Reclaiming the Blade Page #3

really do it for real.

There were real enemies,

it was a real sword.

It's important that the people

you're working with trust you

and you trust them and you

effectively work out the sort of

highly-detailed choreography

weeks and weeks in advance

of when you actually get

to do it on the set.

And then really the tough

thing becomes about stamina.

Especially when you are

wearing armor and leather

and weighed down

by all that sort of stuff.

I thought it was some of

the best choreography

I had seen in

this type of movie.

A lot of the stuff the stunt

men put together themselves.

And they did

a very good job of it.

He is much more than

a swordmaster, and I think

that directors have been well

pleased with his collaboration.

A sort of a regal refined

cultured kind of a gentlemen

in the midst

of all this chaos.

It was an honor to work

for him and I learned a lot.

Not just about sword fighting

but just about being a man,

about being a gentleman,

about how to deal with people

and a respect for the weapon.

The swords were very well

done, very attractive.

John Howe's

designs were superb.

I really enjoyed getting

involved with

"The Lord of the Rings" swords

because it was always

a question of paring it down

and making the blades slimmer

and making it shorter,

making it more real,

even though we are not

talking about real swords.

The actor may turn up a year,

a year and half

after you first started

designing that weapon.

It's therefore a great thing

when you finally present

the weapon to the actor.

I really enjoyed working

with Richard Taylor

and all the people at

the Weta Workshop because they,

like Bob Anderson,

were sticklers for detail.

The attention to detail that

these guys devoted to items

that may not necessarily

be visible to the camera,

at least not on first viewing,

but they're there.

As an actor it was wonderful

to have those kind of props to

you know, really help transport

you to that time and place.

I liken our effects workshop as

are all other effects workshops

around the world, to be similar

to an artisan's studio

of the years past.

This is a gathering

of an eclectic group

of craftspeople working

across an amazing array

of different artistic skills

coming together.

It's a really exciting

thing to be part of that.

As a designer you can

draw your heart out.

You can draw hundreds, hundreds

of designs that you love

but if the man making them

doesn't understand then there's,

you know, it's--

everyone's disappointed.

We're incredibly fortunate to

have a fellow named Peter Lyon,

who was the metal worker,

the swordsmith on the movie.

And he's someone who understands

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