This is the story of the inspiration for Into the West, as told in part 6 of the Appendices of the Return of the King DVD.
Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson decided that they wanted to support a campaign for organ donation in New Zealand. So they thought that the best way to do this was to create a public awareness commercial about it.
Then Peter had found out about a young teenager named Cameron Duncan, who by the age of 16 was an amazing filmmaker. After seeing a commercial he made about drunk driving, Jackson decided that he wanted to have Cameron make the commercial for organ donation. Cameron, a softball player in New Zealand, found a cancerous lump in his left knee. Because of this cancer, he was no longer allowed to play softball. Because of this devastating experience, he decided to create a short film by the name of DFK 6498, which compared having cancer with being a prisoner in a jail cell. In it, he described how cancer created a loss of freedom. He stated that it was “the only prison that leaves the door unlocked.” The only thing that could help him was to sleep, because then he could dream. He always had dreams of amazing beauty. However, “the hardest thing about dreaming is waking up,” because when he did, he found himself surrounded by doctors and nurses in a hospital bed.
At around the same time they started talking about the campaign, Cameron found out that his cancer had returned. So, Peter invited him to the set of Return of the King, where he met and made friends with the actors. Jackson even showed WETA Digital Cameron’s films, and they were impressed. This really gave Cameron a good feeling about himself because he knew he was only a kid.
Feeling that he didn’t have much time to live, Cameron decided to film the commercial, in which he showed heroes such as fire-fighters and police officers. Then he showed a note to the viewer that an organ donator could donate up to seven organs and be a hero to someone as well.
Going through chemotherapy for a second time, and feeling extremely ill, he made his film, Strike Zone. Strike Zone shows a doctor telling him that there was nothing else that they could do for him and his cancer, so a devastated Cameron decided to create a softball team. He was their coach, and was that “little voice in their heads that made them work harder even when he wasn’t there.” He mentioned how softball was like the game of life, where you can win, or you can lose. In the end of the film, the team was losing, and there were only 15 minutes left. So Cameron told the team to make it happen. The team won, and right as he was about to congratulate them, he collapsed onto the ground and died. It said how he wanted to be buried on a hill overlooking the field so that he could watch the seasons pass. He didn’t want to be forgotten.
At the same time he was making Strike Zone, Fran Walsh was having difficulty in writing the lyrics for Into the West. Cameron sent her Strike Zone, and the words started to flow. Even though it was about Frodo’s passing into the west, it was also meant to reflect Cameron’s life.
Just like he said in Strike Zone, Cameron had only two months to live. When he died, they buried him on a hill overlooking the field, so that he could be remembered forever and watch the seasons pass.
So whenever you hear Into the West, just remember the teenager with the same hopes and dreams as any other, and the song will have new meaning.
by Woodlandelfgirl87
