*Chapter 217: Preparing for Battle*

"Richard, it's time to rehearse the next scene."

Liv Tyler called out as she held the script.

"Alright!" Richard followed her over.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" Liv Tyler glanced at the script and asked. Since it was in Elvish, she stumbled over the words a bit.

"It felt like I had stepped into a dream," Richard replied, looking deeply into her eyes.

"All those years have passed. Back then, you were still a carefree young man," Liv Tyler gently brushed his long hair and beard. "Do you remember what I said back then?"

"You said you would marry me, giving up your Elven immortality," Richard said softly.

"I will keep my promise. I would rather spend a lifetime with you than—sorry, I forgot my line." Liv Tyler glanced at the script again.

"No worries, Elvish is hard to remember."

Richard smiled.

"But you speak it so fluently. How do you remember it?" Liv Tyler asked curiously.

"I have fewer lines to memorize, so it's not too difficult."

"So modest. I heard from Director Jackson that you can speak seven languages?"

"Yes, I learned them before."

"Impressive. You don't seem like a boxing champion at all!"

Liv Tyler laughed.

After chatting for a bit, they continued rehearsing, mainly to help Liv Tyler memorize her lines and to build chemistry between them. Since they were playing a couple, their scenes involved some rare moments of romance in the script.

Director Jackson and his team had high standards; if the scene felt too flat, it wouldn’t pass.

While they rehearsed, the artistic director and the assistant director stood by, offering guidance and pointing out flaws until they felt the scene was ready to shoot.

"Scene 185, shot 1, take 1, action!"

The scene began, with the two standing on a bridge—one tall, handsome, and solemn, the other pure, beautiful, and delicate. They looked perfectly matched.

"Why do you fear the past?" Arwen, dressed in flowing white, asked in the great hall. "You may be Isildur's heir, but you are not him. You will not make the same mistakes."

"The same blood flows through our veins. We share the same weaknesses," Aragorn replied, turning to face Arwen, his gaze intense and resolute.

"Your time will come. You will face the same evil, and you will defeat it. The power of darkness has not yet conquered us, not you, nor me," Arwen said.

Aragorn looked at her quietly, his eyes as bright as stars.

"Cut!"

"Perfect!"

Peter Jackson praised quietly as he watched the scene.

On the screen, the two stood face to face, one tall and handsome, the other pure and beautiful, perfectly matched. This was why Jackson insisted on casting Richard as Aragorn—he was handsome enough!

Hearing the director’s praise, Richard pressed his lips together in a subtle smile. They had rehearsed the scene eight times and shot it three times. With so much refinement, how could it not turn out well?

However, Richard didn’t particularly enjoy filming these kinds of scenes. Whenever Arwen was on set, the lighting was extremely bright. Filming for ten minutes was fine, but after half an hour, his vision would blur with white spots.

Especially at night, he sometimes had to close his eyes for a while to recover his sight.

After wrapping up one scene, the crew moved on to the next, with a tightly packed schedule. But there were also quieter times.

Director Jackson was meticulous about every detail, striving to create an authentic Middle-earth. Over the course of several weeks, the crew used more than 90 custom-built sets, thousands of props, hundreds of handmade leather costumes, and over 2,000 Orc masks. It was said that even more props would be needed in the future.

This attention to detail often slowed down the filming process, sometimes requiring days of preparation before shooting the next scene.

When he wasn’t filming, Richard spent his time rehearsing with the other actors, studying his character, and continuing his boxing training.

On September 23rd, he was scheduled to fight WBO champion Richard Hall in a unification match for the titles of all four major boxing organizations. Richard Hall had initially refused the match, but under pressure from the WBO, he had no choice but to accept the challenge, unwilling to give up his title.

Though confident about the fight, Richard was concerned that the filming had disrupted his training. So, whenever he had free time, he trained intensely.

Bang, bang, bang!

——

"Richard, you've been over there for more than a month. Hasn't the movie wrapped yet?" Andy asked over the phone.

"No, The Lord of the Rings is a long epic. The producers decided to shoot all three films together. It might take more than half a year to finish."

Initially, the script for The Lord of the Rings was over four or five hours long, requiring the shooting of so many scenes and a budget of several hundred million dollars. When Peter Jackson sought investment, no company was willing to take the risk until he found Bob Shaye, the head of New Line Cinema, in 1998.

New Line Cinema had been acquired by Warner Bros. in 1993 and was later merged into Time Warner Group. With Warner’s backing, New Line had the strength to invest in a major production.

At Bob Shaye's suggestion, Peter Jackson revised the script, transforming it from one large volume into three parts - upper, middle, and lower. This change also meant the filming would take longer.

"Alright, the match is about to start. Make sure you're prepared. You've already won three of the four major organizations' gold belts, strive for the Grand Slam." Andy said.

"Okay, I will."

After hanging up the phone, Richard continued his training.

"Richard, Andy said he wants to film a few videos of you training for publicity." Mike said, coming in with a handheld camera.

"Okay, you can start filming."

Richard, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, punched the sandbag, making a loud thumping sound.

The next day, the film set was ready, and Richard arrived at the Kaitoke Regional Park set to film the scenes in the Elven realm.

Frodo was critically injured by a poisoned blade from the Ringwraiths and was brought to Rivendell, the Elven realm, by Princess Arwen for healing. Aragorn also arrived at Rivendell, and everyone gathered to discuss the destruction of the One Ring. Finally, a Fellowship of the Ring was formed to escort Frodo to Mount Doom to destroy the Ring.

"My father is the Steward of Gondor. He led the people in a bloody battle, confining the forces of Mordor to the other side of the bay, protecting your safety. Give the Ring to Gondor, let us use it to fight Mordor!" Boromir, the eldest son of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, said loudly.

"You cannot wield it, none of us can!" Aragorn said, "The One Ring belongs only to Sauron, it has no other master."

"What do you know, a ranger?" Boromir said disdainfully.

"He is more than just a ranger." Legolas, the Elven prince, stood up and said, "He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You need to pledge your allegiance to him."

"Aragorn?" Boromir said in disbelief, "He is a descendant of Isildur?"

"And the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor." Legolas said.

"Cut!" Peter Jackson said a few words to the art director beside him and then said, "Not enough emotion, let's do it again!"

The main actors started again. Although the director didn't say whose fault it was, all the actors present were reflecting and adjusting themselves, trying to perform better next time.

This scene was a meeting of various forces in Middle-earth, with many actors and dialogues, like a stage play.

It was difficult to film, and any small problem would affect the whole scene. After eight repeated takes, the director, cinematographer, and art director were finally satisfied and announced it was a pass.

After filming, the actors gathered again to rehearse the next scene.

After the Fellowship of the Ring was formed, they set off with the Ring. The next scenes were mostly filmed outdoors.

For more than half a month, Richard followed the crew around various scenic spots in New Zealand, including Tongariro National Park, Mount Victoria, Matamata, Mount Owen, Kawarau Gorge, ski resorts, and botanical gardens.

"Woohoo~, the environment here is really nice." On Mount Owen, Elijah Wood, who played Frodo, shouted towards the mountain opposite.

"Keep your voice down, be careful not to attract wolves." Sean Astin, who played Sam, laughed.

"Are there wolves here?" Elijah Wood asked doubtfully.

"No, there are snakes." Billy Boyd, who played Pippin, grabbed a rope from the ground and threw it over.

"Whoa~" Elijah Wood was startled and quickly dodged, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

Richard, holding his sword, sat on a mound, watching the playful group and smiled. September in New Zealand was early spring, and many mountains were still covered in snow. The weather was quite cold, and filming on the mountain at this time was not a pleasant experience.

"Richard, I saw your news in the newspaper, saying you have a boxing match on the 23rd." Sean Bean, who played Boromir, asked.

"Yes, in New York, it's the unification fight for the four major boxing organizations' gold belts." Richard smiled.

"Richard, you already have three, and if you win the WBO gold belt, you'll have a Grand Slam. That's amazing." Sean Astin exclaimed. He was also American and paid a lot of attention to boxing matches.

"Yes, Richard, how did you become so good?" Billy Boyd asked.

"Maybe I have a good talent for boxing." Richard said.

"You're not only good at boxing, but also at sword fighting and horse riding. I'm so envious. My hands are clumsy, and it's hard for me to learn anything." Billy Boyd sighed.

"That's because your brain is clumsy!" Sean Astin teased.

"You're the same!" The two started arguing.

"Richard, don't you need to train before the match? Will filming affect your performance?" Sean Bean asked.

"I train whenever I have time every day, it won't affect me much." Richard said, clenching his fist.

"Good luck, one more win and you'll have a Grand Slam."

"Thank you!"

"Everyone, get ready, we're about to shoot!" John, the assistant director, shouted.

After chatting for a while, the crew continued filming the mountain scenes. The Fellowship of the Ring encountered monsters and hardships along the way. Boromir was killed by orcs, Gandalf was dragged into the abyss by the Balrog, and Aragorn led the remaining members to continue their journey.

It wasn't until mid-September that the crew came down from the mountain.

In the second half of the first movie, Aragorn's scenes gradually decreased, sometimes three scenes in three days, sometimes five days. Richard also had plenty of time to train.

On the 20th, the match was about to begin, and Richard took five days off and returned to New York.

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(End of Chapter)