BOXOFFICE: And what are your impressions?<br />
WOOD: Speechless. We all sat in<br />
Cannes and witnessed the screening of<br />
the 25-minute cut, and we were absolutely<br />
blown away. We literally couldn't<br />
articulate what we felt about it after it<br />
stopped. We just asked them to play it<br />
again, because we were so dumbfounded.<br />
It was incredible.<br />
One of the cool things about being a<br />
part of this movie was that while we<br />
were making the film, though we were<br />
most of the time dealing with realistic<br />
imagery that we could actually interact<br />
with, i.e., big sets or people in costume,<br />
there are a lot of times where we had to<br />
work against a blue screen, or there were<br />
CG characters that weren't actually<br />
there to interact with us, or the wider<br />
shots we did and the landscapes [were]<br />
doctored later with added stuff in the<br />
background. So seeing the film in its<br />
completed form—there's so much there<br />
that's new to all of us. So, when we actually<br />
finally see the films, we'll share that<br />
state of shock, because it will be so very<br />
different from what [we did] on the day.<br />
or what we had imagined.<br />
BOXOFFICE: How do you think this<br />
movie has affected and will affect your life?<br />
WOOD: I knew before going to New<br />
Zealand that I would leave a different<br />
person and that it would be life changing<br />
in a lot of ways. I don't quite know how,<br />
or how to describe how it has changed<br />
me. but certainly it has. And, in terms of<br />
what the movie will do once it's released,<br />
I don't really know. One can only speculate.<br />
I've never, ever been a part of anything<br />
this massive.<br />
At the same time as it's so exciting<br />
and possibly really massive on a commercial<br />
scale, it's also something we're so<br />
proud of, and we poured our hearts and<br />
souls into. So it's actually really easy to<br />
meet people who are fans,<br />
as excited about it as they are.<br />
because I'm<br />
BOXOFFICE: / Just thought of something—<br />
doesn't Elijah mean "Chosen One"?<br />
WOOD: Isn't it funny you say that!<br />
Yeah, it does! Well, it also means ''Messenger<br />
of God," but I believe it does<br />
mean Chosen One.<br />
BOXOFFICE: Is this all pre-ordained<br />
then? Did you have an in with the deities?<br />
WOOD: I don't think so, but it all feels<br />
like it was meant to be. It's weird. The<br />
entire project felt like that for everyone.<br />
Everyone who filled the roles that they did<br />
completely inhabited them in a way that it<br />
was as if they were always meant to be<br />
those characters. Everything fell into<br />
place in the right way in this film. And we<br />
were all incredibly blessed to be able work<br />
with each other, and for it to work out and<br />
pan out the way that it did. I think we will<br />
always be so grateful for the experience. It<br />
was certainly one of the most incredible<br />
experiences of my life.<br />
UH<br />
"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship<br />
of the Ring. " Starring Elijah Wood,<br />
Ian McKellen, Sean Astin and Cate Blanchett.<br />
Directed, written and produced by<br />
Peter Jackson. A New Line release. Fantasy.<br />
Rated PG-13. Opens wide 12119.<br />
10501 Florida Aver Minneapolis, MN 55438 • Tel: 952-828-0030<br />
m< ili.iti . Iiiuilni'.yv'im<br />
Response No 421
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