A couple of days ago, I scrolled through Instagram as usual. When I discovered a post picturing a zoom meeting, I didn’t think anything special about it first. In Corona-times, many posts like this can be seen. People are sharing who they talk to virtually. However, when I looked closer at the people in that particular post of actor Dominic Monaghan, I could hardly believe what I saw. There were four Hobbits, a Dwarf, an Elf, a Wizard, some humans and a small, slimy creature. In short: I saw the cast of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I cried out loud! (Go ask my family, they seriously thought something was wrong with me.)
One Zoom to rule them all…
After some seconds (and after my heart started to beat again), I figured that this reunion was part of Josh Gad’s YouTube Series #ReunitedApart. It is actually the fourth episode already (the first three reuniting the casts of “The Goonies”, “Back to the Future” and “Splash”). A little teaser was already up on his YouTube channel and showed the three first minutes of the Zoom meeting. It may sound cheesy, but even this tiny bit filled my heart with joy.
…one video to find them…
Today, on Sunday 31st of May, the full Zoom call aired on YouTube. I was on a train at that time and prayed that the mobile internet connection would work. Before the actual call, Josh raised awareness for charity (like he did in the other episodes). A charity that’s dedicating its work to children suffering from the consequences coming from Covid-19 (nokidhungry.org/cheerios). The call itself started with Josh introducing his first “guest” Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee). Then, one after the other, Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Dominic Monaghan (Merry Brandybuck), Billy Boyd (Peregrin “Pippin” Tuk) and Orlando Bloom (Legolas) joined the meeting.
When asked about his thoughts on a reunion of the Lord of the Rings cast, Elijah cited his character Frodo: “I wish this choice had never come to me. I wish none if this had happened.” I had my first goosebumps moment when Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) appeared on screen and said the following in response to Elijah’s previous words: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” sigh (by the way one of my favourite quotes not only from the trilogy but in general).
…one actor to bring them all…
Josh Gad did not bring just the actors of Lord of the Rings back “together” again. Peter Jackson (director) and Philippa Boyens (writer) as well as Howard Shore (music) joined the call among the rest of the cast: Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Andy Serkis (Smeagol/Gollum), Sean Bean (Boromir), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), Karl Urban (Éomer), Miranda Otto (Éowyn) and Liv Tyler (Arwen). Even though they were social distancing in their homes and separated from each other, the chemistry between them all was palpable. Although filming ended around 17 years ago, all were having a good time during the call, it seemed like time hadn’t passed and nothing had changed.
During the call, the actors showed off their matching tattoos and (stolen) props from the set. Miranda and Liv proved that after all these years they are still able to speak the languages they have learned for the movies. One highlight was Sean Bean citing his famous lines that became an internet meme (“one does not simply walk into Mordor“) … plus doing that particular hand gesture.
A lot of redoing of iconic scenes happened and the dialogues underlined with the unmistakable, dramatic music gave me flashbacks right away. The call was spiced up with behind the scenes information and video material, fun facts, and a little quiz. Memories of the great Christopher Lee (Saruman) and the recently deceased language teacher of the actors were shared. When asked, what Lord of the Rings means to them, the answers of the cast show how much the members of this team loved working on this Trilogy together. It was as though they were part of a big, wonderful family.
Another emotional moment for me was Billy. With everyone else listening silently, he performed “Edge of Night”, the song his character Pippin sang in the third movie, The Return of the King. Tears were dropping from my eyes as well from those of the host.
…and the internet bind them.
This video has everything a fan is looking for: I laughed. I cried. All the feelings from watching the movies came back. It was like coming home, returning to people that are close to your heart, like returning to your family.
Thank you, Josh, for bringing these people back together. I have watched the video three times already today, and I guarantee I will watch it again. For those who want to see it now as well, the video can be found on Josh Gad’s YouTube channel.
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