‘The Lord of the Rings’ is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out practically all references to anything like ‘religion,’ to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and symbolism.
It’s a job that’s never started that takes the longest to finish.
I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence.
Month: January 2017
Happy Birthday: Robert Loggia (1930–2015)
[on being 100% natural in every film to the point where he’s always himself] Which is boring to the audience and boring to me. In the old days, I used to prepare, run around the block, do push-ups, psych it up, all that. When I say conceptual, I mean that I read the script, and it’s ingested. There was a book, by Arthur Koestler, called “The Art of Creation”. One of his examples was that Handel [George Frideric Handel] dreamed “The Messiah”; when he awakened, he set it right down on paper. There’s a certain truth for me in that as an actor. I do dream it, I do conceive it, and it’s there.
WILDsound Festival 