or year and years, fans of Ursula K. Le Guin's award-winning series of Earthsea fantasy novels have pined, pleaded and begged for someone to transform her epic tale into a movie or miniseries. Now, the SCI FI Channel has answered that call.
On Dec. 13, SCI FI will premiere Legend of Earthsea, an original four-hour miniseries based upon the novels A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan. Shawn Ashmore of the X-Men features stars as Ged, the reckless youth who, though destined to become the greatest sorcerer known to Earthsea, accidentally unleashes a dark power that could destroy the world. Also in the cast are Danny Glover (Saw) as Ged's mentor, Ogion; Kristin Kreuk (Smallville), the young priestess Tenar, who must unite with Ged to save the day; and Isabella Rossellini (Merlin) as Thar, High Priestess of Atuan, whose order—to which Tenar belongs—guards the long-captive Nameless Ones, demons that would bring about ruin if ever they escaped.
Science Fiction Weekly was in the house—or at the Regency Hotel—when Ashmore, Kreuk and Rossellini sat down to talk up Legend of Earthsea.
Isabella Rossellini, do you watch science fiction?
Rossellini: No, I don't, but I love to impress my children, and they like it. This one is not so much science fiction. It's more magic. It's just the channel that's called SCI FI Channel, and I think the channel just promotes anything that's not real [as SF].
Your character is ill throughout much of the story. How tricky was that to play?
Rossellini: I'm being poisoned and I don't know that I'm being poisoned. You know what was hard? It was hard to play the degree of my poisoning, because at a certain point I'm not poisoned and I get a little bit well. So, in my script, I had, like, a thermometer so that I could play the degree of sickness, not only makeup-wise, but also physically. We were [shooting] in such a different order, and it was hard to just remember how much to die, how much to limp and when to speak with a voice like that [sounding sickly].
Do you enjoy films like Lord of the Rings?
Rossellini: Oh yeah, I do. I love to watch them, but I mostly watch them because of [her children]. Although I did go see Harry Potter by myself, because my son had already seen it two or three times and didn't want to go back. So I did see it by myself. They are fantastic, spectacular films. Also, I think part of the reason why I did [Legend of Earthsea] is there is a common culture you have with your children, that you share. Some of it you teach them. You make sure they see Fantasia or other things that I've grown up with. I shared that culture with my parents, and now I'm sharing the culture of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Earthsea with them, and it's great.
Could you relate much of your own life to Thar?
Rossellini: I wish. My character in Earthsea is sort of this old, wise and fantastic woman. So that's what I'm aiming at.
What interested you about Earthsea, about Thar?
Rossellini: Well, I have to tell you I've worked for Hallmark before. This is my seventh production with Robert Halmi. So Robert Halmi called me on the phone. I was just about to leave. What was I doing? I was here [in New York] doing theater, and I was just about to do Alias, and he said, "I'll send you this big script. You have to read it, and you have to tell me yes or no." I just said, "No, don't bother. I don't have time to give you an answer in three days, so I'll give you an answer right now on the phone: Yes." I've known his products, and they're generally wonderfully good. So you don't have to ever worry, "Is it something that I would agree with morally? Is the film controversial?" It's generally best-seller books, classic books translated into his fantastic productions. So I said yes even before I read the script. I said, "Where do you shoot?" That's the only other thing, because sometimes they shoot very far away, and I'm afraid for my children. He said Canada in July. I said, "All right, yes!"
Did you read the books?
Rossellini: My daughter had read them. I didn't read them. My daughter has read them, and she loved them. I have a son who's 11, and he doesn't really like to read. After seeing the Harry Potter films, he picked up the books to read, so hopefully [Legend of Earthsea] will not take children away from reading but will encourage them to read more, because there are many more details in the book than you can do in a [TV] production. There are six Earthsea books, and this is a combination of a couple of them.
Kristin Kreuk, how did you go about preparing for the role of Tenar?
Kreuk: It was actually pretty simple and fun. The books are fantastic. I never got a chance to read them all, but my sister adores them. So I just took the script and developed her from there. It was a lot of fun.
Are you at all into sci-fi and fantasy?
Kreuk: My sister was actually more of the sci-fi/fantasy person. I wasn't into it as much, although I think it allows you to tell really great family stories and go into your childhood and access your imagination. That's what's really, really great about sci-fi/fantasy.
People might not expect that you'd want to do Legend of Earthsea because of your association with Smallville. What made you say yes? How much of it had to do with the fact that it fit your hiatus and/or that it shot near your home in Vancouver?
Kreuk: Well, it is a question of what was available. It being shot at home was a part of it. But the cast that they had assembled was unreal. You had Danny Glover and Isabella Rossellini and Shawn Ashmore all signed up, and they offered me this role. It was really easy to say yes to it.
And did the production of Legend of Earthsea overlap at all with Smallville?
Kreuk: It overlapped a little bit. I had a couple of months off, actually, to do whatever I wanted. I shot [Earthsea] in June, and I started Smallville in July, so it overlapped for a couple of weeks. But it was OK. It was pretty easy, actually, because Earthsea was completely willing to adjust their schedule and work weekends if they had to. I don't work every day on Smallville, so it's easy to schedule another thing.
What intrigued you most about Tenar?
Kreuk: Her character arc is actually kind of interesting in that she starts out a young girl who's learning the ways of a priestess. She's been an orphan, and she's learning from this character, Thar, that Isabella plays, and comes to a point where she's given this high priestess-hood. She's going to be the next high priestess and has to rise to the occasion, especially once Thar dies. And with Ged, Shawn's character, she has to take control and save Earthsea.
How much could you relate to Tenar on a personal level?
Kreuk: I think that with everything that's sci-fi and fantasy, the characters are still very much based in reality. I think the situations that the characters go through are heightened reality. The things that we go through as we grow up in our lives, trying to find a way to separate good from evil, aren't as black and white [as in sci-fi and fantasy], but I think sci-fi and fantasy add other elements to symbolize or heighten those realities.
Much of Tenar is under the surface. How did you approach that aspect of the role?
Kreuk: I've heard a lot about the books, because I haven't read them. I've heard that Tenar is very, very different in the books. I might be wrong in all this, but I've heard that she was darker and more self-centered in a lot of ways, and she didn't seem that way in this story at all. I think developing an inner life for a character is obviously the most important thing, because without that your character is shallow and empty. Tenar, being an orphan, has clung to this faith, and that's what she believes in. I'm pretty sure that she's never left this island. She's been stuck in this little temple. All she's thought about was keeping Earthsea safe and making sure that these Nameless Ones are never released. That is her goal. Then she has these visions about this boy who is doing evil, or what she sees as evil, but she also feels that he is good. I think that she has that struggle inside her throughout a lot of the story, and finally it comes to a point where she can accept that there is something else besides faith, and that both faith and magic can exist in the same world. I think, in the end, it's about yin and yang, man and woman, magic and faith, good and evil, all of that coming together to form a whole that in the end saves the world.
Shawn Ashmore, how did you involved with Legend of Earthsea?
Ashmore: I was approached with the script about seven months ago. I've always been into sci-fi and fantasy stuff, but I wasn't aware of Earthsea or [Ursula K.] Le Guin's work. I read the script and really liked it. Then I got the books, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, read them and totally fell in love with the character. I decided it was something I wanted to be a part of.
What was it that most appealed to you about being in Legend of Earthsea?
Ashmore: I think it's the classic coming-of-age story. I'm 25, so I've already gone through what my character Ged goes through on a general scale—because I haven't studied at a wizard's school. It's a young man coming of age and dealing with the consequences we all have to deal with. I really liked Ged's dark side. He's a young man who is strong-headed, growing up in the middle of nowhere, and feels destined for something else. I liked his drive and the fact that a lot of the bad things that happen to him he brought on himself, so it's him taking responsibility for his own actions. It was an interesting way to deal with someone growing up and becoming whole.
Were the sets real, CGI or a bit of both?
Ashmore: They were both. We had some really amazing, elaborate sets designed for us, so it was nice being in that. We also filmed on location a lot with sets. It's a lot easier to put yourself in that space when you're not surrounded by a green screen all the time. Obviously, with all the effects, with the magic and the added set pieces, there was CGI, but there were also some very intricate sets.
Before all your assorted genre projects—like X-Men and your guest appearances on Smallville and The Outer Limits—were you into SF&F?
Ashmore: I love it. Comic books and The Chronicles of Narnia. My mother used to read those to me and my twin brother growing up. So I've always been interested in that genre. It's an escape and fun. I think the reason I connected with Earthsea is because, even though it's fantasy, they're characters you can understand and be grounded with. It's grounded, but also not too serious.
Ged is not white in the novels. When you read the first story, did you wonder why they were considering you to play the role?
Ashmore: No, because I felt like the producers and everyone involved had an idea of what they wanted to do. I kind of feel like they tried to cast the best people for the parts. I know that for people that are hardcore Earthsea fans it's definitely an issue, but I just like to think they went for the best people. Being cast against type is also a challenge. It's something I decided to not let bother me.
What do you make of the comparisons between Legend of Earthsea and Lord of the Rings?
Ashmore: There will always be comparisons. The genre of fantasy is about magic and occult characters. But anyone that's read the books knows the difference. Lord of the Rings is a good thing for us, because it opened the door for us and the genre in general. Le Guin's stories are very different from Lord of the Rings. The core of the story is different, and Ged's journey is far different from Frodo's. Once people watch it they will be able to distinguish.
You were a freak of the week on Smallville. Is it more fun to play a villain or a hero with a bit of an edge?
Ashmore: I think it's more fun to play a hero with an edge. Being a villain is great, even though I've only gotten to do it a few times. I feel like you can go over the top a bit more and have more fun. But I like a balance. You get bored if you do the same thing too much—which is why Ged is perfect for an actor, because he's the hero, but not a classic hero in the sense that he does good all the time. He makes mistakes, and he's human. He causes pain to himself and the people he loves. He only becomes a hero after he deals with all that. One or the other isn't necessarily good, but maybe a mixture of the both.
How interested would you be in reprising the role of Ged if SCI FI decides to make a sequel to Legend of Earthsea?
Ashmore: I love the character and the story. It would depend on what story it would tell and if people want to see it. I loved working with our director, Rob Lieberman, and our producer, Robert Halmi Sr. It's been a real pleasure to work on, because everyone is so great.
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Also in this issue:
The cast and crew of Blade: Trinity
