Mara

Racconto (in inglese):

So, where to start? All right…In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit…
No, that has already been written.. This is a report about the sweetest of hobbits and his day in Giffoni, Italy. First of all, I’d like to thank you, all my dearest friends, for being so supportive, wishing me good luck in this adventure and waiting patiently for my reports to be posted. Very special thanks go to janira11(for her lovely post about me and my Lij’s interview), julchen11 (for her gift of my special angel, who actually watched over me) and lyrastar77 (who spent a lot of time sharing my emotions and giving suggestions). It was the first time I was leaving alone, since I usually like to travel in company. But this time it was different. My trip was planned to go and meet Elijah Wood at Giffoni Film Festival. In case you don’t know, this is a festival held each year in Italy about cinema for young people and kids. The jury itself is composed by kids. I arrived in Salerno (a town near Naples) Saturday morning. At the train station, there was a car waiting for me and other journalists and we were taken to our hotels. Then we had to catch a bus for Giffoni, which is a little town in a valley, half an hour from Salerno. I was glad that in the meanwhile I met Alessandra, a young journalist from Rome who stayed at the same hotel. She told me that she was there to interview several people and music groups and that she was a fan of Frodo and Lord of the Rings. In Giffoni, we collected our pass and went to the press office, to have the program for the day and to ask for a private interview with Elijah Wood. They made us fill in a form, transmitted it to the person who was planning the interviews and then asked us to come back within a few hours. While waiting, I attended the press conference of Sabrina Ferilli, who is an Italian actress and showgirl (mostly known because she is a huge supporter of AS Roma football team) and went with Alessandra to interview an emerging Italian group called Finley. It was my first time ever. I’ve only written articles until now, but never made interviews or press conferences, so I was very curious. Later in the evening, we asked if there were news about the private interview with Lij, but they said they didn’t know yet and we had to wait until next morning. The following night was probably the longest in my life. I slept only 3 hours, I was too excited (and it was too hot) to sleep and I was constantly thinking about my next meeting with Lij. I didn’t know if I would be able to interview him personally, anyway I was sure I could attend the press conference and the soirée and the prize ceremony, which meant at least an hour or two with Lij (far more than the handful of seconds I’ve spent with him in London). Sunday morning arrived and Alessandra and I caught the first bus to Giffoni. On the bus there were a lot of kids and everyone was talking about Elijah Wood. My heart started racing, it was true, after all. But I was so scared, at the same time: where could I find the courage to interview him in case they had agreed for the interview? But I tried to relax and calm down. I didn’t want to waste this chance because of my fears and shyness. Once there, we asked for the day program and we had a great surprise: there were other events with Lij that day. First a conference with the kids (at 4 pm), then a conference with older students (at 4.30 pm), then the conference for the press (at 5 pm). Then the soireé, at 9 pm. In the middle, they say they were still scheduling the interviews. I was incredibly happy! So many events to attend and the real chance that I could have the interview. Then, while we were at the restaurant for lunch, my cell phone rang and someone announced that my private interview with Elijah was for 7 pm. Oh, my!!! I nearly choked. I wanted to jump, to squeee, to dance, but I had to restrain myself. I was supposed to behave like a journalist there, not a fan! So I squeeed just a little, with Alessandra, who had received the same call a few minutes later. So no more wasting time, we had to get ready for the long afternoon.
At 2.30 pm we went to the first location where Elijah was supposed to meet the kids. It was a park called “Giardino degli Aranci” (Oranges garden) and the TV crew was already there, working with gears and wires. We entered the gate (thanks to the pass, it was closed to the public), sat on a bench and waited for the Beautiful One to arrive, in the meanwhile discussing the questions we wanted to ask Elijah. Then someone said that the car had arrived. I turned towards the gate and there was a car parked just in front of it. Then I saw him! He left the car and, strictly followed by the security, walked through the gate, greeted by a huge cheers and applause from everyone there. I could not believe it. Only 15 days since London and Lij was in front of me again! He was wearing jeans and shirt and sunglasses, the usual bag across his shoulder (what does he have in that bag??) and looked very relaxed. He smiled and waved to everyone, before entering another gate. Here’s the clip of his arrival. I’ve already posted it, but in case you missed it:

Everyone immediately followed him, then he entered a third gate, which was forbidden to us. We tried to explain we had the pass, but they didn’t let us in. So I waited patiently, watching through the bars, feasting my eyes on Lij talking and smoking a cigarette, until a body guard told us to leave the place. I think there was a private photo session to be taken there so no one was allowed. But I didn’t care, because I knew that in a few minutes Lij would have been back. And here’s a short clip of Lij smoking. If you hear someone complaining, he’s a photographer who could not understand why they didn’t let him in:

Actually, after a short time he was ready to come back and meet the kids. He walked just in front of me, so I said “Hi Elijah”. He turned towards me saying “Oh, hello!!” in his sweet voice, greeting me with a lovely smile (a great, real smile, gap included). And waved. I waved back and followed him, waiting for the TV program shooting to begin. The kids were really impatient and they’ve been instructed on how to behave and who was going to ask question and in which order. It was very interesting to be there and see things from real, how they were set and programmed. We are accustomed to the final product, the movie or the program. For me it was a sort of behind the scenes. Lij sat on a bench, surrounded by those excited children. He was so relaxed and full of joy, clearly enjoying his time, chatting with the kids, sharing smiles and laughter. It was since the old days of LOTR that I haven’t seen him that happy. I was so glad it happened here in Italy and that I’ve been able to witness it. While waiting for the TV program to be shot, Elijah was sitting on a bench, with all those very excited kids all around him. The TV crew was busy preparing all the stuff to get ready. After a bit of struggle, I gained a good position (although I had to constantly give way to allow the TV crew to move easily) and I could see everything Elijah was doing, while waiting. I can say he was very curious, he looked like a child among children, smiling to everyone, looking at their pass, pointing at their shoes. He was simply adorable to watch, with his wonderful eyes gazing all around, trying to catch the tiniest detail. If I hadn’t known he was a star, I could say he simply was a gorgeous guy living next door. The very sight of him, behaving so charmingly, talking so easily with everyone was something I really appreciated. I felt my heart swell with joy, I felt so happy for him and proud of him, proud of being a fan of his.Then someone brought him a glass of water and he said “Grazie” (thank you, in Italian), and I melted, because it was the very first time I’ve heard him saying a word in Italian. And here’s a small videoclip showing it all:

When everyone was ready and the recording began, Elijah was introduced for the program (shown on Canale5, an Italian TV) by Marco Liorni (already known in Italy to have conducted Grande Fratello, the Italian version of Big Brother). They talked about Frodo and LOTR, then Liorni asked Lij why, in his opinion, he has the right face for fantasy roles and Lij laughed, saying he didn’t know. So Liorni said that maybe it was because of his blue eyes and his dreamy air and Elijah had another burst of laughter. When he was asked if he could imagine LOTR without special effects, as if the set was real, Elijah said that it actually was all real! Then it was time for kids to ask questions, mainly about his role of Frodo. At some point, I remember clearly (but that’s not been showed on the TV final editing) that someone asked him if he could sing a song. He said that he could not sing. They asked if he knew any Italian songs and he said “Volare” (if only had he started singing right there I would have died!). Here’s a short videoclip of Elijah being introduced for the program. When the recording ended (it was a very short program, ten minutes or so), all the kids were allowed to ask for autographs and take pics. There were a few moments of total chaos, and Lij completely disappeared from my point of view, but I heard him laugh. God, this guy has a lovely (and very frequent, bless him) laughter. When the children left the place, there were just the TV crew, some body guards, the photographers and a few journalists A guy from the crew proceeded to remove Lij’s microphone and Elijah thanked him. I noticed that Lij has this lovely way to thank everyone around him, from the organizers, to the body guards, to the TV crew. (And I couldn’t help but think that it was unfair that a guy had to remove the mic, let’s have a lady do that! Me, for instance!). Then I don’t know how it happened, but when the crew dispersed, after having collected all wires and gears, and I was finally able to have a good point of view on Lij again, I was greeted by one of the most lovely sight ever: Elijah was bent (I don’t know what he was doing) and his lovely bottom was pointing up directly at me. I know I was behaving very badly, but I had to restrain myself from pinching it (too tempting!). I must say that he has the smallest hips and bottom I’ve ever seen on an adult, almost a child bottom (lovely and rounded and tempting, but so small!). I know, I know, I’m being very fangirlish now, sorry! And I even tried to capture it on my camera, furtively … (*blushes with shame*). That’s the result, it could have been better, but that’s it. He still has the back part of his mic on. Then, since it was a relatively calm moment, I decided it was the right time to approach Lij and (feeling very guilty inside for the previous pic) I politely asked him if I could take a photo of him holding my magazine, explaining him that I work for that magazine.
He stared at me with those gorgeous blue eyes (oh my, I’ve never realized how they shone in the daylight and how sweet and piercing they are), smiled (again!) and said “Sure!”. Such a sweet guy he is, he never denies anything to anyone! I handed him my magazine and he posed for me, as you can see in the pictures. Then the bodyguards escorted him until he entered the car to go to another conference and meet a group of older guys and girls.
I wish I could attend that conference too, but it was more important for me to be present at the press conference, and the locations were quite distant from were I was, so I chose to go directly to the place were the press conference was supposed to be. During the walk, under a merciless sun, I had another quick glimpse of Elijah when the car he was in passed by.

Mara