The roars of the Uruk-hai resounded endlessly. Duke stood atop Helm's Deep, gazing toward the ramp leading to the front gate on the left. A group of burly men disguised as Uruk-hai emerged from the ranks, carrying a battering ram. They braved the falling foam debris from above as they advanced toward the gate, launching their attack.
Though this battering ram was no match for the real siege tools of war, it was a solidly constructed prop created by the production team, specially transported to the location by truck just two days ago.
Nearly fifty muscular "Uruk-hai" hoisted the battering ram and slammed it into the wooden gate of Helm's Deep. A dull thud reverberated, yet the gate seemed unscathed.
The "Uruk-hai" struck again—once, twice, three times... but the gate stood firm.
After a dozen or so attempts, the "Uruk-hai" were visibly exhausted. These stunt performers, after all, were not Saruman's war machines. Duke called for a timely break.
However, even after a thirty-minute rest, when filming resumed, the "Uruk-hai" were still unable to break through the gate of Helm's Deep. The thin wooden gate seemed genuinely impenetrable.
"Cut!"
Duke once again stopped the shoot. He descended from the walls of Helm's Deep, down the steps, and approached the gate. The gate was now open, and Bill from the props team had also rushed over to consult with the stunt performers.
"It's too sturdy!" exclaimed the lead "Uruk-hai" actor. "We can't even budge it."
Sean Davis, who played Gimli, leaned on his large axe and joked from the side, "Colin, it's not the gate that's too sturdy. It's you guys who are unprofessional. Your attempts at breaking down the door feel like an elf's tap."
"Sean!"
The stunt actor, clearly familiar with Sean Davis, flipped him the middle finger. "Why don't you come and give it a try?"
Raising his hand to signal for silence, Duke approached the gate and knocked on it. It was indeed not thick...
"Take a ten-minute break. We'll try again," he instructed.
Ten minutes passed quickly. Duke didn't return to the walls but instead stood behind the gate next to the camera. This expensive camera was surrounded by a dense metal frame for protection, in case debris from the broken gate flew in all directions.
However, with the gate refusing to break, this precaution proved unnecessary.
As the filming resumed, Duke, standing behind the gate, could hear the thunderous banging from the battering ram. The stunt performers were clearly giving it their all, yet the thin wooden gate remained unyielding under their fierce assault.
"Stop!"
This wasn't working. Duke once again halted the shoot and turned to ask the head of Weta Workshop, "Richard, where was this gate manufactured?"
Richard Taylor gave an awkward smile.
The atmosphere on set was growing tense, so Duke cracked a light joke. "I just want to hire these guys to make doors for me. Their craftsmanship could definitely withstand paparazzi and journalists."
Everyone laughed.
Duke patted Richard Taylor on the shoulder. "Make a new gate. This time, it doesn't need to be so durable."
Turning to the crew, Duke shouted, "This scene is on pause. Let's move on to filming the battle on the walls."
A large number of "Uruk-hai" and Rohan soldiers relocated to the walls of Helm's Deep for shooting. These shots were fragmented, mostly depicting "Uruk-hai" slaughtering Rohan's militia. At this stage of the battle, without Gandalf and reinforcements, the humans and elves were doomed to defeat.
These scenes weren't difficult to film, and they required far less time than the makeup and touch-ups for the "Uruk-hai." The entire shoot was a mix of short takes and frequent breaks.
Duke's director's camera was set up on the highest command platform, offering a clear view of the entire scene. Besides Ivanka Trump, there was another assistant helping Duke with filming tasks.
Unlike the busy assistant handling production-related matters, Ivanka primarily managed Duke's personal affairs, leaving her with a much lighter workload. She often sat quietly in a corner, flipping through the concept and storyboard sketches for the shoot.
Though serving as Duke's assistant, Ivanka was not a genuine movie enthusiast. Take this series, for example—she hadn't read the original books and showed no interest in doing so.
However, after repeatedly viewing the concept sketches and scenes, she found some aspects perplexing. Occasionally, she would take advantage of Duke's breaks to ask a few questions.
She had been staring at several concept sketches of Edoras, the city of Rohan, for quite some time. When she saw Duke stop working, she brought over a cup of coffee.
"Thanks," Duke said, taking the coffee and sipping it. Seeing Ivanka still standing behind him, he asked, "Something on your mind?"
"Yes, there are some things I don't quite understand." Ivanka laid the concept sketches before Duke. "Edoras is the capital of Rohan, yet it's designed to look so... shabby, just a simple wooden city?"
Knowing she hadn't read the original books and had asked similar questions before, Duke explained briefly, "Rohan is a nation primarily of nomadic people. Their lifestyle revolves around pastoralism. Edoras, though the capital, is essentially a winter settlement for the Rohirrim."
Duke had seen countless debates online about this in the past. People often overlooked one key point—what use would a nomadic people have for grand cities?
Take Helm's Deep, the most imposing structure in Rohan. It wasn't even built by the Rohirrim but by Gondorians.
Ivanka nodded but didn't leave. Glancing at the "Uruk-hai" and Rohan soldiers getting makeup touch-ups, she asked again, "Also, as King of Rohan, Théoden has so few soldiers? When under attack, he could only muster peasants..."
Hearing this, Duke set down his coffee and patiently explained.
This, too, tied back to the nomadic culture. Most of Rohan's military were pastoralists during peacetime, conscripted only in times of war. Each commander could muster a small, well-trained force of about 120 armed knights from their own lands. For instance, Éomer's company, which slew the orcs, was his personal guard.
In the Battle of Helm's Deep, Tolkien's narrative used a "spring and autumn" style, summarizing events rather than delving into detail. Before the battle, Rohan had already fought two major engagements with Saruman's forces. However, due to the limited runtime of the film, these couldn't all be depicted. Instead, the Battle of Helm's Deep, which Tolkien briefly mentioned, became the highlight of The Two Towers.
While books can gloss over battles, films require climactic scenes to captivate audiences. Without them, what would draw viewers in? Slow, mellow storytelling?
Thus, Duke intended to make the Battle of Helm's Deep as epic as possible.
After explaining to Ivanka, Duke concluded, "Ivanka, just read the original books. All your questions will be answered."
While the movie wouldn't follow the books verbatim, and Hollywood rarely did, Duke adhered closely to the core themes and storyline of the original.
By the afternoon, the crew moved to the Deeping Wall, and the elf army began to appear en masse.
Since the crew's arrival, the elven models had been the center of attention. Like Hollywood at large, Duke's team included plenty of men and women attracted to the same sex, as well as women like Hannah Serena with a penchant for handsome men. Inevitably, these fit, attractive male actors became objects of admiration.
That said, everyone knew Duke's boundaries and avoided causing trouble that would delay filming.
Hollywood is what it is. Not even someone like Bill Gates could change the personal dynamics within this industry, let alone Duke, who had no intention of doing so. Trying to reform such a vast industry would be as futile as smashing an egg against a rock.
Most of the issues in this circle weren't solvable simply by directing a good film.
To be practical, movies are merely tools for directors to express their value. Dreaming of changing Hollywood—or the world—through cinema alone is nothing short of fantasy.
The dawn of a new millennium passed quietly. There was no apocalypse. Other than watching the sunrise, Duke felt no particular emotions. Like a tightly wound clock, he continued his orderly work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The Battle of Helm's Deep gradually drew to a close after nearly half a month of shooting. Weta Workshop finally delivered a new gate for Helm's Deep, allowing the team to film the pivotal scene of the "Uruk-hai" breaching the fortress.
This time, the gate was intentionally weak. When filming began, the stunt performers broke a hole in it after just three strikes.
"This gate is too flimsy," Duke muttered after calling a stop. But it didn't matter. Since the old and new gates looked identical, earlier footage could be edited seamlessly into the final cut—a minor task during post-production.
The "Uruk-hai" broke through, and Aragorn led the defenders in a desperate counterattack. On the big screen, this scene would undoubtedly be stirring and uplifting.
This was the final scene at Helm's Deep, but Duke made several adjustments. He clarified that the horses were hidden inside Helm's Deep beforehand and increased the number of riders.
Though this was a fantasy film, it would be too unrealistic for a dozen riders to charge out of Helm's Deep and easily cut down countless "Uruk-hai."
Duke expanded the interior of Helm's Deep, included elven survivors, and increased the cavalry to several dozen. Most of them would perish after charging out, with the protagonists surviving thanks to their sacrifices.
Filming cavalry charges was tricky, but CGI would help augment the numbers. During filming, 20 riders were enough.
By mid-January, the crew wrapped up the Battle of Helm's Deep and returned to Wellington.
Duke had to leave New Zealand temporarily to visit Sydney, where he was overseeing the sequels to The Matrix as a producer.
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