There And Back Again by Sean Astin

When Sean Astin received the call to come in and try out for the part of Samwise Gamgee he was excited and apprehensive.  The excitement stemmed from the fact that the possible job offer was good timing, his career has stalled and good movie roles were few and far between.  Sean was a little apprehensive because although he had heard of the books… he had never read them. 

Who really was Samwise? 

Upon receiving the part, Sean packed his bags for an 18 month stay in New Zealand for the filming of the movies.  While the part was exciting, it was hard work and Sean was frustrated with how little his role was, after all, his hours upon hours on the set took away from his time with his wife and child and the money wasn’t all that great.

This audio is Sean’s telling of the behind the scenes look at the filming of the movies, the actors and the controversy…

 

 

Why did I want to listen to this audio?  I am a fan of all things Tolkien and I guess if I say that, that means Tolkien actors as well.  When I first heard of this book I was intrigued as here was Sean who played Samwise, not the biggest role, and that sparked my interest too.  What would he say about his role?  The making of the movies?  Bilbo? 

There And Back Again is indeed Sean’s story.  Well…. scratch that a second.  I just recently picked up on the fact that The Hobbit is officially called The Hobbit, or There And Back Again.  It’s true.  There And Back Again was already taken by Tolkien… sort of, as we all know the book to be known as The Hobbit. 

Oh how I digress….

Anyhoo… While Sean’s story is interesting and I enjoyed hearing all the backstage stuff about the costumes, and how long it takes to get ready, there was an underlining feeling of forcefulness throughout the book….

What do I mean?

On one hand Sean would be talking about how great it was to meet and work with the other actors and then he would be pulling out character flaws about them – “unfriendly, self-absorbed, made him feel unworthy, late to the set…”  To me if felt like Sean was saying one thing and then someone else was telling him to “add more”, give the reader more!!!!”  So he does, by throwing some under the bus… actually, almost everyone in the movie as well as some extra actors not in the movie for good measure (Sorry Johnny Depp, Brendan Fraser…)

I did find There And Back Again interesting and I did like knowing more about the movie, the budgets, the long hours, and the low pay, things I tend not to think about when I am sitting in a theater with my popcorn and diet coke as big as my head staring at the big screen thinking “This is soooo awesome!”  My only regret for Sean Astin is that I think his book may have done harm to relationships and possibly even for future roles as he comes off as having low self-esteem and  paranoid. 

Personally, I like the guy and I like his acting.  I wish him the best in all he does… but to my readers, if you want to try this one – borrow it from the library.

Morning Meanderings and two VERY Different Books I Want To Read

Good morning.
*pause for dramatic and slow sip of coffee*

How ya all doing?

I am feeling pretty good and pretty “on task” for this weekends get together at my home.  Yesterday I cleaned out the garage…. so small feat, but it needed to be done and now it is so clean it looks like we were robbed.  The dead vacuum is gone, the totes of spare sheets that I use for when we serve with IHN for the homeless are packed away in a spare room, the bikes not in use have been moved to the other garage, the leaves and dirt that seems to blow in and accumulate… all removed.  Hopefully if the weather cooperates this space will be the hub of the get together with people drifting to the back deck and in the house and yard.

 

This morning I was reading Shelf Awareness (love this email – if you do not have it be sure to check it out on my right sidebar and grab it) and they had two books that caught my eye for very different reasons.  The first, October Mourning, still haunts me after seeing the trailer…

 

 

Matthew Sheppard’s story has pulled at my heart for years.  I have another book on the shelf about his story that I have yet to read just because I know it is going to be a book that breaks me down.  I will get there, hate crimes make me so angry.

 

And then… on a completely different brain wave I found this book to look interesting as well:

 

Mmmm hmmmm, doesnt that sound good?  I love books with cooking themes. 

 

SO I have to go get ready for work and call a friend but that is my morning thoughts today.  Hope your day is wonderful. 

 

What book has you wanting to make a purchase?