"Martin is playing a lot of great tunes these days," Peter Jackson said to his friends with a satisfied grin.
"It seems you're quite pleased with Martin's arrangement of The Lord of the Rings—it's clearly inspired," Richard Taylor laughed.
At that moment, Richard was completely convinced that this film series would be a major hit. Classic stories, iconic characters, memorable performances, unforgettable soundtracks—plus his own special effects. How could this film possibly fail?
As Martin finished playing, he carried the harp down the mountain. At the foot of the hill, Peter called to the two photographers. "Did you get the shot?"
Peter Jackson nodded with satisfaction. More promotional materials about Martin were piling up in his hands, each one showcasing the young actor in a new light. What no one knew, however, was that the scene of Martin playing the harp had been recorded by two unsuspecting backpackers.
"Did you get it?" Jason excitedly shouted to his companion.
"I got it, I got it! Oh my God, it turns out there really are elves in the world!" George waved the small video camera in his hand, grinning from ear to ear.
"Be careful, don't fall!" Jason quickly grabbed his friend's arm.
"We need to get back to the hotel and post this online. We've discovered a new species!" he said, his excitement contagious.
It's no wonder they reacted that way—Martin hadn't removed his elf costume while playing the harp, and they had no idea the crew was nearby. From their vantage point across the hill, they genuinely believed they'd stumbled upon an actual elf.
The next morning, Peter Jackson was awakened by a phone call from his assistant.
"Boss, you need to check online. The video of Martin playing the harp is going viral on the Yahoo forum."
Peter jumped out of bed with surprising agility, quickly opening his laptop and navigating to the Yahoo forum. The top post was all about Martin.
The title read: "It turns out there really are elves in the world!"
Peter clicked on the post, and there it was— a video and a series of pictures. In the video, Martin was playing the harp on a hill. The angle was such that Martin's features were obscured by the light, but the pointed ears were unmistakable. The setting sun illuminated his figure, casting a fiery glow over his hair and sculpting his face with golden light. It was undeniably beautiful.
Peter couldn't help but think, This angle's even better than ours!
He smacked his lips and began reading the comments.
The video had only been posted the day before, but there were already thousands of comments.
"His face is unclear, but his outline shows that he's really handsome. And those pointed ears prove he's an elf! It's a pity the video was shot from too far away, but I bet he's playing a beautiful piece."
"Where is this? Is this really an elf?"
Someone replied, "It was in a field near the Southern Alps of New Zealand. My friends and I were traveling there when we stumbled upon this scene. We were shocked!"
"You're so lucky! Are you sure it was an elf?"
"I don't know for sure, but that's what we thought. No one else was around, and it definitely wasn't a movie crew filming a scene."
"It must be real. If elves exist, they'd probably live in places as beautiful and remote as New Zealand!"
Peter read these comments with a smirk. He quickly picked up the phone and called his assistant.
"Tell everyone in the crew not to go online and clarify anything. Let this idea fester for a while."
Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Also, prepare a hundred confidentiality agreements for the crew to sign."
By now, the speculation had only grown. The public was now convinced that they had discovered a new species. Some believed it to be part of a publicity stunt for The Lord of the Rings, but the fervor around the mystery of the elf continued to spread.
One person posted a blurry photo from Kaitok Park, trying to link it to the elf sighting.
"This must be him," they claimed.
But the photo was too unclear, and others quickly pointed out the differences in demeanor. The elf on the hill was otherworldly, a being in perfect harmony with nature—nothing like the actors in the photos.
Others jumped in with their own wild theories: "New Zealand must be hiding the truth! The government knows about the elves and they're keeping it from us!"
Meanwhile, the New Zealand government was deluged with bizarre calls:
"Are there elves in New Zealand?"
"Tell the politicians to come clean about the elves!"
"Where are they hiding them?"
"Is there going to be a war with the elves?"
The flood of questions left the operators scratching their heads, unsure of how to respond to such an outlandish series of inquiries.
𝙥𝗮𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣(.)𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧