Elijah Wood goes from hobbit to one of the 'Hooligans'

Christy Lemire
AP Movie Writer
Mar. 17, 2005 12:00 AM AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Before he ever threw a punch in "Hooligans," Elijah Wood had to fight just to get the movie made.

The "Lord of the Rings" star helped secure financing for the film by Lexi Alexander, which made its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival, about the violent gangs - or "firms" - associated with England's soccer teams.

"I read the script and loved it and then we met, and this is before it had any financial backing, before it was greenlit to go - quite some time before - and then we met, hit it off really well," Wood said. "In meeting her and seeing her vision and her passion, it was kind of infectious."

And the reaction from Alexander, a former world karate and kickboxing champ turned writer-director?

"First of all, the fact that he wanted to meet on this, I was blown away. And then we met and not only that but I actually like hanging out with him," Alexander said. "And because it was before financing, the fact that somebody like Elijah said, 'I want to do this,' and then met with the potential financiers, sat down at the lunch table and said, 'OK, we have to do this, I'm as passionate about it as Lexi,' my God."

Wood stars as Matt Buckman, an aspiring journalist who moves to London after being kicked out of Harvard. While staying with his sister (Claire Forlani) he falls in with a wild crowd of fervent football fans led by Pete Dunham (Charlie Hunnam) and transforms from mild-mannered student to butt-kicking thug.

It's a vastly different role for Wood, who's been etched in the pop culture consciousness for the ethereal presence he brought to the role of Frodo Baggins in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

But having the 24-year-old star on the set also meant having the rabid British paparazzi. While shooting outdoors in London's Sloane Square, several photographers pulled up one day and ambushed the production.

"It was like an attack, like all of a sudden, black car drives up and it was ch-ch-ch-ch," Alexander said, simulating frenzied flashbulb noises. "In the middle of our shot! They're very aggressive. Like, I was always worried. Obviously, he's used to it, but I was so worried."

"At certain locations, too, they would literally go on the roofs of buildings close to us. And they would come on the set!" Wood added. "They walked on the set and, like, talked to people and hung out. Oh, it was so bizarre."

Being swarmed was something Wood didn't have to worry about while shooting the "Rings" films in New Zealand, and he said he refuses to change his life to avoid it now, despite being instantly recognizable worldwide.

"In Los Angeles, I live in Venice, and it's not a real problem unless you're in certain areas or unless you're at an event. I mean, there's paparazzi around Los Angeles but I don't really go to the places that the paparazzi hang out," said the diminutive, blue-eyed actor. "A lot of these people hang out in areas where there are, like, expensive shops, restaurants that are kind of known for having celebrities go to them."

Wood appears next in "Sin City," based on the Frank Miller graphic novels, which opens April 1. He also stars in the upcoming "Everything is Illuminated," the directorial debut of actor Liev Schreiber.

But first, he'd planned to stay in Austin for the South by Southwest music festival, which starts Wednesday and runs through Sunday, in part because he's starting his own record label.

"It just comes from loving music and wanting to release things that might not necessarily get released," Wood said. "My taste is pretty eclectic so I wouldn't say that my label would have a specific sound."

News 8 Austin | 24 Hour Local News | LOCAL NEWS | SXSW not like other film fests

News 8 Austin | 24 Hour Local News | LOCAL NEWS | SXSW not like other film fests

Updated: 3/14/2005 6:23 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff
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Elijah Wood
There's plenty of stargazing going on as major actors pass through Austin for the South by Southwest Film Festival.

Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood is here to promote his newest movie. Hooligans is a British import about a gang of brawling soccer fans.

The film's premiere received a standing ovation and cast members say Austin’s movie audiences make South by Southwest one of the top film festivals in the country.

"I don't think you always get that at film festivals. Film festivals, especially established ones that have been around for a long time, can get a bit jaded. The audiences can be a little cynical whereas this is - everyone's so friendly and relaxed. There's no pretense, there's no real sense of Hollywood, its filmmakers,” Wood said.

Fellow actor Charlie Hunnam agrees, that SXSW is “what it should be - a celebration of film - without any of the aspects that would make one feel jaded."

Film producer Jeff Dowd has been a part of the Sundance Film Festival since its inception 20 years ago. He agrees that SXSW is for the people, not the industry types, and that’s what makes it special.

“Unlike Sundance where they’re all pros – you’re lucky if a skier drifts into a movie – here it’s the real folks, which gives you a kind of feeling that you can really see how a movie is going to do later. Because it’s a real audience,” Dowd said.

Hooligans is scheduled to be released in the UK later this year, but right now Austin is the only place in the world to see it.

The movie screens again Monday at 3 p.m. at the Alamo Downtown and Friday at 10 p.m. at the Alamo South.

Dowd’s other film, The Thing About My Folks, is a father-son dramedy written by and stars Paul Reiser. Peter Falk plays Reiser’s father.

It plays at 7:15 p.m. Monday and at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Alamo South.

'Lost' Team Discusses Upcoming Death and Mysteries

(Monday, March 14 12:48 PM)

By Daniel Fienberg

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Saturday (March 12) night's "Lost" lovefest at the William S. Paley Television Festival ended a little after 9 p.m. and no sooner were the closing words out of the moderator's mouth when an audible "Whoosh" could be heard in Director's Guild of America Theatre. Fans, some of whom had arrived at 6:30 in the morning to queue up for the event, surged the stage, lunging by exiting patrons to get close to their favorite cast members and creative talent.

As this pent-up enthusiasm -- to say nothing of boffo ratings, overflowing Internet boards and boundless critical adoration -- suggests, "Lost" has, in short order, become a genuine obsession for those who follow its every unsolved mystery. So serious was the crowd on Saturday that much of the conversation was fueled by issues of life and death, particularly for one "Lost" character. While co-creator J.J. Abrams has made it clear that one member of the show's core ensemble won't make it through May sweeps, getting more information out of him might take the kind of interrogation skills that Naveen Andrews' Sayid picked up in the Republican Guard.

Abrams would only say that the character's death hit him hard. "I wasn't really surprised that the death of this character was as hard in real life as it was on the show," Abrams said.

Showrunner Carlton Cuse added, "We felt that on a story level, we needed to retain the life-and-death stakes," noting, somewhat humorously, that with a bursting-at-the-seams cast of series regulars, ABC wouldn't have minded some additional casualties during the season.

None of the "Lost" producers would elaborate on which character would die, how they would die or even when the episode would air. The only hint on the latter point was Abrams' admission that he'd seen at least a rough cut of the big episode, suggesting that the episode will come before the yet-to-be-completed two-part finale which will air as a standard episode and then as a 90-minute conclusion. The eight cast members in attendance were able to kid about the upcoming death, with Jorge Garcia acknowledging that his own mother was less interested in Hurley's fate than in one particular fan favorite.

"I said 'I one of us is gonna die this year,' and she said, 'Not Sawyer,'" Garcia said, a joke that earned both laugher and nods of agreement from more than a few of the session's female attendees.

For Abrams, one of the evening's major themes was passing along credit for the show's breakout success. In absentia, former ABC bigwig Lloyd Braun, co-creator Damon Lindelof and frequent director Jack Bender got shout-outs. Abrams also frequently toasted the actors and at various points asked casting director April Webster, composer Michael Giacchino and a motley crew of writers to stand up in the crowd to receive applause.

Abrams also made sure to show love to the "Lost" fans, a choice that he may have made even if some of the more passionate followers didn't seem just a bit rabid.

"The thing about the fans of 'Lost' is that they're so smart and so aware," he said, adding, "We can't believe that people get the connections they get, whether they're there or not."

Although Abrams laughed (appropriately) at a question about when frequent "Alias" plot device Rimbaldi would become a factor on "Lost," he admitted that the show's staff is very conscious of viewer response on sites including "The Fuselage." Thankfully Abrams dismissed the popularly held theory that the castaways are stranded in Purgatory, though he claimed to like the idea.

"I'm so grateful and beholden to the fans and to not listen to them would be moronic," Abrams said, fueling many a webmaster ego.

It was a spirited session, characterized by cast banter and collegial teasing. Toward the end, the performers were asked to give their own suggestions for upcoming plot lines.

"I think Sawyer should throw a party," suggested Josh Holloway. "He's got all these goods."

Making another reference to "Alias," Harold Perrineau suggested, "I hope we find out Michael works for SD-6."

For his part, Dominic Monaghan said that he'd pitched an episode that concluded with burnt-out rocker Charlie sipping tea with the island's previously unseen monster.

"I just feel like Season Six we're gonna flash back to, 'Hey, remember that crash we were all in'" cracked Garcia.

Nobody, though, knows where things will really go. Even Abrams says as much.

"I would be an absolute liar if I said every single thing was planned out from the beginning."