Elijah Wood at Fan Expo 2014
The room was packed and fans could be heard discussing various elements of Lord of the Rings when the announcement sounded that Elijah Wood had entered the room. A roar grew and applause erupted as he took his seat opposite moderator Ajay Fry with a huge smile across his face. Watching Wood enter the room, you got the sense that he was very excited to meet his fans and interact with them. His smile never wavered and as he spoke, he joked easily with people who braved the lines to ask him a question; he was even in awe of much of the cosplay he saw particularly when one girl turned up cross playing Aragorn.
The panel started with Wood discussing his involvement with The Hobbit trilogy. He talked about how refreshing it was to get to watch it as a fan because of his limited time on set. Wood found it a joy to go back to New Zealand since it had become something of a second home while filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and his time on set “felt like a family reunion.” He went on to talk about New Zealand itself and his time spent there. He told the audience that if we were ever to visit, we had to go to New Zealand, we should visit Hobbiton. While a touristy thing to do, the crew of The Hobbit rebuilt the original set which had largely fallen apart since The Lord of the Rings production, so Hobbiton now exists made out of sustainable materials and is well maintained with groomed gardens and smoking chimneys. He encouraged everyone to go to the Green Dragon for a pint.
One audience member asked about how Wood began acting and he was more than happy to share the story. As a 7 year-old, his mother took him and his brother from Iowa to Los Angeles for a modelling and talent convention where he was spotted. He said that he quickly agreed to act since it sounded like a lot of fun, so his mother moved the family and he began his career. His first role was in a Paula Abdul music video that was directed by then unknown David Fincher and his first movie role was a part in Back to the Future 2. When asked about his The Bunny Commercial on Funny or Die, he said “I’m really proud of it.” The Bunny Museum is an actual museum in Pasadena and the Wood said that the commercial centers on their website’s clues to give your friends. His friend had insisted they film it after discovering the museum’s website and Wood couldn’t resist.
The Mondo Hand of Sauron poster from their archives
During the panel, Wood also talked about his own fandom. He was asked what he likes best about attending conventions, and told the audience that his favourite thing was meeting his fans. He was impressed by cosplayers and blown away by how his work is received. He also talked about the things he loves; he is a collector of vinyls and Mondo posters and used to collect Star Wars toys until the prequels released, “they fucked us!” he said, “there were too many [toys]. They killed our dreams!” He laughed about his inability to keep up with toy collecting because the world is “too intense.” He is also a huge fan of Bruce Campbell and Lisa and Louise Burns, so he was absolutely thrilled to meet them at Fan Expo. Finally, he marvelled about the quality of television and the amazing shows he was watching, he listed True Detective, Fargo, The Killing, and Game of Thrones as his favourites. He also mentioned his recent discovery of Adventure Time, “It’s so great and so weird and I can’t believe it’s made for kids!” He exclaimed with laughter. “It’s like being stoned, it really is! It’s like being on hallucinatory drugs.”
