The Making of…
Chapter 13
Cold!
We arrived at the mountaintop set on the day I was supposed to be doing the frozen lake scene. It was a little unnerving to see all the guys in safety gear crowding around the lake, testing the ‘ice’. I’d also noticed a diver going down into the lake to make sure it was safe.
“All ready Kira?” Peter asked with a grin as he jogged towards us.
“Um… I suppose?” I shrugged. “How are we going to be doing this anyway?”
“Well, we’re filming you diving into the lake and being pulled out of it here.” Pete said, gesturing to the set, “And we’ll film the underwater scenes at the studio, we can hire out a tank there.”
“You’re making me sound like a fish!” I joked, “Do I get a little plastic castle too?”
Peter laughed and sent me over to a small trailer that had been brought up the mountain for today. I hadn’t arrived in costume today, as I would have to wear a wetsuit under it, so Pete figured it would be easier for me to change on set.
My ‘wetsuit’ turned out to be a weird, white, skin-tight suit. It was extremely awkward to get into, but it would supposedly keep me warm. Supposedly. I half-walked, half-waddled my way back onto the set as I became accustomed to the suit, but eventually I managed to ignore it.
“You look uncomfortable.” Viggo smiled as I flopped onto my chair beside him.
“Shut up…” I grumbled as Peter called us all over for a run-through. When we were rehearsing, I had to pretend to dive into the lake through a large crack in the ‘ice’ after the Ring had fallen into it, and then run across the ‘ice’ to another hole where Orlando would pull me through. I would then lie on the ‘ice’, then Orlando would pick me up, run to safety and then blah, blah, here you go Frodo, blah, blah get hugged by Viggo, Viggo picks me up, takes me to the Fellowship’s camp, I get covered in blankets and then blah, blah, blah lets go walking, yeah ok, blah, scene done. Sounds simple right? Wrong.
We’d quickly rehearsed Orlando picking me up, so I had to lie on the ground as he lifted me into his arms.
“Drop me and I’ll kill you.” I hissed menacingly as he ran around for a bit, laughing his head off. Then it was Viggo’s turn. I had to be lifted from a standing position by him, which should have been more awkward, but he easily swung me into his arms. It was pretty effortless on my part; I just had to keep still. Viggo set me on my feet again and smiled as Peter called us to attention.
“Alright guys, we only get one shot at the diving part of the scene, so let’s not mess it up, ok?” He announced.
“No pressure then…” I mumbled under my breath as I got into my position for the beginning of the scene.
“Are you ready Ki?” Pete asked.
“Yeah…” I sighed.
“Ok, as soon as you’ve kicked off your boots and coat, just dive, ok? The divers are down in the lake already, so you’re perfectly safe.”
“Sure thing Pete.” I mumbled.
“Alright then… Action!” He yelled.
The Fellowship gasped in Horror, as if the Ring had just fallen through the crack in the ice into the lake below. I shrugged off my coat and quickly kicked off my boots, not letting my eyes wander from the crack in the ice. I took a step back - and a deep breath – before taking a running dive into the water.
