Starting from mid-February, Duke and Anna Prinz concluded their respective outdoor shooting and began working in the Wellington studio, collaborating with the technical team from Weta Workshop to shoot a large number of CGI composite shots. Duke even temporarily handed over the shooting to Anna Prinz while he focused on participating in purely CGI scenes for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Of course, this situation lasted only a few days, and Duke would not be away from the set for too long.
As time went by and shooting deepened, the actual operation of the entire crew far outpaced Duke's plan. By now, Duke had thoroughly understood himself. He could easily capture and utilize the commercial elements of film, the fast-paced and grand-scale filmmaking. Though more complicated than independent films, he found it easy to control the entire process.
On the other hand, slow-paced films driven purely by emotions, which always depict characters' completely opposite mental states, were much more difficult for him to grasp.
In other words, Duke's inner character leans toward realism, while the films he excels at producing lean toward naivety.
This situation brought more benefits than drawbacks. His understanding of the real world was more grounded, preventing unrealistic fantasies. If he naïvely viewed Hollywood as a pure, unblemished place, he would not even know how he might be played.
As for films with a theme leaning toward naivety, it meant a broader audience. Even a small indie film with explosive audience and media reception couldn't match the commercial success of a successful blockbuster.
The Lord of the Rings novel was widely accepted by Western audiences, so as long as the film didn't inject too much inexplicable artistic air, it would inevitably be a mass-market film. Though the movie touched on the darker side of human nature, it still resembled a fairy tale in many ways.
Turning a fairy tale into a purely artistic film would surely flop. Therefore, Duke repeatedly requested Weta Workshop to strengthen the special effects and battle scenes.
Though the post-production for The Fellowship of the Ring wouldn't begin until later in the year, Duke's plan was for the film to break world records with around 1600 CGI shots!
As for whether some professionals would come forward to criticize him for turning such a grand production into a CGI animation movie, Duke didn't care. According to the development of the film industry, purely CGI live-action films would eventually emerge.
Technological advancement couldn't be stopped by someone shouting against it; the conservatives would ultimately be eliminated.
For the rest of February, the crew remained in the studio. Like Cate Blanchett, some actors with fewer but significant roles were finishing their scenes and preparing to leave the set.
After more than a year of working together, inevitable farewells were in order.
In front of the blue screen in the studio, Gerard Butler's Boromir lay in a pile of leaves, pierced by three black orc arrows, seemingly on the verge of death.
Duke stood behind the director's monitor, unconsciously nodding. He was clearly satisfied with the state of the two actors.
Viggo Mortensen's acting wasn't top-tier, but it was very good. He captured Aragorn perfectly, and in the scenes already filmed, he had almost fully transformed into King Elessar.
In comparison, Gerard Butler was undeniably a little weaker. The muscular actor wasn't particularly known for his acting skills, but his efforts were evident, and he was performing above his usual level.
Every movie has its climax, and even The Lord of the Rings trilogy wasn't an exception. The Battle of Amon Hen in The Fellowship of the Ring was the film's climax, and Boromir's death was the finishing touch.
After being invited to Rivendell, Boromir had served as the backbone of the Fellowship, saving several hobbits from orcs multiple times. However, Gondor stood at the forefront of the war against Mordor, and protecting his country and White City was Boromir's obsession. Influenced by the human nature Tolkien wrote, he couldn't resist the temptation of the One Ring and tried to claim it for himself to fight against Mordor's power.
His greed was despised, yet his dreams and regret were moving. He had once told Aragorn that he wanted to return to Gondor, hear the horn of Gondor's calls, and see the White Tree's banners fly above Minas Tirith.
Boromir's wish was never realized, but unlike the original novel, the film would give him a heroic acknowledgment.
Gerard Butler, holding his sword at his chest as if summoning his remaining strength and belief, said to Viggo Mortensen, "I would follow you, my brother, my leader, my king..."
"Rest in peace, son of Gondor."
Aragorn's line was undoubtedly the best praise for Boromir. Viggo Mortensen closed Gerard Butler's eyes and kissed his forehead like a king...
Behind them, Orlando Bloom, carrying a short bow, glanced sideways at the two of them. To an outsider, it might seem full of bromance.
"Cut!" Duke shouted, then said, "Viggo, Jerry, great job, but you need to do it again."
This was one of the most emotional scenes in The Fellowship of the Ring. While the performances of both actors were excellent, Duke's demand for perfection meant they would shoot again.
After three more takes, Duke finally called it a wrap. This scene's conclusion marked Boromir's end in Middle-earth, and Gerard Butler would soon be saying farewell to the crew.
On camera, Viggo Mortensen helped Gerard Butler up from the leaves, and Gerard nodded to him before walking briskly toward Duke. A camera assistant from John Schwartzman's team immediately set up a Steadicam, following Butler's tall, strong figure.
Since there would be no more shooting, Gerard Butler pulled out the three arrows stuck in his costume and tossed them aside before walking up to Duke and giving him a big hug.
"Thank you, Duke."
From being an unknown actor, he had become a more prominent newcomer, and Duke had played a crucial role. Gerard Butler was deeply grateful. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of this amazing journey."
"You've improved a lot, Jerry."
Slapping him on the back, Duke parted ways with Gerard Butler. "Keep working hard, we'll have more chances to collaborate in the future."
The copyright for that illustrated novel was with Warner Bros., and the director was Duke's long-time assistant, so he wouldn't miss the chance.
Taking another step back, Duke gestured for someone to bring a silver horn from Gondor. It was a ritual when a major actor left the set – a prop used by the character would be given as a keepsake.
The horn of Boromir was given to Gerard Butler.
Gerard Butler took it, briefly handed it to his assistant, and began hugging the rest of the crew, bidding farewell. It was a heartfelt moment, but the camera following Gerard Butler reminded everyone it was just another common Hollywood farewell.
These recorded moments would be useful for the film's early promotions and DVD releases.
The parting was brief. Gerard Butler left the set, but that didn't bring any real sorrow. The crew kept working, though with the main scenes mostly done, the remaining shots were more scattered. After entering March, one scene might still be shooting the strong orcs of Isengard, and the next would be at Mount Doom, showing Andy Serkis biting Elijah Wood's finger.
Correspondingly, the crew's shooting pace also slowed down.
Duke had originally planned a 15-month shooting schedule, but even though the pace had slowed, he was confident he could wrap up all shots in around 14 months.
This was thanks to the experience he had learned from others and the crew's thorough pre-production work.
During the breaks in shooting, Duke also went to Australia twice as The Matrix Sequels were in intense preparation. After all, it was two films being shot together. While the workload wasn't as massive as The Lord of the Rings, it was still plenty complicated, and production wouldn't start until the second half of the year.
Zack Snyder had been by Duke's side for nearly ten years, serving as his first assistant director. He had been trained enough and now, during pre-production, he didn't face many problems.
He also knew that he was no longer a senior assistant director but a rookie director. Some powers would not be his, and he understood when to step back.
Like most directors and producers, Zack Snyder had conflicts with the Warner Bros. producers, but they remained within a controllable range.
At the same time, Duke received a rough cut of Mission: Impossible 2 from Tom Cruise, who even came to Wellington to watch the cut with Duke.
Clearly, during their evolving relationship, Tom Cruise had developed great trust in Duke's judgment on films.
Tom Cruise even said, "If you're not satisfied, I can veto the cut made by John Woo and hand it to you or Mike Dawson to recut!"
Duke didn't do that. While the reception for Mission: Impossible 2 might be slightly worse than Mission: Impossible 1, John Woo had done a good job. As long as the promotion went well, the film's box office should surpass the first.
Of course, this was a sequel to a hugely successful film. If the box office didn't surpass the first one, John Woo would probably be out of work soon after.
After seeing Tom Cruise off, Tina Fey brought the latest stock market updates from North America!
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