The Long and Short of It
Encyclopedia
The Long and Short of It is a short film that was written and produced by Sean Astin
. The five-minute film was shot in Wellington
, New Zealand
in a single day when the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers had reunited to shoot pick-ups. It debuted on the DVD release of The Two Towers in August 2003, and was an official entry at Sundance
2003.
) is putting up a poster, but has a bad back and his ladder is broken. He is about to give up when a small woman (Praphaphorn Chansantor) comes by and helps glue the lower part of the poster to the wall. This catches the attention of a very tall man (Paul Randall), who glues the top part of the poster to the wall.
When they finish, all three step back and admire the poster. Then suddenly a bus pulls up behind them, the bus driver (Peter Jackson
) lets them come on, and they drive away. The camera pans to the bin and we see that there is the Grisely Painter's roller and pad.
Sean Astin
Sean Astin is an American film actor, director, voice artist, and producer better known for his film roles as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies, the title character of Rudy, and Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In television, he appeared as Lynn McGill in the fifth season of 24...
. The five-minute film was shot in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in a single day when the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers had reunited to shoot pick-ups. It debuted on the DVD release of The Two Towers in August 2003, and was an official entry at Sundance
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
2003.
Plot
It's another day in Wellington. The Grisely Painter (Andrew LesnieAndrew Lesnie
Andrew Lesnie is an Australian cinematographer. Lesnie attended the Australian Film Television and Radio School , graduating in 1979. His first job after graduation was as a cameraman on the Logie Award-winning Australian magazine-style afternoon TV show Simon Townsend's Wonder World...
) is putting up a poster, but has a bad back and his ladder is broken. He is about to give up when a small woman (Praphaphorn Chansantor) comes by and helps glue the lower part of the poster to the wall. This catches the attention of a very tall man (Paul Randall), who glues the top part of the poster to the wall.
When they finish, all three step back and admire the poster. Then suddenly a bus pulls up behind them, the bus driver (Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
) lets them come on, and they drive away. The camera pans to the bin and we see that there is the Grisely Painter's roller and pad.
Trivia
- The bus has two The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring posters on the sides.
- The cameras used were High Definition Digital Video which were about to be packed away, but Astin used them for the rest of the day.
- Sean Astin added P.S. I Love You Christine to the end of the credits.
- Elijah WoodElijah WoodElijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
was the 1st assistant director. - Andy SerkisAndy SerkisAndrew Clement G. "Andy" Serkis is an English actor, director and author. He is popularly known for playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he earned several award nominations, including the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Two Towers...
was assistant location manager. (On the "Making Of" documentary, he can be seen working his way up to the position of producer, deciding that the job was boring, then working his way back down to assistant location manager.) - Billy Boyd chose the song which was played throughout the film.
- The story was written by Sean Astin and Dominic MonaghanDominic MonaghanDominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
.
Cast
- Grisely Painter: Andrew LesnieAndrew LesnieAndrew Lesnie is an Australian cinematographer. Lesnie attended the Australian Film Television and Radio School , graduating in 1979. His first job after graduation was as a cameraman on the Logie Award-winning Australian magazine-style afternoon TV show Simon Townsend's Wonder World...
(Cinematographer for the LOTR series) - Small Woman: Praphaphorn Chansantor (She was one of the scale doubles for the hobbitsHobbitHobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
) - Tall Man: Paul Randall (He was a scale double for human-sized characters, including GandalfGandalfGandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
) - Bus Driver: Peter JacksonPeter JacksonSir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
- Cyclist: Perry Norris