Oh, the things we do for the things we love... - Page 2
© Michael Martinez
Karl was our first guest speaker, and he came in on Thursday evening, very tired after a long flight. He was nonetheless enthused about being at Dragoncon (where he was involved in not only the Tolkien track but also the Hercules and Xena track, and was promoting his upcoming television series, THE PRIVATEERS).
Although he could not discuss details about his character (Eomer) or movie plots or location details, Karl confessed that he is totally enthused about being in the movies and would gladly have taken the role of "third spear holder on the left". He also believes dedicated Tolkien fans will be impressed with what they see in the movies despite the changes which have been revealed in the storyline. He had read the books when he was younger and jumped at the opportunity to be in the films.
Speaking only in general terms, and drawing on his experience on both HERCULES and XENA as well, Karl did talk about the aspects of being involved in an action film, including the pitfalls for the stunt people and stunt actors who take the majority of the bruising and beating that occurs in performing take after take, but he did share at least one anecdote where he and another actor came away after a week of filming (on a movie called "Amazon Nation", a never-released pilot for a television series) with many bruises.
Working with Bob Anderson, the legendary swordmaster who has trained so many actors for numerous films over the past 50 years, was a big thrill for Karl, and he said he was amazed when someone pointed out that Anderson had actually performed in the early "Star Wars" fight sequences as Darth Vader. Karl had only positive things to say about his fellow cast and crew. The movie production is massive, and the 400 or so people involved in the project are so hyped and so positive they are all bursting with good, solid feelings about the progress which has been made and the directions which are being followed.
Brad Dourif was obviously containing his enthusiasm, he so badly wished to be able to speak freely about certain aspects of the production, but he was always careful to decline to answer questions which asked for details or veered too close to the fine line he dared not cross. He did say it was a great pleasure to work with Christopher Lee, who has read the book every year for at least 25 years and knows the details well enough to occasionally correct some of the experts who have been working on the films.
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