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| | Elijah Wood's LOTR salary wasn't 'where you could rest easy for the rest of your life' | | Added 28 hours ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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The Lord of the Rings trilogy (and The Hobbit) is, IMO, probably the greatest epic fantasy story ever written. I read (and re-read) all four of those books while I was growing up. We even named my family dog Indiana after one of the characters. I think the Peter Jackson movies are incredible. I know book fans have quibbles, but I think they?re wonderful. My family and I rewatch them every year between Christmas and New Year?s. If we don?t do the extended cuts, it?s a three-day affair. If we go extended, it?s a six-day commitment, lol. But, it?s still my six favorite movie-watching days of the entire year. (Controversial opinion: I actually don?t really like the Fellowship extended cut, but absolutely love the other two. I know someone else out there is with me!)
Anyway, I think all LOTR fans can agree that the cast and crew of those movies truly loved and respected the source material. They knew what they were doing was a big deal, and that it was going to change their lives. The nine actors in the Fellowship even got commemorative tattoos. Its been shocking to learn just how little the principal actors were paid for their starring roles. Last year, Cate Blanchett revealed that no one got paid much for their roles. Recently, Elijah Wood was asked about his LOTR paycheck. He confirmed that they didn?t make a lot for their acting, explaining that the real prize was the friends they made along the way.
Elijah Wood is the latest cast member to be asked about the surprisingly low salaries the cast of ?The Lord of the Rings? earned as part of Peter Jackson?s landmark trilogy, which went on to gross nearly $3 billion at the worldwide box office. Cate Blanchett, who starred as Galadriel in the franchise, went viral last August for saying on ?Watch What Happens Live? that ?no one got paid anything to do that movie.? She joked: ?I basically got free sandwiches and I got to keep my [elf] ears? as pay.
Speaking to Business Insider at the 2025 Texas Film Awards, Wood confirmed his ?Rings? salary was not a big one, despite leading the trilogy as Frodo. However, the actor doesn?t mind at all.
?Because we weren?t making one movie and then renegotiating a contract for the next, it wasn?t the sort of lucrative scenario that you could sort of rest easy for the rest of your life,? Wood explained, referencing how Jackson and New Line Cinema shot all three ?Rings? movie back-to-back. As such, there was never time for one of the films to open before the next started filming, thus no opportunity for contract re-negotiations based on the franchise?s box office success.
Wood said New Line Cinema made a ?a real gamble? shooting all three movies at once, and the studio was able to take such a risk by offering ?not massive salaries? to the actors. Wood added: ?The benefit of that was that we were also signing up for something that was going to be a part of our lives forever.?
In a 2019 interview on ?The Howard Stern Show,? Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas, said he was paid just $175,000 for all three movies. Sean Astin, who shared many scenes with Wood as Samwise Gamgee, later said he got about $250,000 for the films. Business Insider asked Wood if he made the same as Astin, to which the actor said that figure was not accurate and ?it doesn?t matter? because the value ?Rings? had his on his career and life is priceless.
Regarding Blanchett?s sandwich comment, Wood called it ?hilarious? and said ?statements like that are not made with any kind of ire. It?s such an honor to have been a part of those films and they represent some of the best experiences of my life.?
[From Variety]
I?ve always wondered why Elijah, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd were so into doing the convention circuit, but now I know why. Even adjusted for inflation, that is absolutely f-cking crazy. Those actors left everything to live on set. They worked grueling hours for 14 months with the anticipation of mega-success. There is no way that executives didn?t account for those movies being a financial success. Sure, it was the role of a lifetime for every single one of them, but 90% of that cast had a career beforehand and was going to have one afterward.
I was also curious about residuals, so I looked it up. Apparently, no one has gotten any substantial amount in residuals, either. That is wild! Everyone knew what the stakes were; I can?t believe that no one?s agent negotiated salaries to make sure they reaped the financial benefits for decades to come. Yes, at the time, making three movies back-to-back was a ?real gamble,? but why was there no contingency-based pay-off? They?re the gift that keeps on giving. Justice for Frodo!
Photos credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Yamak Perea/EyePix/INSTARimages, Cortes/Wenn/Avalon
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| | Angelina Jolie talked about having intimacy with 'Maria' director Pablo Larrain | | Added 28 hours ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Angelina Jolie?s interviews are still coming out because she spent the better part of four months hustling for Pablo Larrain?s Maria. I used to dream of days like this, with Angelina doing these huge promotional tours. The only bad part about it is that Jolie is very repetitive, and people keep asking her about the same thing, how she thinks learning how to sing opera is therapeutic. In this recently published Dazed Digital interview, she talks about that and she brings up something new: how Pablo Larrain was operating the camera as they shot Maria. That explains the intimacy they have with each other, and how much Angelina seems to trust him.
Opera singing as therapy: ?I?m telling you, I?m going to start therapy sessions for people?.It?s the best. It?s beyond that primal scream because it?s all sounds, but it?s a depth that very few people have ever been asked to express. It?s everything you have, whatever it is that you?re feeling. It?s to open up, and know yourself. It?s not just this uncontrolled, unhinged sound. It?s trying to really connect with your own voice, your own breath, your own body, and to express something. In an opera, it comes with a lot of really heavy emotion. In normal acting, you?re expressing yearning. You want something. In opera, it is huge. It?s huge.
Whether opera training is similar to physical training for an action film: ?I think anything where you?re pushing your body to an extreme, to test yourself against the world, to see what you can do, to see what you have in you ? it?s aways a really important thing for people to do. I don?t think we do it enough today. There?s so much focus on people being comfortable today. Something making something easier for somebody. Somebody finding a way to do it the shortest way.
How Pablo Larrain operated the camera in ?Maria?: ?We were dancing. Also ? we?ve never talked about this ? it really helps when your director is behind the camera. It draws something out of you that you want to communicate. [Turns to Larran] I wanted to communicate something to you. I knew you were there to catch it. But I was also speaking to you through this?.We?re onstage together in the opera. We?re in the dressing room. I?m crying and weeping, and he?s sitting next to me. It?s probably why he draws so much intimacy out of his characters and actors. When you see his films and really feel something with the performances, it?s because he?s so connected to them.
Maria Callas is so strong and vulnerable: ?I think that?s true, though. The strongest people in the world are the ones who are able to be honest and open with their emotional life.
Younger people should listen to opera: ?Yes, and to not see it as something that doesn?t belong to them. I felt that growing up as an American and somebody of a different generation. I thought: this isn?t really for me. I was completely wrong. Everybody should sit in the dark, put it on, and let it have its effect. I think they?ll fall in love with it.
[From Daze Digital]
My question: is it crazy for me to want Angelina and Pablo to date or something more? I guess I?m doing a vibe check they obviously became quite close through this process, but is there the potential for something romantic or sexual? Hm. As for Angelina?s comments about young people, I agree. The film could conceivably convince Gen Z to go to the opera or listen to opera. You never know.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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