Fantasy made Flesh

By Brian Sibley, The Sunday Times Magazine, 25 November 2001

Director

Stuntmen

Producer

Costume designer

Actors

Movie making

Cameraman

Script writer

Editor

Production designer

Won Oscar in 2004 for Best Director

Peter Jackson

The Dark Lord Sauron

Gandalf the Grey, a wizard

Bilbo Baggins

Frodo

Bag End, in Hobbiton

Inconceivable impossible to imagine or believe

It is inconceivable that the minister was not aware of the problem. Then the inconceivable happenedI lost my job.

Fluorescent

producing bright light by using some forms of radiation

a fluorescent lamp (= one that uses such a substance) / fluorescent lighting fluorescent armbands worn by cyclists

Authenticity

Genuine / trustworthy The authenticity of the letter is beyond doubt. A sentry checked the ID card's authenticity then activated the electronic turnstile.

tendrils

thin plant part attached to support Looking up he saw a long tendril like a spiders web.

sequel

a book, film/movie, play, etc. that continues the story of an earlier one
There was an interesting sequel to these events later in the year.

labyrinthine

Having a complicated series of paths

Labyrinthine corridor / legislation / streets

Comprehension
A 1. A weta is a large cockroach-like insect from New Zealand. 2. The name of the house is Bag End. 3. The name of the director is Peter Jackson. 4. The names of Bilbos and Frodos favourite tobaccos are Longbottom Leaf and Old Toby. 5. The name of the elven haven is Lothlorien.

B
1. The fellowship encounter the cave troll in the Mines of Moria.

2. He was trying to show the way the brutish creature reacts when hit by a spear. 3. The challenges were: kitting out the equivalent of several large armies, designing and making prosthetics, making everything from hand-tooled leather armour for a king and others 4. The Hobbit portrayed a boys jaunt in search of a stolen dragon while the Lord of the Rings depicted Frodos desperate quest to throw away a great treasure.

C 1. Five minute drive; 12-hour train ride; a thousand pages; 20 years; three pictures concurrently; five years; 14 months; 10,000 digitally creates orcs; 900 suits of armour; 2,000 weapons; 1,600 pairs of hairy Hobbit feet.

2. as if filming three pictures concurrently wasnt an unprecedented venture in cinema history. as if the project hadnt been in the planning stage for nearly five years. as if he hadnt been filming with scarcely a break now, for 14 months.