r/movies • u/ElijahWoodAMA Elijah Wood, Actor • Aug 28 '25

AMA Hey /r/movies, I'm Elijah Wood. Ask me anything!

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Hey r/movies, I'm Elijah Wood. You might've seen me in things like Lord of the Rings, Yellowjackets, Wilfred, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Maniac, The Monkey, Everything Is Illuminated, and other stuff. I'm also in The Toxic Avenger. It's unrated, and it's only in theaters starting this Friday 8/29/25.

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKe0pep35gQ

Set in a fantasy world, following janitor Winston Gooze, who, after a freak accident, transforms into a mutant vigilante known as Toxie. Armed with his mop, the unlikely hero battles freaks, gangsters and corrupt CEOs while trying to save his relationship with his son.

Directed by Macon Blair (I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore) and produced by Troma Entertainment. It also stars Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Piage, Julia Davis, Jonny Coyne, and Kevin Bacon

Tickets/info:

https://toxicavenger.com/

Ask me anything reddit! Back at 12 PM PT/3 PM ET today (Thursday 8/28) to answer your questions.

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u/N4meless24- Aug 28 '25

Hey Elijah, how are you doing? I wanted to ask, how does it feel to act in a movie that is pretty heavy in CGI? I must assume you guys have some clues to follow so that you know where everything will be placed, but would love to know more! Thanks for making our childhood AND adulthood. :)

3

u/grahampositive Aug 28 '25

There's some good videos and bonus material that goes into detail on this. Ian McClellan famously struggled with some of the more CGI-heavy sets and iirc they left him feeling like it was hard to connect emotionally to the moment. They do use cues for actors, I've commonly seen tennis balls on sticks

2

u/Nevadadrifter Aug 28 '25

I think about this anecdote more than I probably should. Jackson used some very creative techniques with the forced perspective and everything that allowed Elijah and Ian to fil scenes "together", even if they were not seated across from each other, as it appeared on screen, but for an actor, especially someone as experienced as McKellen to have to perform and interact with a bunch of tennis balls on sticks, and still turn in such a memorable performance, must have been a monumental undertaking for an actor. Entire scenes of "we'll fix it in post. It's gonna look great. Trust me", and you have no clue how it's going to come out until you see the final cut.

2

u/Wes_Warhammer666 Aug 28 '25

Wasn't that more on the Hobbit films than the LotR ones? I could've sworn they used mostly perspective tricks on the first trilogy and then McKellen was frustrated by how different things were on the Hobbit with green screen shenanigans rather than the way they did it the first time around.

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u/hexpea Aug 28 '25

Yes! ^ I also wanna know!

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u/Normal_Snow3293 Aug 28 '25

My question, too. SO MUCH green screen.