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 "The interesting phenomenon with our script-writing is that with every draft that we wrote, it became closer and closer to what was in the book. It became nearer to Tolkien." Peter Jackson "Peter and Fran's relationship as filmmakers is ideal, really, because Fran is so good at putting words down on paper, and Peter's so good at putting those words into vision." Jamie Selkirk Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens Another of the relationships among the crew that I find very inspiring is that of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. Peter is the director, co-producer and co-writer of Lord of the Rings, Fran is the co-producer and co-writer, and Philippa is the co-writer. I love these three: their commentaries on the Extended Edition DVDs are my favourites: I could listen to the three of them talkign all day! The three of them are friends (and Peter and Fran are partners) and are, of course, fans of Tolkien. This love of the book and of Tolkien shines through in the screenplay. The dedication, characteristic of this production, is obivous. They would often be writing scenes the night before shooting, or even on the day of shooting, constantly working to get the job done. They worked together, collaborated, to form the seamless screenplay of these three films. To take one example of the writers' resepct of Tolkien's work, take the fact that, although they left out Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-downs, they still pay homage to these chapters through Treebeard, in his lines at Wellinghall, almost verbatim from Tom's lines, and through Gollum, who recites the Wight's Chant in the Dead Marshes. Or to take another example, look at all of the little tidbits left around by the writers to fans of the book. For example, one of the chapter titles in The Hobbit is 'Not at Home'; we hear Bilbo say these very words in the film, at Bag End, when the Sackville-Bagginses are knocking at his door. Little things like these are very minor, but are quite significant in that they prove how well they knew and loved the book. Their version of the book is about the most faithful a film can possibly get, in my humble opinion, and I take my figurative hat off to them! And, of course, Peter Jackson as a director: no person in history has ever attempted such a daring act as Peter has done, and it's not likely that anybody else will for a long time, either. He took a huge risk, and it payed off; and he should be commended for his amazing feat! And thankfully, he has been! He has been given filmmakings highest honour: an Academy Award, an award that will go down in film history. My misgivings towards the Academy now wholly taken back! These films are well and truly Peter's; everything in them is ultimately down to him. These three films are going to be the films that he'll be remembered for in many years to come, as a landmark in cinema history: a landmark not dissimilar to Tolkien's landmark in literary history. Quotes: "Philippa Boyens is one of those people who read The Lord of the Rings once a year every year since she was sixteen years old, and knew everything about Lord of the Rings." Peter Jackson "The collaboration between the three of us came down to Fran and I working incredibly close together, locked in the hotel rooms, locked in the office at home, getting the work done, Fran then taking it ti Peter and reshaping." Philippa Boyens "Often we'd come to bits where we knew there was action involved, so we'd just go, 'They fight' and it turns into twenty minutes of the finished film, because you just knew Peter was going to come along and do it brilliantly. And, the reverse, I have to say, is true: Peter did that with the kissing! He would just hand it over to us and say, 'Well, that's your department!'" Philippa Boyens "There were probably some times when it was two against one, and it was actually Philippa and Fran going against Peter. He's the only guy with these two women pounding away on these issues!" Rick Porras "One of the greatest things that I've got out of this experience wasn't being able to work on these books which I love so dearly, it was working with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh." Philippa Boyens "Peter and Fran are a great team working together. They live and breathe the project and they manage to keep a family life together quite successfully." Barrie Osborne "The truth is, you can't be a guardian of this. It's an organic thing. The film is what it is. The books are untouchable: they exist, they will always exist, and this is one group of fans' version. We all love these books: we're fans of these books and this world, and this is our interpretation, our vision, our attempt to bring it to life." Philippa Boyens Links: Official Peter Jackson fanclub Peter Jackson's IMDb listing Fran Walsh's IMDb listing Philippa Boyens' IMDb listing | |