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Behind the Scenes with Camilla Maling, producer of A Long-Expected Party
Interview conducted by Lauren Dee
> What inspired you to make A Long-Expected Party? Are you a Tolkien fan
or was the film production so hyped up in New Zealand that it seemed an obvious
story to tell?
It was early 2001 when I picked up The Hobbit. I’d heard for years about Bilbo,
the orcs and The Lord of the Rings but had never visited Middle Earth. It took
the first line and I was hooked - "In a hole in the ground there lived a
hobbit." - I will never forget it.
Since I was a little girl, things fantastical were exciting to me, purely for
the sheer possibilities they presented. I have a huge imagination and find
fiction and the obscure a powerful way to explore ideas. For me, working in
audio is very much about telling stories and playing with the imagination, so I
could not only relate to those swept away by the Lord of the Rings books, but
felt they translated well to radio.
As a New Zealander it made perfect sense to make a program about us as much as
it was about Tolkien, his story and the film. I’m based in Wellington so
couldn’t avoid the hype surrounding the film. I also work in the arts on a
daily basis and was constantly coming across people who had been or were
involved with The Lord of the Rings film production. In most cases they were
doing the most unusual things – I got to thinking…
No one was talking to the little people (involved with The Lord of the Rings) –
there were so many interesting stories out there that revealed far more about
the nature of the creative community, about our human nature and our
imaginations than any the guff we were being fed. It was the group who spent
months knotting hair in a tiny room, the couple who built the costume trucks or
the helicopter pilot who offered the greatest insight, their stories
exemplified the passion New Zealanders had for the movie project.
I am fascinated by obsessive behavior, by people who do unusual things for the
sheer love of it – fanaticism fitted in well here. I wanted to get to the heart
of fanaticism, to understand why and how people can have so much love and
passion for something that is purely fantastical, and for a film which is
making the fantastical fantastical!
So with all this in mind I put together a proposal and went about making a
documentary series that completely took over my life for three months!
> What were some of the pitfalls you encountered while documenting The
Lord of the Rings phenomenon as it happened? What advice do you have for others
who are trying to document current events?
Everyone who was even remotely involved in the film was required to sign a
confidentiality agreement which restricted what they said about the film. There
were various situations where I spent some time explaining that I would not put
them in a situation that would compromise them but that at the end of the day
it was up to them how much they told me.
The biggest advice I could give anyone about covering current events is to
listen. Try not to go into an interview or information gathering situation with
a preconceived idea. This is a story about your ‘talent’ (interviewee) not
about you. Obviously objectivity is impossible but open mindedness is not and
it is so often that one finds oneself in uncharted territory where the best
thing to do is to relax, be inquisitive and let your material dictate what
comes next.
> How did you meet up with the mother-daughter pair you focused on in
the documentary?
Why did you decide to tell their story along with the story of the production
of the films?
The research process for this documentary was full on and a lot of fun. I came
up against a lot of blanks and uncooperative people but there were even more
who were desperate to tell of their experiences in Tolkien’s world. I spent
many weeks doing random searches on the internet and cold calling, (there was
very little information around so investigation was the name of the game.) I
knew I wanted people who had been involved in the obscure tasks, who had read
and loved or hated the books, and of course people who were obsessed. It was
this obsessive story however that would form the backbone of the documentary
and around which the rest of the information would sit. I sent emails all over
the place for people who considered themselves Tolkien freaks and one reply
stood out half a mile. It suggested a mother-daughter duo who had sold up
everything and traveled around the country for months in search of the sets. I
rang them, they were very forthcoming and their story quite frankly blew me
away!
The documentary is about much more than just the making of the film trilogy. It
is about the human stories behind the scenes, about people’s relationships with
fiction, with fantasy, about human nature and our imagination, about the man
behind the books, the messages in the books – the books as works of art, as
social commentaries.
> What was the most surprising thing you learned about The Lord of the
Rings in your interviews?
The extent to which the imagination of one man, of one mind, can affect and
inspire thousands of people across cultures for decades after the imaginings
were committed to paper. And, of course, the fact that this continues with from
generations to generation. What was in Tolkien’s head????
> Did you take Tolkien's style into account while producing A
Long-Expected Party and what effect did it have on your work?
Absolutely! And this is why the program is structured as it is. The program
jumps all over the place with various stories running at once and attention to
detail at the oddest moments. It’s hypnotic in parts - just as fantasy takes
you on a journey I hoped this would too. It is musical and rhythmical, with
moments of tension and humor and at times it’s very abrupt with unexpected
interruptions. Each interviewee was treated as a character in their own sound
world, they revealed more of their story as we moved through the program.
This is how I saw the books.
> Why do you think the story of The Lord of the Rings translates so well
across mediums-from books, to film, to radio?
Because essentially it’s a damn fine yarn. With beautiful magical settings and
characters, with a history which extends beyond the pages and with messages
that pertain to our everyday life even today - it is a powerful work of art.
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