By A SHOOT Staff Report

With the guild awards season fast approaching, we can expect as in years past a series of familiar TV shows, telefilms and limited series to gain recognition–some of which have already scored at the Emmys back in September but remain eligible for the likes of the ACE Eddie, Art Directors Guild (ADG) Excellence in Production Design, ASC, VES, MPSE Golden Reel, Writers Guild and DGA Awards, among other competitions.

But there will also invariably be new content in the running for guild honors–and next year’s Emmy derby for that matter.  And two of the highest profile entries in that mix are The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video) and the Star Wars series Andor (Disney+).

Amazon Studios has a lot riding on The Rings of Power, committing to five seasons of production at a price tag of a reported $450 million, which is in addition to the $250 million rights deal struck with J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate in 2017.
Meanwhile as is the case with any Star Wars project, the bar has been set high–in terms of production value, and for meeting lofty expectations from a voracious fan base.

The maiden voyages of both The Rings of Power and Andor have been well received. SHOOT connected with a couple of the artisans–one for each show–who could figure in the guild awards conversation: John Gilroy, co-producer and editor of Andor; and Ramsey Avery, production designer on The Rings of Power.

The former is best known for his feature film exploits, earning two BAFTA Award nominations for Best Editing on the strength of Michael Clayton in 2008 and Nightcrawler in 2015. The same two films also garnered him ACE Eddie Award nods. And Nightcrawler scored a Best Editing nomination from the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Among Gilroy’s other feature editing credits are The Bourne Legacy, Pacific Rim, Suicide Squad and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Andor marks Gilroy’s first major foray into television but it came naturally in that the series is a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Beyond the continuity he brings between those two stories, Andor enabled him to once again collaborate with his brothers Dan Gilroy, a writer on the show, and Tony Gilroy, series creator. Their prior collaborations include writer-director Tony Gilroy’s Michael Clayton. Tony Gilroy also directed and co-wrote The Bourne Legacy and was a writer on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Dan Gilroy directed and wrote Nightcrawler, and co-wrote The Bourne Legacy.

Given his involvement in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the familial connection, John Gilroy said he seamlessly transitioned to Andor. Also appealing were the storytelling prospects that television provides. “While I wouldn’t say long-form television is supplanting movies, less people are going to movie theaters,” he said. The chance to tell a story over many more hours than a feature affords him proved enticing. That volume, related Gilroy, makes Andor akin to turning out four features in two years. “It’s not a marathon; it’s a super marathon,” he assessed. 

Andor goes back five years from the events of Rogue One, following Cassian Andor (portrayed by Diego Luna who also played Andor in the movie). Season one consists of 12 episodes which cover one year in time. Season two’s dozen episodes will take viewers over the next four years into Rogue One. 

Whereas Rogue One brings us the character of Andor fully shaped as the consummate warrior and leader of the Rebellion, the TV series delves into the early years of the Rebellion, exploring Andor’s complex and long history–and the road he took through his personal life to become the one person that the Rebellion Alliance trusted to carry out a bold revolt. Similarly other fascinating characters–for which Rogue One could only provide snapshots–are more thoroughly examined in Andor.

John Gilroy teamed with Tim Porter (Game of Thrones) to edit the first three episodes, and Dan Roberts (Peaky Blinders) on episode six. Roberts was part of an ensemble of British editors brought on the show, including Hazel Bauillie, Frances Parker, Matthew Cannings, Simon Smith and Yan Miles. In addition to the episodes he directly cut, Gilroy served as an overall supervisory editor. “We knew there was a lot riding on this,” said Gilroy, noting that all the editors came together–as did the full cast and crew–to deliver a show “that looked great on paper and to make it even better.”

Gilroy also praised the directors, a season one mix consisting of Toby Haynes, who helmed the first (episodes 1-3) and third (8-10) blocks, Susanna White (episodes 4-6) and Benjamin Caron (episodes, 7, 11, 12). Gilroy said that directors seemed to feed off of one another’s work, taking a peek at what had been done before to get a vibe, set a look for a particular set or piece, bringing an element of continuity to the proceedings. The editors too, noted Gilroy, kept a watchful eye on the big picture to attain a semblance of continuity across the board. 

Ramsey Avery
Avery aspired initially to a career as an astrophysicist. While he explored various fantasy books over the years, the first to profoundly influence him was Tolkien’s novel “The Hobbit,” which led Avery to “The Lord of the Rings.” 

“That world felt utterly real to me. It sparked my interest in the whole idea of science fiction and fantasy,” recalled Avery who as a result realized he could “make worlds” and “didn’t have to figure out how they work” as an astrophysicist. Rather than serving as a scientific observer, he could actively create worlds in his imagination and bring them to fruition through design. Little did he know that the profound influence of Tolkien on his art and livelihood would one day translate into his bringing life to Tolkien-inspired worlds in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Avery came into the ambitious project with his share of world-building experience. As an art director, he contributed to the future worlds in such films as Minority Report and A.I. Artificial Intelligence, eventually becoming supervising art director on Star Trek Into Darkness, Mirror Mirror, Tomorrowland and Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 2.

As a production designer, Ramsey has designed the films 10 Cloverfield Lane, Hotel Artemis, Peppermint, and the Sundance selections Waitress and Right At Your Door. In addition, he has designed national commercials for, among others, Budweiser, Microsoft, and Capri Sun, plus a Super Bowl spot for Dodge. He was nominated for an ADG Award for Excellence in Production Design for his design of the live action portion of the trailer for The Bee Movie. He is no stranger to the ADG Awards’ circle, having been nominated as an art director for Tomorrowland, Star Trek Into Darkness, Minority Report and AI Artificial Intelligence. And now his work on The Rings of Power brings him yet again into the ADG Awards discussion–and more.

There was plenty of room for imagination in The Rings of Power as the show takes place thousands of years prior to The Lord of the Rings feature films. While Tolkien provided the road map for navigating the worlds in The Rings of Power, Avery had creative room on his journey. For example he was tasked with bringing the island of Númenor to life, a kingdom–known for its strength in water and sailing–never previously depicted on screen. Within that environ came a life-sized ship with 30 foot sails. The set for Númenor was built on a lot in New Zealand spanning some five acres.

Avery also had to create such locales as the underground Dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm, the elves’ city of Lindon, and pop-up villages of the harfoots. Avery tapped into such talent as illustrators John Howe and Alan Lee known for their Tolkien book artwork as well as concept art for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy. But the concept art they did for The Rings of Power was an original proposition in that Jackson’s movies portrayed the decline of the various worlds of men, elves, Tolkien’s dwarves. The Rings of Power in contrast showcases these kingdoms back when they were flourishing.  The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history.

When feasible, practical sets were constructed–giving actors an inhabitable space even when the locations are fantastical. Environments had to feel real and honest. Avery also had to design for visual effects when an in-camera approach wasn’t viable. He explained that they took every opportunity to put the camera in a real place–to make the worlds and cultures real. They couldn’t rely too heavily on visual effects–even though they remain important to the process.

Ramsey felt blessed to be working with “a spectacular group of people,” affirming that for instance the “New Zealand crews were remarkable–from art directors to set design to people doing embroidery, stone masons, blacksmiths,” all providing a sense of scope and scale, a foundation to build the story on.

And even when creating Middle-earth settings for their debut on screen, Ramsey related that they had to pass the Tolkien test. “Everybody has an opinion of what Tolkien looks like,” observed Ramsey. “Audience expectations enter into the story we needed to tell.” Somehow the Tolkien DNA had to be distilled in order to  the story accessible. 

Ramsey affirmed, “As much as I loved the opportunity to help create something near and dear to my core, what I really took away from the experience were the people. I loved working in New Zealand. The people I worked with, their heart and passion. They are not just doing if for a paycheck. They believe in Tolkien and the Middle-earth–and they believed in doing a good job….From the showrunners on down, we had people who were just a pleasure to work with. That’s why the world looks good. Without those people, their heart, none of this would have happened. Their passion made this world come to pass.”

The series is led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. They are joined by executive producers Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado, and producers Ron Ames and Christopher Newman. Wayne Che Yip is co-executive producer and directs along with Bayona and Charlotte Brändström.

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