Plus, an update on The Hunt for Gollum!
This article appears in the new issue ofDEN OF GEEK magazine.
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But who remembers the king who gave the setting its name?
King Helm Hammerhandwas a legendary ruler of the horse-loving kingdom of Rohan, whose story was outlined briefly inJ.R.R.
Tolkiens appendices toThe Lord of the Rings.
And it comes down to these very human emotions of obsession and love that have turned to hate.
Wed been looking at animated films, Boyens explains, and we said, What about anime?
I thought, There is a story that could work really well.
Theres something about the Rohirrim that speaks to that great tradition of Japanese storytelling.
Theres a magical quality to it that elevates it.
It also allowed us to bring Kenji Kamiyama to the world of it.
And hes such a masterful director.
Kamiyama has an extensive background in anime television shows, includingBlade Runner: Black LotusandStar Wars: Visions.
For him, Jacksons films were the key to entering Tolkiens world.
The book was such a dense translation into Japanese, he tells us.
But Jacksons films made him realize what kind of story this was.
The design of the film clearly references Jacksons trilogies while also putting its own stamp on the material.
We were given open access to everything they had, Kamiyama says.
The concept artists John Howe and Alan Lee also came on board.
The process of creating an animated film is, of course, quite different from filmmaking in live-action.
For Brian Cox, playing Helm Hammerhand was a welcome return to radio acting.
Im a passionate lover of the radio, he tells us, I love radio acting.
I love it for selfish reasons.
When you read fight noises on a page, Wise says, you go, Can you elaborate slightly?
Pasqualino had the benefit of some prior sword-fighting experience to draw on in the BBCsThe Musketeers.
We both choked ourselves, he says, and I lost my voice.
But it was the very final take of my very final recording.
So at least that happened then and not before!
It was casually thrown around, [numbers] like 2,000 horses or 3,000 horses, Kamiyama says.
But they had to move, and they dont just move.
They have to be in a battle.
And then you have the intricacies of detail in terms of armor and then the clothes.
If you trace it, it becomes a rotoscope.
Then it becomes a human movement, so you might as well do it as a live-action movie.
I feel like Ive fallen in love with animation, she says.
The Hunt for Gollumis going brilliantly, Boyens tells us.
I had forgotten how much story there ishe must be one of the most brilliant characters Tolkien ever wrote.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opens in theaters Dec. 13.
