CHRISTOPHER LEE on playing SARUMAN THE WHITE ~ PART FIVE We conclude Mr. Lees comment on playing Saruman the White, as THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES approaches $750 million in worldwide box-office receipts, making it one of the most successful films Lee has ever appeared in! ~~~ LAWRENCE FRENCH: Did you have to re-dub a lot of your dialogue? CHRISTOPHER LEE: Yes, I did most of it here in London, because it is very difficult to use direct sound in New Zealand, as the studio was a former paint factory that was not sound proofed. It was right bang by the airport runway, so there were planes all over the place and that meant we had to re-record all of the dialogue afterwords in a sound studio. Some members of the cast did their ADR afterwords in a sound proof studio in New Zealand, as hardly any of the direct sound could be used. For people playing major roles that go through all three films, like Frodo, Sam and Gandalf, it means they have to do their entire roles all over again in the sound studio. LAWRENCE FRENCH: Would you prefer not having to re-dub your dialogue? CHRISTOPHER LEE: Well, Ive done it for years and years, so the technical aspects of re-recording doesnt disturb me at all. The problem, which is the same for everybody, not just for me, is that its not just a question of getting the right lip-sync to the lines, which even experienced actors find difficult. Its also a question of getting it right in terms of the atmosphere, the tone, the pauses, the voice going up, or going down. You’ve got to repeat all that in a sound studio, following the original soundtrack, which you can hear of course, but it cant be used. Sometimes you can improve on it, but the problem is, that youre there alone. If you were playing scenes with other people, which one does all the time, they are no longer there! And the same thing applies to them. Ive never in my life done any looping or post-synching with another actor, because you cant get them together at the same time. I think that is the most difficult thing, not having anybody to act with. What must be absolute hell is when somebody has to play a quiet romantic scene and the woman is there without the man, or vice-verso. That is really difficult, although it didnt apply in my case. (A YOUNG MAN approaches and asks Mr. LEE): Arent you Christopher Plummer? CHRISTOPHER LEE: Not Plummer, Christopher LEE! YOUNG MAN: Oh, Im sorry. How are you? CHRISTOPHER LEE: Very well, thank you. Im sorry but I cant sign any autographs right now, as Im in the middle of an interview. LAWRENCE FRENCH: Thats hilarious. Vincent Price told me how he was often mistaken for Boris Karloff. CHRISTOPHER LEE: Yes, we all go though that. I go along with it. Im often asked if my name isnt Peter Cushing! Everywhere I go in the world, people recognize me and ask, “Dont I know you,” or “havent I seen you somewhere?” When I was in Hungary last year, people were coming up to me in Budapest and saying, “arent you the British actor, Christopher Lee?” Even in Moscow, Russians have come up to me and knew my face. I wondered what films of mine they might have seen and later I realized they were mostly sailors who had been in the merchant marines and had been on ships that called on ports like Hong Kong or Tokyo and had seen me in cinemas there. They must have had some effect, because they remembered my face. They didnt remember my name, but they would say, “arent you an actor?” Everywhere in the world Ive traveled too, there isnt a country where sooner or later someone hasnt either recognized my face, or known my name, or known both. Its very heart warming to an actor when that happens, because its the voice of the public. The fact that they recognize my face is proof that something has gone right in my career. LAWRENCE FRENCH: Besides being cut out of THE RETURN OF THE KING, I was rather surprised your name wasn’t mentioned as best supporting actor in any of the numerous trade ads New Line Cinema ran for the first two films. CHRISTOPHER LEE: Well, that didnt bother me, because its not a question of whether Im mentioned, or whether my name is in a certain position in the credits. Its whats on the screen that is far more important than any critical reviews. You were saying some very nice things about my performance in the film. Well some people have agreed with you and some people havent even mentioned that. But it us whats on the screen that counts. I keep saying that, because its true. Isnt that the really important thing? LAWRENCE FRENCH: Yes, exactly right. And after your roles in both THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the STAR WARS pictures, all you really needed was a part in one of the HARRY POTTER pictures to have a triple-crown of the top three fantasy series of the new millennium. CHRISTOPHER LEE: Its funny you should say that, because after my agent had seen the script for the first HARRY POTTER movie, she was talking to one of the producers, and said to him, theres a part in the film that would be ideal for Christopher Lee. Well, this producer gave her a look of absolute horror and said, oh, but hes already played a Wizard. Now wouldnt you think that a smart producer might say, oh, hes going to play a Wizard in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, thats going to be an enormous success, lets get him for HARRY POTTER.” Ive read the first HARRY POTTER book and it seems to me that it is really for children, although I think grown up people can enjoy it as well. On the other hand, THE LORD OF THE RINGS is not for children, and when I say children, I mean younger children, those under nine or ten years old, although some of them will undoubtedly still go to see it. LAWRENCE FRENCH: Orson Welles talked about being what he called a “King actor.” He felt he was an actor who did his best work when playing people of great power, whether they were Kings, Prime Ministers or Wizards. CHRISTOPHER LEE: Yes, these kinds of parts are very definitely a challenge to the actor. In the case of Saruman you have to make the audience believe in his immense power. You have to make people believe that here is a man who is an immortal in a human body. The question is, whats he going to do with that power? Does he control it? Does he believe in his own destiny, or are there any doubts? All of these things are in the books. LAWRENCE FRENCH: You were very outspoken in your praise of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, so it must have been a disappointment for you when the picture only won four Academy Awards. CHRISTOPHER LEE: Oh, that was a complete disgrace. The fact that the film did not get the best picture and best director awards was absolutely disgraceful! Im not ashamed to say that, and I have no objection if you print it, because Ive already said it, several times. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING was so much superior to anything else in contention. So far superior! Of course there were some other good movies, like MOULIN ROUGE, A BEAUTIFUL MIND, GOSFORD PARK and IN THE BEDROOM, but they couldnt hold a candle to THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, in terms of achievement. The excuse given was that the Academy has never given the Best Picture Oscar to a fantasy film. Well, that well may be true, but I dont accept it! I really thought not giving THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING the best picture and best director awards was quite outrageous. Its all politics though, and behind the scenes maneuvering. A BEAUTIFUL MIND was an American movie, by an American director, (Ron Howard), who is very popular, and a very good director. He has been in the business a long time and did a very good job. The film is interesting, but it wasnt remotely accurate! But dont get the idea that Im talking down the other pictures, because Im not. Some of them where extremely good. But what I am saying, is that THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING was so infinitely superior to everything else, that is was absolutely disgraceful it didnt get more awards. It was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, and although it was extremely unlikely it would win in all 13 categories, in my opinion it should have gotten at least eight, if not nine Oscars—including best costumes and best art direction. LAWRENCE FRENCH: Of course, because there are fewer than 6,000 members in the Academy, a film could conceivably lose by only a few votes. CHRISTOPHER LEE: Well, somebody told my wife that THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING lost by only ten votes! So I think it was indeed, very close. But what really matters is whats on the screen. Thats what the audience looks at, thats what the industry looks at, and thats what the Academy members look at. Well then, why didnt THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING get the Oscar, and why didnt Peter Jackson get the directing Oscar? LAWRENCE FRENCH: My theory is that most of the best directors in the cinema, like Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock, didnt get Oscars because they were too far ahead of their time. CHRISTOPHER LEE: Or they upset the establishment, as Orson did. Its all politics and manipulation, though. I remember when Dustin Hoffman won an Oscar for KRAMER VS. KRAMER back in 1979, he got up on stage, and said, how can I say that Im a better actor than Jack Lemmon, (who was nominated for THE CHINA SYNDROME). I thought, well at last, somebody is starting to tell the truth. I dont really know how you can choose best actor, although I must admit, all my own choices for actor and actress won Oscars this year. Its possible to choose best film, or best director, but I dont understand how you can choose best actor. And when you think of some of the actors who didnt win. Did Robert Mitchum ever get an Oscar? And you think of something like THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. What about Boris Karloff? His performance in FRANKENSTEIN was sheer genius, absolutely heartbreaking. See what I mean? Its really all politics and manipulation. Everybody knows that. LAWRENCE FRENCH: Youve said several times that you think THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy will go down in cinema history. CHRISTOPHER LEE: Yes, I said that on my second day of work on the film, when Bob Shaye the head of New Line Cinema arrived in New Zealand and asked me how I thought everything was going. I said, “You are creating cinema history!” I think everyone connected with the pictures has. These films will be seen for years and years, long after the HARRY POTTER films have—I wont say faded away—but perhaps, have lost their appeal. It is the soul of Tolkien on the screen. This film is a modern miracle and it will be remembered for a long, long time. Professor Tokien had a vision for a very long period of time. Peter Jackson had a vision. And I have my own vision: I see Professor Tokien walking over to Peter Jackson, shaking his hand and saying, “well done my boy, well done.” ~~~ Read PART FOUR here: https://facebook/photo.php?fbid=10205091221617571&set=o.168994546494195&type=3&theater ~~~
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 01:14:47 +0000
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