HOBBIT FORMINGAIRBORNE TOILETS, KNEE PANTS, ELF TATTOOS: IT'S LORD OF THE RINGS "It just isn't a normal movie," says Sean Astin, stating the obvious. Astin is one of the stars of the Übergeek epic that comes to theaters, at last, this month: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of the $270 million, three-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. For the uninitiated, the first installment tells the story of hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), his fellowship, and their efforts to destroy a powerful ring that- -if co opted by evil forces --could enslave the residents of Middle earth. Directed by indie stalwart Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures), the film also stars Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, and a cast of literally thousands. In a season of go-nowhere would-be blockbusters, The Fellowship of the Ring is more than a likely sure thing: It's the first film in recent memory that has a chance to have an impact on pop culture the way Star Wars did almost 25 years ago. Of course, iconic films don't come easily: Principal photography on all three installments lasted 14 months (shooting began in the summer of 1999) in rural New Zealand. Very rural. "We'd get to the top of the mountain to shoot, and the helicopters would come up and drop off some lunch," says 30-year-old Astin, who plays a garden tending hobbit named Samwise Gamgee. Lunch wasn't the only thing helicopters ferried: "They'd bring the toilets up as well," adds 42-year-old Sean Bean, who plays Boromir, one of the fellowship's few humans. "You'd see helicopters with the big orange ports swinging off the bottom." The cast also had to deal with the expectations of the book's ultraproprietary fans, who long ago internalized the distinctions between hobbits, humans, orcs, ents, dwarves, and elves (who are actually tall). Aside from director Jackson, responsibility for the trilogy's success seems to rest quite squarely on the shoulders of 20-year-old Wood's heroic Frodo. Though not a fanatical Tolkien disciple, Wood (whose biggest role to date was the comet spotter in Deep Impact) wanted the part so badly he shot his own audition tape, wearing knee pants, suspenders, and "a long, flowy shirt" a hobbit wardrobe he researched in the extensive amount of literature written about the trilogy. "It's pretty incredible how passionate these people are about the books," says Wood, who came in contact with full on Lord of the Rings mania at an April comics expo in San Francisco. "It's cool, but it's also a bit frightening. When my name came up [for the role], there were a lot of fans who were angry. It didn't bum me out exactly, but I was kind of shocked." Now, one year after filming, he's more understanding: "Reading a book is a very personal thing," he says. "If I'm not right for certain people as Frodo, I understand." In addition to this new sense of calm about the geek storm he'll soon be enveloped in, Wood returned from New Zealand with a few mementos. "We took a lot of elements from Middle earth home with us," says Wood, who, along with the other members of Frodo's fellowship, got a tattoo of an "elvish" symbol for the number nine. "It was our life, and there was no connection to the outside world. After the initial excitement of being home, it was actually quite strange integrating ourselves back into normal life. It was a tour of duty, and I'll never experience anything like it again." DIANE VADINO
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