Philippa was interviewed on stage by a very good Paula DeSante.She asked a whole array of neat questions, and we got some very nice responses, in terms of personal anecdotes, experiences with the actors, the filmmakers aims, and the difficulties and triumphs of adapting and making the films. In response, Philippa touched on the mammoth difficulty of paring things down, of getting the Council of Elrond just right for example. On a cute sidenote she shared with us how she once had to goover some script changes with Sean Bean and Mortensen, and how they all ended up in her hotel room. Even then, she said that they were all so focused on making the movies that the humor of the experience didn’t occur to her until after. This experience should make many women jealous.She gave an extensive account of how Viggo Mortensen came onto the project which was exciting, you could feel the anticipation and excitement of when they finally found out that Viggo had agreed to act as Aragorn. She capped of this account with how Viggo arrived in the airport barefoot with a copy of the Völsunga Saga in his pack, straight from his own bookshelf.For those who don’t know, the story of the Völsunga was an influence on Tolkien and one of his favorite stories as a youth. She also touched on how she became involved with the project.

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