In the first part of The Lord of the Rings, the scene where the nine Ringwraiths chase Arwen is thrilling and can be considered one of the highlights of the film. However, after Arwen crosses the Ford of Bruinen and calls upon the river to wash away the Ringwraiths, the scene seems somewhat unrealistic when viewed in the film.
According to the original novel's setting, the Ringwraiths indeed fear fire and water. That's why Aragorn, fighting alone, can use fire to drive off some of the Ringwraiths. Yet when Arwen stands by the Ford and summons water to wash the Ringwraiths, they are closer to the far bank, but instead of fleeing toward the opposite shore, they run along the river and are all swept away in the end...
The nine Ringwraiths were once called the nine greatest kings of men. Even if they weren't enhanced by Sauron's magic, as depicted in The Return of the King, they shouldn't be foolish to this degree.
Therefore, when Duke saw the exterior location had turned into a dry creek bed, he immediately decided to abandon it. After traveling nearly a hundred miles, he chose to film in another river, which was only four feet deep but wide enough for the scene.
The upstream section of the river was equipped with a blue screen for post-production CGI to create the water flow. The stunt actors playing the Ringwraiths, along with Alessandra Ambrosio and her stunt double, were ready.
The horseback chase across the plain had already been filmed the first time Ambrosio came to the set. Now only the scenes related to the Ford of Bruinen needed filming.
In fact, it wasn't difficult. Ambrosio's stunt double rode a horse across the river and faced the nine Ringwraiths from across the river. After just two takes, Duke called for a cut, and it was time for Alessandra Ambrosio to perform the scene herself.
Although she wasn't adept at riding at full speed, standing by the river was no problem. The Frodo on the horse was a silicone dummy, so controlling it was relatively easy.
Duke had instructed John Schwartzman to focus on the water splashing up from the horse's hooves when the Ringwraiths charged. Then he approached Ambrosio, who stood beside her white horse.
"How's the practice going, Colleen?" Duke asked.
"Didn't you already hear last night?" She blinked innocently. "Is it standard?"
The two had spent most of their evenings together these past days, and Duke was the type to not mind discussing things after they were done. Before leaving, he had reminded her, "Make sure to use the British accent!"
Arwen calls the river with the Quenya language here, and Duke intended to record the sound on site, so he went over the instructions again.
Returning to his position behind the director's camera, Duke checked in with the assistant director to see how everything was progressing and nodded to the script supervisor.
"Scene 942, Act 11. Begin!"
Alessandra Ambrosio, dressed in moss-colored armor, rode her white horse, one arm holding Frodo's silicone dummy and the other drawing her curved sword as she faced the nine Ringwraiths across the Ford of Bruinen.
"If you want it, come and take it!" Alessandra Ambrosio's face radiated with fierce intent.
The nine Ringwraiths drew their swords and charged into the Ford. Due to their fear of water, their movement was slow.
As the Ringwraiths entered the water, the boom crane quickly descended, positioning the microphone above Ambrosio's head.
Alessandra Ambrosio then recited in British-accented Quenya, "The waters of the Misty Mountains, hear my command, rush forth and carry the Ringwraiths away, the waters of the Misty Mountains, hear my command…"
John Schwartzman's camera lowered to capture the changes in the water's surface.
Just as the nine Ringwraiths reached the center of the river, they seemed to sense the impending danger, turned their heads to look at the blue screen upstream, and then began to flee...
"Cut!" Duke shouted forcefully. "That take is good!"
At the end of July in New Zealand, the temperature had dropped to the lowest of the year. While the North Island wasn't frozen, it was still far from warm. After filming, both the actors and the horses quickly had caretakers attend to them, drying off water droplets and wrapping them in blankets and rugs to keep warm.
Then, a protest from animal rights activists could be heard from outside the set. Duke ignored them, focusing instead on reviewing the footage from the day. There were security personnel following the protesters, so he wasn't concerned about any disturbances.
If they were serious about their claims, canceling this scene and replacing it with a human stunt double or postponing until the weather warmed in October? Duke had no time to deal with them. The filming of the film was almost finished.
After instructing the assistant director to take care of the footage from that day, Duke walked over to the horse trainer to check on the horses. The time the horses spent in the water was extremely limited, but the horse actors seemed fine.
Back by the river, Duke stood on a large rock, gazing at the wide but shallow Ford of Bruinen. The props and set crew were dismantling the blue screen, and a cold breeze blew across the river.
"This is the wind tunnel."
Tina Fey's voice called from behind, and Duke turned to accept the gloves and hat she handed him. Without much concern, he said, "This kind of environment helps clear my mind."
Tina Fey pulled up her coat collar to shield her ears. "You'll catch a cold. You always have trouble getting over a sickness."
"The filming is almost finished," Duke responded slowly. "I need to make sure the shooting plan is complete; otherwise, once the crew disbands, it will be troublesome to call everyone back for reshoots."
Tina Fey took a step forward, standing beside him on the rock.
Duke, somewhat puzzled, noticed that the wind had lessened a bit and then shook his head. Tina Fey had stood upwind of him, using her body to shield him from some of the cold wind.
"Let's go back," Duke said as he stepped off the rock and began walking toward the parked vehicles.
The sun slowly moved overhead, and although it was nearly noon, the late July sunlight had a weak quality. Duke returned to the car and waited for about half an hour. Once the crew finished preparing, he gave the command, and the long convoy slowly started moving toward Wellington.
As usual, during the journey, Tina Fey updated Duke on the latest affairs concerning North America.
"First, some good news," Tina Fey said, pressing the divider to separate the front and back seats of the car. "Nancy has finished negotiations with Hasbro and reached the final agreement. It's just waiting for your signature when you return to North America."
This news was expected. When Tina Fey returned to New Zealand, both sides had already reached a preliminary agreement.
Then, Tina Fey outlined the key terms of the agreement, notably the price for the adaptation rights and the profit-sharing from the film's earnings.
Hasbro had previously released an animated movie based on Transformers, but it was a massive flop, making the movie rights not worth much. In the end, Hasbro only asked for $6 million, but they would take 70% of the profits from toy sales related to the film.
As for film revenue from box office, DVDs, and TV releases, Hasbro would also receive a 10% share!
Transformers was one of Hasbro's flagship toy series, just like GI Joe. Unless the company's executives were completely out of touch, they wouldn't miss this opportunity to demand a large share.
Although the terms were harsh, Duke didn't mind too much. In business, you couldn't expect rewards without making investments.
Besides, Transformers was no unknown product.
The formal contract would be signed when Duke finished filming The Lord of the Rings trilogy and went to Hasbro's headquarters in Rhode Island.
"Also, there's a notice from David," Tina Fey flipped through her work log and continued. "Marvel Comics wants you to attend their board meeting before the New Year. It seems to be related to superhero movie adaptations."
"X-Men's success…" Duke lightly tapped the armrest. "It showed them the film potential of their superhero characters."
Though Marvel had invited him, Duke hadn't attended the premiere of X-Men due to his busy filming schedule. The film, as expected, grossed nearly $55 million on its opening weekend and surpassed $100 million in North America within just ten days!
Even if the Fox studio played a big role, the impact of the superheroes themselves couldn't be ignored. If Marvel's higher-ups still didn't see the value in their characters, they might as well jump off the Empire State Building.
Marvel hadn't been involved in film production before. Their first thought was that they had a major shareholder who was an expert in filmmaking, one of Hollywood's top directors. That's why they urgently invited Duke to discuss future plans.
Duke told Tina Fey to respond to Marvel, then remembered another film that was also related to him and asked, "How's the box office for Mission: Impossible 2?"
What he knew was outdated. Since May, with King Kong and Gladiator premiering, Mission: Impossible 2's box office had been on the decline.
"Mission: Impossible 2 passed its 13th weekend in North America two days ago," Tina Fey flipped through her work log and quickly said. "It made $144,562 in 219 theaters. Its total North American box office is $228.98 million, currently the highest-grossing film of the year."
Before Duke could ask further, she continued, "The film opened in 79 overseas countries and regions starting at the end of May, and as of the day before yesterday, it had earned $235.66 million overseas."
"Not bad. The box office should cover the investment," Duke said.
After a long journey, the crew arrived in Wellington. After two days of waiting, Anna Prinz's team returned from the South Island. In early August 2000, the crew prepared for the final scene of the film.