Chapter 373: Stepping Aside

On the outdoor set in Wellington, the plaza atop the tower of Minas Tirith—a build that had taken three months to complete—looked exceptionally noble and pristine against the surrounding blue screens. Under the coordination of several assistant directors, hundreds of actors in full makeup filed in and arranged themselves into neat formations, ready to welcome the return of the king.

Duke stood on a lift with a megaphone in hand, methodically directing the entire crew's operation.

"Amanda, test the crane and recording equipment one more time!"

The scene was being shot with live sound, so a boom hovered above, tracking Viggo Mortensen in his role as Aragorn.

Then, Duke turned toward John Schwartzman. "John, you're on the main camera. Your target is Aragorn! Ben, take camera two on the crane and capture the wide shots just like we planned! Terry, camera three is on you—catch the actors in the front row! Gawell, camera four focuses on the hobbits."

The director's monitor was also rigged to the lift. Duke checked the test footage from each camera one by one, made a few minor adjustments, and flashed John Schwartzman an "OK" gesture before aiming his megaphone at the props team.

"Bill, how are we looking on the petals?"

Doing his final checks on the Sacred White Tree, Bill shouted back, "All set!"

The bloodline of Isildur had returned to Gondor, and the king had arrived in the Holy White City. The withered Sacred White Tree was to bloom once more and shower the ground with petals.

While this scene was massive and demanded a huge cast, that was actually the least of Duke's worries. For one, aside from the first few rows of actors, the rest of the crowd would be added via CGI in post-production. For another, the crew had already run through several out-of-makeup rehearsals before today's shoot.

"Props ready..."

"Lighting ready..."

"Set ready..."

"Cameras ready..."

"Actors ready..."

After each department reported in, Duke waved his arm downward. The clapper loader stepped in front of the main camera with the slate.

"The Lord of the Rings, final shot, action!"

The long crane swung smoothly into motion. Suspended beneath it, camera one swept in from a distance, capturing the scene. On the director's monitor, the wide panoramic view steadily pushed in, eventually framing Aragorn as he stood before the royal palace.

Viggo Mortensen had finally shed his tattered rags for a suit of ancient, ornate armor, standing with his back to the camera.

Because his fighting style relied entirely on close-quarters combat, Aragorn had looked utterly grimy throughout the shoot. To ensure his costume accurately reflected the realities of long journeys and constant melee fighting, Viggo Mortensen's outfit was rarely washed. It had been soaked in sweat time and time again, frequently emitting a foul stench.

Compared to Orlando Bloom, who always got to play the cool and handsome elf, Viggo Mortensen had genuinely suffered for his role.

Still, the king was bound to return eventually. Aragorn was finally having his day—shedding the poor, rugged wanderer look to transform into a tall, handsome ruler and marry his beautiful elven bride.

Bright lights cascaded over Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen. Middle-earth had banished the haze and darkness, finally welcoming an era of light and peace.

Just as they had rehearsed the day prior, the tall Ian McKellen carefully placed the crown upon Viggo Mortensen's head.

The Return of the King!

Viggo Mortensen stepped to the very top of the stairs. Resting a hand on the Holy Sword of Anduril—reforged from the shards of the Sword of Narsil—he spoke a few brief words before singing of his ancestors' glory in Quenya.

"Out of the Great Sea, I am come to Middle-earth..."

As Viggo Mortensen sang, the props team showered down a flurry of white petals from the elevated lifts above, as if welcoming the king's return.

"In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world..."

This singing would undoubtedly be dubbed and re-scored in post-production, but Duke filmed it this way to help Viggo Mortensen fully immerse himself in the role of Aragorn. The actor descended the steps, walking steadily down the aisle formed by the gathered crowds. From camera three, Terry captured the key characters one by one.

All the main characters who had fought and survived the War of the Ring appeared in succession on Duke's monitor.

Gandalf, Gimli, Faramir, Eowyn, Eomer, King Elrond, and Arwen.

The crew's numerous out-of-makeup rehearsals had clearly paid off. This long take was practically flawless. It wasn't until Aragorn led Arwen to stand before the four hobbits that Duke finally called cut.

"Reset the stage!" he shouted into the megaphone.

During the previous shot, the hobbits had merely served as background figures, so Duke had used four little-person doubles. Now, however, they needed to shoot frontal close-ups of the four, which meant bringing back Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and the rest.

But the actors' heights presented a problem. To highlight the fact that hobbits were only about four feet tall, the ground where the surrounding actors stood had to be elevated.

A dozen pre-prepared platforms were pushed onto the set by the props team and swiftly installed. Filming resumed.

Viggo Mortensen led Alessandra Ambrosio by the hand until they reached Elijah Wood and the rest. The four hobbits bowed deeply, only to be stopped by Aragorn.

"My friends, you bow to no one..."

With that, Viggo Mortensen knelt on one knee. Alessandra Ambrosio immediately followed suit, and then all the other actors knelt down...

Pulling his eyes from the monitor, Duke looked down at the set and let out a soft breath. After fourteen months, this long journey had finally reached a major milestone.

The end? Post-production was far from over, and the road to theatrical release and box office returns hadn't even begun. This was merely the end of filming!

"Cut!"

Though the thoughts in his mind were still racing, it did not stop Duke from calling a halt to the entire crew. Everyone in the White City slowly rose to their feet. Some looked relieved, some seemed dazed, while others sighed or felt a surge of emotion. The road to film this project had simply been too long.

Although Titanic had taken four years to make, the time spent actually filming the actors wasn't nearly as long. A production like The Lord of the Rings trilogy—which demanded fourteen months of filming—was exceedingly rare, not just in Hollywood, but in the entire world.

Duke exhaled a long breath and raised the megaphone. "Even the most magical journeys must come to an end. I am officially declaring a wrap on The Lord of the Rings!"

The lift slowly lowered to the ground. The moment Duke stepped off, he was immediately surrounded by more than a dozen of the main cast members.

The energetic Billy Boyd was the first to pull Duke into a hug. He joked, "Even if I'm not entirely sure the film will be a success, this will remain one of my fondest memories. Duke, I really don't want to say this last goodbye."

"We'll see each other again, Billy." Duke gave his shoulder a firm pat. "Don't forget, you still have a theme song to record for me."

After Billy Boyd had made several revisions to the track, Duke had officially decided to use his song, The Last Goodbye, as the promotional and theme song for the trilogy's conclusion!

As long as the series provoked a strong response, this song would absolutely tug at the heartstrings of countless fans during the promotional push for Return of the King.

God would surely forgive Duke for weighing commercial elements during such a bittersweet occasion. As a director carrying the weight of a $350 million production budget—one where the final combined investment for the trilogy would easily eclipse half a billion dollars—he wouldn't be a proper commercial director if he didn't think about such things.

For instance, even as the actors took turns hugging him goodbye, the camera suspended from Ben Watts's crane was still rolling, faithfully documenting every single shot.

This, too, would make for excellent promotional material.

Regardless of any actual internal dynamics, a cast and crew overflowing with love and camaraderie was exactly what the public imagined and demanded.

Soon, more people began stepping up to embrace Duke, and he took the time to bid farewell to each of them.

"Viggo, you are the most dedicated actor I've ever seen."

After a heartfelt embrace with Viggo Mortensen, Duke had someone bring over a parting gift—the king's blade, the Holy Sword of Anduril!

"Orlando, you will be the most handsome archer in the world!"

For Orlando Bloom, Duke gifted the very short bow wielded by Legolas. According to the original lore, its bowstring had been blessed with a strand of Queen Galadriel's hair.

Elijah Wood received a ring strung on a golden chain. Unlike the one he had worn throughout filming, this one bore the engravings of the Ancient Mordor Tongue—The One Ring, to rule them all!

"Eli, you can wear this to bed every night. I guarantee it'll bring you sweet dreams."

Duke cracked a rare joke. In truth, the parting gifts he had handed out—especially Elijah Wood's One Ring—would all be important movie merchandise in the future.

"I can't believe my elven journey is already over!"

Drifting over with an airy grace, Alessandra Ambrosio stopped in front of Duke. She looked down at the gorgeous elven robes she wore. "I really don't want to take this off."

"You can keep them."

Duke gestured to her outfit and accessories from head to toe. "They're yours now."

As he spoke, a crew member stepped up and handed Arwen's velvet cloak over to Alessandra Ambrosio's assistant.

"Corinne, kiss him!"

At a shout from someone in the back, Ambrosio threw her arms around Duke's neck and kissed him on the lips.

It was perhaps the most entertaining moment of the farewell ceremony. The crowd erupted into enthusiastic applause, entirely rivaling the grand reunion scene where King Elessar took Arwen by the hand.

"I saw the light fade from the sky, On the wind I heard a sigh, As the snowflakes cover my fallen brothers, I will say this last goodbye..."

As the applause died down, Billy Boyd's a cappella voice drifted over the set.

"We have traveled a thousand miles, And tasted every bitter pain, Without regret, I will remember, Those who stood with me through the rain...

Though we walked this road together, the party is over now."

Although the members of The Fellowship of the Ring made a special trip to a tattoo parlor after the simple farewell ceremony, inking the elven number "nine" onto their wrists to commemorate this special journey, the time had come for the crew to disband.

Most people, Duke included, would be starting a vacation before returning to their normal lives in Hollywood.

Duke planned to go on vacation to Fiji with Alessandra Ambrosio, and then return to Los Angeles with the computer effects team from Weta Studio to officially kick off post-production for The Lord of the Rings trilogy!