So put this on my Christmas list. Sean Astin (Aka Samwise in the Lord of the Rings films), has writen a book, entitled There and Back Again : An Actor’s Tale, about his experiences on set over 5 years. I want one! Stuff recently interviewed Sean about the book. Here’s an excerpt:
He worried constantly that his part, as Frodo’s sidekick and the ultimate hero of the film, was not being given enough prominence. And he was shocked by his $250,000 contract, despite his huge desire to be part of the trilogy.
“All right,” he writes. “I can live with that. Three movies . . . that’s $750,000. I’m covered for the next three years.”
“Uh, Sean?” his agent says.
“Yeah?”
“The offer is $250,000 – total.”
Astin, who is back in New Zealand this month working on US TV series Hercules, says he and the other actors never talked about money on set, although his book records his frustration with the 12-hour days and 18 months of filming.
Besides being what I believe to be the single greatest accomplishment on film, the behind the scenes stories of Rings should be really interesting. I can’t wait to get a copy.
