The “art of” film books are some of my favourite souvenirs for exploring cinematic journeys in more depth, so when I spotted this dvd set with accompanying book I had to pick it up even though Gollum is one of the scariest fantasy personalities. The dvd explores the development of the bookend sculptures crafted by Weta Workshop for the special edition of The Two Towers that depict both sides of the Gollum/Sméagol dynamic, as well as the broader range of replica statuary that was created for the mass market. The narrative focused on the artists behind the designs, allowing them to take viewers behind the scenes in the artistic process from conception to the physical artistry, and the close work that they did with director Peter Jackson and the various actors to create the sculpted souvenirs. Interested as I am in the artistic process, the dvd was quite a bit briefer than I expected and shifted focus away from the specifics of the Gollum/Sméagol piece, which left me wondering why they didn’t rebrand more broadly. The book, in contrast, was entirely focused on Gollum, and his artistic development from conceptual drawings, through digital design, and including the influence of Andy Serkis’ acting on the final visual character. Containing a myriad of drawings, as well as snippets of text, we are treated to a very surprisingly well-developed volume for its small size. Like Gollum himself, the book was full of surprises and depth, and I particularly enjoyed seeing how original concept art of Lord of the Rings alum Alan Lee meshed with digital technology to create such a memorable character. With author Gary Russell’s talent for delving into the many intricacies of the Lord of the Rings’ artwork, I am sure that a much larger book could have been written, but this unassuming volume actually felt quite perfect for the unique and mysterious Gollum/Sméagol. Maybe if they had let Russell plan and execute the accompanying dvd feature we would have had a perfect souvenir set, but I guess we can’t have everything! ( )