I thought that these details *might* appeal to some Elijah Wood fans, or
perhaps those who saw him on Saturday Night Live as a “boy chorister.”
While going through some promotional materials for my organization (the
boychoir), I came across this article (I’ve considerably edited it). That
sixteen-year-old chorister is the same guy I went to see FOTR with, who told me
when Frodo came on the screen: “We taught that guy how to sing” and I didn’t
believe him. My boss is the one who actually directed his performance. *sigh*
Some people have ALL the luck...
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A True Test for Homicide: Boychoir sets tone for murder at boys acadamy on NBC
television series
While wrapping up some last-minute details for the upcoming season before
embarking on his ten-day vacation, Director Frank Cimino got a telephone call
that would truly test his organization. The producers of NBC’s Homicide:
Life on the Street series wanted his choir, The Maryland State Boychoir
(Baltimore), to appear with teenage star Elijah Wood in “The True Test,” one of
this season’s episodes. Because the murder mystery would take place in a
boys’ academy and would involve innocent-looking choirboys, the producers
needed a full-range boychoir with treble and changed voices.
Of course, he would accept the offer, Cimino told the producers. But
because he was due in North Carolina tomorrow, and could not back out, he would
have to dump the details of dealing with costume managers, stage directors, and
site managers in the laps of Debi Quinonez, who had been on the job only a few
weeks as the choir’s new administrator, and Stephen Holmes, the choir’s
sixteen-year-old head chorister. Moreover, the first and only rehearsal
would have to wait until September 4, the second day of Cimino’s return
home. It would have to be on the day of recording the soundtrack, the day
before the shoot.
...Meanwhile, Cimino went to Elijah Wood’s trailer in front of the church for
about an hour to teach him how to lip sing and look like he was singing with
the choir. In Handel’s “Halleluia,” for example, he had to know how to
drop his jaw at an “ah” sound and to produce that bright look in the cheeks for
the “ee” sound. When directing the choir for the camera, Cimino made sure
to form the words himself so that Elijah would be able to mimic what he was
doing.
...Taping these short scenes filled the afternoon because each required about
15 takes to adjust a myriad of details: an out-of-place ruff, a crooked
surplice, an unlevel book. The camera men also took a number of close-ups
of Elijah and some of the choristers. “They took Elijah out of the choir
on several occasions and taped the boys singing without him,” notes
Cimino. “It will be interesting to see how much will actually get into
the finished product.”
...The boys also have pleasant memories of making a new friend. “They got
to know and chat with Elijah Wood,” Cimino adds. “He is a charming person
to work with and proved that he is just a regular teenage kid while working
with our boys and telling them about his life adventures.”
–July/August 1996 newsletter, “Choirboy
Notes.”
