The Tolkien Professor comes to Hollywood: Corey Olsen’s thoughts on “The Lord of the Rings: War in the North,” Sean Astin, and the “eucatastrophe button” -by Dave Kale, Middle-earth Network’s Director of Programming
Just over a month ago, my good friend Corey Olsen, a.k.a. The Tolkien Professor, and I were on set during the filming of the brand new documentary about The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. Airing on the Machinima Youtube channel in four parts all this week, the documentary explores the development of the brand new video game, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, as well as the role that Tolkien’s literature has played in shaping modern popular culture and fantasy literature. The producers of the documentary flew Professor Olsen in to serve as their on-screen Tolkien expert, and they were gracious enough to let me tag along. While on set we both got to play the game, talk to folks from Warner Bros. Interactive, and meet Lord of the Rings actor Sean Astin, the man who brought Sam to life on the big screen. A few weeks ago, I sat down with Prof. Olsen for a Skype conversation about our experiences, and he waxed philosophical about the legacy of Tolkien and storytelling in video games. You can read some of that conversation below and find an unabridged recording of the discussion on The Tolkien Professor podcast feed on iTunes.
You can watch the documentary at Machinima’s Youtube channel. Episodes one (Love of Middle-earth) and two (Legend of the Rings) have aired already. Episode three (The New Fellowship
Monday) airs on Friday, October 28, and episode four (Slay the Orcs!) airs on Monday, October 31.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is available for pre-order and hits shelves on November 1, 2011.
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Dave Kale, Middle-earth Network: I’m here with a special guest, Professor Corey Olsen, to discuss our recent visit to the set of the “War in the North” documentary. Corey, how did you find out about the interview? I’m sure they gave you months of advance notice.
Corey Olsen, The Tolkien Professor: Oh yes, months, months. Or hours. It was a very Hollywood kind of affair. I was contacted by the director of the studio producing the documentary, and he told me that they were doing this show and that they wanted to have me on as a Tolkien expert and answer some questions. I said I’d be happy to do that. And then he added at the bottom of his next email, “Oh and by the way, we’re filming this on Monday and Tuesday in LA.” So it was like four days notice. But we worked it out. I had kind of a crazy trip. I flew out there very early on Tuesday morning, shot the documentary in the afternoon, and took the red eye back Tuesday night. But it was great. The crew putting this together was really top notch.
DK: What do you remember about the folks involved?
CO: I thought they were really great. Mike Bollow, the director, was really good. Their company is an independent production company that does a lot of video game trailers and commercials and documentaries. I thought that he was fantastic. They really had things together and had a really comfortable setup. They chose an amazing site. We were in the basement of this stone mission [Abby San Encino] there in LA. It was a really neat space, with low arched ceilings and dirt floors. They had made the place up to look like a tavern. They were going for a Prancing Pony effect. There was all this wooden furniture, and they had all of these casks and things sitting around. They had a guy with a fog machine making the room look a tiny bit smoky behind us. They were fantastic, and it was really neat to meet Tracy Williams from Warner Bros. Interactive. I was really impressed with how dedicated to Tolkien she seemed to be. Our conversations with her were really the highlight of my day, even if just to dispel some of the cynical assumptions that a lot of people make about video game creators. It made me not only more interested in this game but also to see what they come up with in the future.
DK: I was kind of stunned at the care that was being put into both the game and the documentary, and particularly the emphasis that Tracy put on authenticity and being good stewards of Tolkien’s stories that all the fans love. Obviously, they’re trying to make some money, but also they want to tell authentic new stories set in Tolkien’s world. Just as exciting, we also got to meet somebody famous!
CO: Yeah, that was a cool surprise. They had gotten a couple of the actors from the Lord of the Rings films involved in this. Apparently, Dominic Monaghan had been there on the Monday so we didn’t get a chance to meet him. But Sean Astin, who played Sam in the films, was on right after me. We got to watch Sean’s interview and talk to him afterward. That was a lot of fun! As my listeners know from comments I’ve made on many occasions, I am a big proponent of the “Sam Gamgee is the ultimate hero of the Lord of the Rings” school of thought. I told Sean after the filming, “You know, I think Sam Gamgee is the primary hero of the Lord of the Rings.” I don’t think he believed me. I got the distinct impression he thought I was just flattering him by saying that, but of course, I really meant it.
DK: Hey, he talked to you for a good five or so minutes before he started slowly trying to edge away.
CO: Yes, it was good! We had a nice conversation. It was very clear that even now, ten years later, being in the films was a huge thing for him, and he was very personally moved by the experience.
DK: What did you think of the game?
CO: We didn’t get a chance to play it for too long. The concept is quite similar to the original core concept of the Lord of the Rings Online, that is, that you’re playing a party of characters who have to go on a quest up in the North in the old ruins of Arnor. You start by going up to Fornost, and you end up going to Gundabad, the mountain fortress of the goblins and stuff. The scenery was amazing. I think video games are one of the best vehicles to fill in the blank spaces in Middle-earth, allowing you to travel in some of these places that are mentioned in Tolkien’s books but that you never go to and that never really have any stories told about them. I know that not everybody thinks of video games in that way, as a sort of creative enterprise, but there are ways in which they can be. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North tells this other story that parallels Tolkien’s main story but takes part in these other places and fleshes them out. It also fleshes out characters. We get a chance to meet Elrond’s sons, Elros and Elrohir, which is pretty cool. That was one of my favorite parts. That, and the eucatastrophe button! Apparently early in the game you rescue an eagle, and afterward, there’s this button combo that you hit to call this eagle to swoop down and crush things. Never gets old. Yes, having an actual eucastrophe button on the Xbox controller is pretty awesome. But generally I thought it was great. I look forward to someday having time to play it more.
DK: To play ANY LOTR game!
DK: Well, I want to thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. Any messages that you’d like to pass out into the great beyond that hopefully the WB people will catch wind of?
CO: Yes, gosh, there should be. Hang on, I’m already four minutes late for my Mythgard section!
DK: Hey WB, have your game developers sign up for classes at Mythgard!
CO: Yes, exactly! I can’t think of anything less crass than that!
DK: I’ll let you go teach now. Thanks for your time, Corey!
CO: Thank you!
Follow War in the North on Twitter, Facebook and the “War in the North” Group on My Middle-earth.
Follow Corey Olsen on Twitter, Facebook and “The Tolkien Professor” Group on My Middle-earth.
Follow Dave Kale on Twitter, Facebook and My Middle-earth.
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