The Making of…

Chapter 18

Three Little Boats, And One Big River

The river that would be posing as the Anduin was called the Kawaru River, in Queenstown. We were meeting at a small inlet, where we would be filming a few shots later that night, and were storing the boats. I sat in the hull of one of the canoes as it bobbed in the water, tied to the dock most of the crew were standing on. Peter and the rest of the camera crew got to travel in speedboats. No such luck for us – we had to paddle most of the way. There was also a helicopter hovering around, waiting to take the wide shots of us. Peter was just finishing giving us one last safety-talk, before we were ‘released into the wild’. Viggo and I would paddle the boats to where the shots were to be taken, then either Elijah and Sean, or Kieran and B.K the scale doubles would jump in with us so we could do the shots.

“Ready to go?” Viggo smiled, picking up his paddle. I lifted my own – a spare one from one of the safety boats - and plunged it into the water.

“Yep.” I grinned as we pushed off from the dock.

The journey downstream was easy, as we mostly drifted with the current. The river was breathtaking, and flowed through some of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. We did most of the filming as we were going past forests and through canyons, which was when we would get the ‘Hobbits’ in the boat. I rarely had to paddle, as Viggo was supposed to be doing it in most of the shots, but there was one shot Peter wanted us to do, of me paddling and Viggo asleep with his head on my lap. When he announced that we should get ready for the shot, we cautiously changed places in the boat, and I took up the paddle. I knelt in the boat, trying to keep it as steady as possible as Vig rested his head on my lap. Even the slightest movement threatened to tip the boat over, and I was all the more nervous, as the size doubles had just told us that they couldn’t swim, and we weren’t wearing lifejackets!

“Just saying in advance, I’m sorry if we capsize.” I murmured, trying to move my mouth as little as possible – as I knew that long distance shots could be being taken at any moment, whilst one of the camera boats was whizzing around us. I sensed Viggo smile as I began to paddle using long, smooth strokes. I got into my rhythm, and soon found myself easily outrunning the other two boats, so much that for a moment I could put down my paddle and let the boat drift in the current. Viggo hadn’t moved from his position for a while, and I could hear his steady breathing as we sat in silence. “Have you fallen asleep?” I whispered in a joking tone.

“No, I’m just comfy.” He replied quietly, causing my cheeks to redden slightly as a breeze tousled our hair.

“Are you guys ok up there?” I asked B.K and Kieran who were sitting up at the front of the boat, wearing the full Hobbit costumes, complete with the creepy masks. They were both fine, and I was about to turn back to see what was keeping the others behind when I heard a yell. I quickly turned to see that Orlando and Brett (the size double for Gimli)’s boat had drifted into a small current, and one of the boats containing the crew was trying to move them, but in doing so, was pushing the bow of the boat underwater, and it was filling up! “Oh my god…” I gasped as the boat began to sink and Orlando and Brett continued yelling. Viggo sat up and turned to see what was going on.

“What are they doing?” He asked, gripping the side of the boat. Suddenly, the boat in distress tipped sharply, depositing Orlando and Brett in the water. I lurched forward, my reflexes automatically demanding me to do something, and in doing so began to rock the boat. I overbalanced and would probably have fallen into the river if Viggo had not caught my waist. I breathlessly sat back against him watching the other boat with a sickening fear rising in the pit of my stomach. What could I do? Their boat was still pretty far behind ours… My heart fell as I realised that I was totally powerless to help. Viggo’s arm curled protectively around my waist, and I would have blushed – had my attention not been occupied otherwise. I sighed with relief as Orlando resurfaced, his wig slicked back against his head by the water. But Brett was nowhere to be seen.

I could see panic in Orlando’s eyes, even at this distance, as he looked around, and dived back under the water, resurfacing seconds later with a firm grasp on Brett’s clothing. They both coughed and spluttered a little as the boats drove over to them, and I realised that it must have been Brett’s heavy armour which caused him to sink. I let out a breath that I didn’t realise I had been holding, and I felt Viggo relax his grip on me a little as the two were bundled into one of the safety boats, and their canoe was emptied of water. I slumped against Viggo, feeling relief wash over me. Lifting my hand, I saw that it was trembling slightly.

“Are you alright?” Viggo asked, taking my hand in his in an attempt to stop the shaking.

“Y-yeah…” I stammered, “I just… Got a little scared is all.”

“It’s ok.” He comforted me, turning back to make sure everyone else was alright. He carefully moved me, so that I was once again sitting in front of him and he took up the paddle.

“It’s alright,” I protested, “I can paddle if you’re tired.”

“Just rest for a moment.” He insisted, laying a comforting hand on my shoulder, before he turned the boat and paddled upstream towards the others. I settled down in a comfortable position, facing Viggo and intently watching the other boats as I spotted Orlando and Brett being wrapped in blankets. Elijah, Sean, Billy and Dom were all in one of the larger boats beside them, and Sean and the other stunt doubles were making their way over as well. As we reached the cluster of boats, Peter instructed us to head back to the inlet. Viggo paddled the whole way back, despite my offers to help, although I could see he was tired. He’s been paddling all day, and the last stretch was against a strong current, which didn’t make it any easier.

“Vig…” I begged for what seemed to be the hundredth time. “Please, just give it a rest. I’m honestly fine; I can take it from here.” He cast me a smile, but ignored my plea. I reached up and put my hand on the paddle, stopping him for a moment. “Come on, I’ll even let you fall asleep on my lap again.” I smiled weakly, throwing my final card on the table. He sighed and handed me the paddle.

“I’m only stopping so you’ll be quiet.” He smiled, shaking his head a little.

“Psh… Sure you are.” I smirked, changing positions with him and shifting to the back of the boat as he slumped into a half-lying, half sitting position, leaning his head on my lap as I paddled.

We made it back to the inlet just as the crew were stepping off the jetty. As soon as I pulled the canoe alongside it, Viggo hopped out and tied the boat up. B.K and Kieran jumped out and Vig reached down, offering me his hand with a sweet lopsided grin. I smiled and took it as he pulled me to my feet in the boat. I wobbled a little and he wound his free arm around my waist, lifting me right off my feet and setting me back on solid ground.

“Thanks…” I murmured, blushing at our close proximity as he still held me.

“Anytime.” He smiled, gently releasing me as I spotted Orlando climbing out of a boat.

“Orli!” I cried, leaving Viggo’s side and dashing to my soaked friend, catching him in a tight hug, not caring that my clothes were getting damp. “Thank goodness you’re ok…” I sighed as he hugged me back.

“I was just thinking the same thing.” He laughed light-heartedly as I pulled back. I heard Viggo approach us and he clapped a hand down on Orlando’s shoulder.

“Nice one Elf-Boy.” He grinned, and I could tell that I had just about covered what he was trying to say.

*

As we were to film another scene at the inlet that evening, we got to spend the rest of the day there. Orlando and Brett of course had to go and change, but the rest of us stayed around the pebble-beach that adjoined the jetty. Billy and Dom seemed to produce a barbeque out of nowhere and started cooking, whereas I went and sat on the edge of the jetty, daydreaming as I watched the sunlight dance on the surface of the water. The river was at a low enough level for me to dangle my legs over the edge, and only the soles of my boots got wet when the occasional wave rose up and lapped at them. The sun wouldn’t set for around another hour, but it was already low in the sky. I loved summer evenings like this, but it was surreal to think that Christmas was coming up. My mind began to wander, thinking about what would be going on at home soon. In a week or so, my family would be putting up the Christmas tree. It might have snowed, if the weather was cold enough. I remembered that I still needed to buy presents for people, but right now I felt so far away from the real world, despite the lively conversations on the beach behind me. I was drawn away from my thoughts by the faint, familiar ‘whirr’ and ‘click’ of a camera. With a slight smile, I realised that Viggo was standing behind me. I heard the ‘clunk’ of his boots as he walked across the narrow wooden jetty towards me.

“Am I disturbing you?” He asked quietly.

“No.” I smiled, keeping my gaze fixed upon the water as he sat down beside me, and I couldn’t help laughing a little as he took another photo. I turned to look at him as he looked out towards the river, and whatever lay beyond. I didn’t feel the need to make mindless, meaningless conversation; we were content in each other’s company. That was one of the things I loved about Viggo, he was so easy to be around, although his character was by no means easy to decipher. I had worked out that he was an honest person – in the sense that he was honest about himself and others around him, and he very much lived for the moment. I was surprised by how close we’d grown in the past few months, and I often found myself wondering what he thought about me. This was something I didn’t normally do. When I first became an actress, I accepted that I couldn’t be liked by everyone, so I slipped into the frame of mind where I didn’t really care what people thought about me. Of course, I wanted people to like me, but you can’t please everyone, I’d taken my fair share of criticism in the past. It took me a moment to realise that I’d been staring intently at Viggo throughout this train of thought, so I shyly glanced back down at the water, just as he spoke.

“I think I might go for a paddle in one of the boats, do you want to come?” He asked, looking up at me. I smiled and drew my gaze away from the water, meeting his questioning eyes. The pale blue hues of his iris dashed with streaks of silver held me for a few seconds, making me totally forget about his question.

“I’ll probably watch for a while.” I replied, after he blinked and released me. I may have imagined that his face fell a little, but he quickly smiled again.

“Sure thing.” He murmured, standing and offering me his hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet and we walked over to our boat. He hopped into it as I unlashed the tether and handed him the paddle.

“Be careful.” I said, a hint of concern creeping into my voice as he gave me a comforting smile.

“I’m just going around the inlet a few times.” He assured me as I pushed him off from the jetty and paddled off. I sat down again, with my legs dangling over the edge as I watched him. After a moment, I remembered that he’d left his camera sitting beside me, so I picked it up and took a few pictures of him in the boat. As promised, once he’d circled the inlet two or three times, he paddled back to me.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come for a paddle?” He asked and I smiled.

“Fine.” I sighed dramatically as he pulled the boat up alongside me and I cautiously stepped in. I sat facing him, stretching out my legs now that there was more room in the boat. “I think today has been one of my favourite days filming so far.” I smiled, “Apart from the whole sinking-fiasco.” I added. Viggo smiled, taking a break from paddling as we drifted just off the shore of the beach.

“I’ve enjoyed it too. What do you think are your other favourites so far?”

“I don’t know…” I blushed, my mind instantly flashing back to our kissing scene. I glanced up at him, and from the looks of his slightly reddened cheeks, he was probably thinking the same thing. We lapsed back into a silence, until I heard someone yell from the shore.

“Hey Kira! Ki!” Elijah called as I turned to look back at him.

“Yeah? What’s up Lij?” I shouted back.

“You have a guitar right?”

I nodded, knowing his next question and dreading it.

“Well can you go get it and play us a few tunes? We need some music!”