Peter Jackson, Cast & Crew on The Lord of the Rings

The USA Today has published a wonderful article from the set of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The paper talked to director Peter Jackson, the cast and crew about the reshoots, the Oscars and much more. Here's a taste...

With a combined price tag of about $310 million, all three movies were shot simultaneously and principal photography was completed in 2000. But a chance to reunite everyone for extra filming and tweaking has been budgeted for each following year, and the last round of pickup shots was done this past spring.

"Everybody feels we are paying off the story now," says Jackson, taking a rare breather. "The scenes tend to be the more emotionally charged, which is why the actors enjoyed them and why I enjoyed filming them. It absolutely has to be the best. We owe it to people."

The highlight of the closer, which the director confirms could run longer than the three-hour length of its predecessors, is the thunderous clash at Pelennor Fields. The fierce faceoff between the good citizens of Middle-earth and the dark forces of Lord Sauron promises to make the skirmish of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers look like a hobbit family picnic.

Bolstered by previous success, Jackson is rather relaxed under the circumstances. "The mood's kind of enjoyable," he says. "I certainly don't feel as constrained this time around." But the confident calm he exudes belies the sense of urgency and purpose in the air that goes beyond the product on the screen.

Don't miss this article at the link above or in the weekend issue.